2.56k reviews for:

The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui

4.4 AVERAGE

qa3110's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

leenbean's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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What a beautiful and heartbreaking story. Graphic novels have quickly become one of my favorite ways to read a book. It’s such a talent to be able to tell a story this way, especially a memoir like this one. I realized how little I know of Vietnams history and I would love to learn more. It’s especially fascinating to read about stories from almost the same generation as me and see how different our lives are. I really loved this book and am so glad the author took the time learn about her parents history and document it in such an impactful way. It was so interesting to see how the author thought about parenthood in relation to her own parents and the empathy she gained for her mom. 

readbysunlit's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful fast-paced

avantika_raj's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

the_reading_italian's review against another edition

4.0

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This was really interesting. I had never really read anything like this before - despite having read lots of graphic novels AND memoirs. Seeing something like this from the perspective of a refugee, the perspective of a mother, the perspective of a daughter, was quite eye-opening. I had never thought of things in ways that this book inspired me to do. On top of that, the art is amazing. It's subdued, and almost jagged, which I believe fits the book very well. I think this is a wonderful book to have on my shelf.

clancydrools's review against another edition

5.0

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hard to put down

dragonflypostie's review against another edition

5.0

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Luminous! I loved it.

amandaerossi's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

wehume's review against another edition

4.25

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Not only did "The Best We Could Do" provide a wonderful look at multiple generations and their experiences going from refugees to successful citizens of the U.S., it provided me with a much better understanding of the time leading up to the Vietnam conflict, while it was happening and what the infamous "Boat People" experienced at its close. As a teacher at a school with a high population of 1st generation and second generation East Asian immigrants, it made me appreciate their hard work and sacrifice in building a new life far from the one they had known. Highly recommended.

vb_94's review against another edition

2.0

emotional reflective fast-paced