Loyola Chin And The San Peligran Order

by Gene Luen Yang

In this sequel to Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, high school sopomore Loyola Chin meets the mysterious Saint Danger in one of her many food induced dreams. The two strike up a friendship which leads to something entirely beyond Loyola's imagination.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Teen

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’ fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second Books, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the L.A. Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award Finalist. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), Superman from DC Comics (with various artists), and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Dark Horse Comics (with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. His most recent books are Dragon Hoops from First Second Books and Superman Smashes the Klan from DC Comics.

Reviews

[Emilia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. This book was a nice little deep thought in a simple package -- Loyola meets Saint Danger in her dreams, he likes robot eyes and plugging tvs into noses and looks like Dr. Manhattan - he tells her that the human race will be destroyed primarily because it tolerates weakness and no longer subscribes to the survival of the fittest. At first she's quite taken, but she ends up realizing he's wrong, and also consequently, (spoiler) in a nicely personal way, that Jesus on the cross (oh hey Catholicism) is a wonderful symbol for compassion for the weak and lowly over the exaltation of the powerful and intelligent. Loyola realizes that compassion is more important than intelligence, and that she has this in her, and applies it in her real high school life. The real world ending's a bit pat, but what are you gonna do.

I liked the illustration style. Its in some tradition -- Asian-American simple? that i can't quite place, but it communicated the frustration of a smart girl well.

The little personal note by the author at the end - "I wanted to make this book because I wonder, if what I'm doing matters in the long run, and as a Catholic, I felt like I had to make this" was so surprisingly earnest and unusual, he's made a little place in my heart, and I'll seek him out in the future.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ever inventive artist, Yang's clever premise that eating different foods allows our protagonist to enter various dream-lands only begins the tale. One, that the funny romantic side-plot aside, was ultimately disappointing.

While dreaming, Loyola meets St. Danger who laments the evilness in society. His plan calls for putting survival of the fittest into action for realsies. Seduced at first, Loyola realizes what this means and takes action.

SPOILERS:







The bible quote and the utilization of the phrase "survival of the fittest" could cause a reader to interpret this story as a warning against Darwinian evolution. I say "could" because that doesn't seem to be the intent. The phrase is one of the most misunderstood, misquoted, and misinterpreted in scientific history, and St. Danger here uses it incorrectly. Perhaps Loyola wisely sees this, but I would rather that a different phrase was used to get across the same concept.

[Edmund Davis-Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable Gene Yang book. I really enjoy his magical realism. It's been a joy to read so much of his stuff the last few weeks.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must have read this very shortly before joining GR, bc I read American Born Chinese for a grad school class during the summer of 2007. Apparently it didn't stick with me, though I like Yang's sensibility. This one is a little out there. :)

[Francis S. Poesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read showing the early work of a titan of comics.

[Tanya K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gene Luen Yang doesn't flex his storytelling/thematic muscle fully here (though 'Loyola Chin' has the heart and compassion of his other work) so this compact coming-of-age story may seem a little flat to the adult reader, but I would gladly recommend this to an audience of the same age as the protagonist (13-15yos) who are looking for something interesting and original.

[Jack Vinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun graphic novel from Gene Luen Yang. This time the protagonist finds a way into a very real dream world that makes her question her beliefs. Probably kinda heavy for a child. Yang is self-effacing about his drawing style, but it is effective and moved the story along for me.

[Eli Poteet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting such a slim graphic novel to be wadding into the murky depths of "the end".. I feel as though I didn't pick up a lot of the symbolism or references, or perhaps this question is not one that stirs my non Roman Catholic upbringing.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not Yang's best it most complex work, I really liked this comic and the topics he tries to tackle. You can see him beginning to work on some of the themes he explores in Boxers and Saints. It's an interesting peice and a quick read.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing. Somebody who doesn't hate religion. That's not what the book's about, though. Which is also nice.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow up to Gordon Yamamotoa and the King of the Geeks, but this one is more intricate and demonstrates more clearly the complexities of Yang's storytelling.