2.57k reviews for:

The Best We Could Do

Thi Bui

4.4 AVERAGE

novelerachavela's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

julou16's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

ljkasdlfjkd's review against another edition

1.0

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cold garbage

feeling_queer's review against another edition

5.0

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Okay so I was definitely crying at the end of this novel. Thi uses the graphic format as a way to explore her parent’s experiences surviving multiple generations of fighting and war in Vietnam, escaping as refugees to Malaysia, and later, the United States. She opens by telling us that “proximity does not equal closeness” ; her efforts in her adulthood to understand and deepen connections with her parents are haunted by the ghosts of their past, the shadows cast by the unspeakable events they endured, and years spent focusing on mere survival. Conducting oral histories with her parents, doing a lot of research, and writing this illustrated novel, was a way for Thi to try and make sense of her lineage and the intergenerational trauma that shaped her upbringing. We do see a glimmer of hope and a suggestion that cycles of trauma and violence can be broken; her own experiences as a new mother is interwoven throughout the narrative of the past, showing how far her family has come in just two generations. This was a thoughtful, emotional, intimate story full of often over-looked and over-simplified (de/post)colonial history, and the illustrations were absolutely breathtaking.

Content warnings: intimate partner violence/abuse; gun violence; war-related violence; trauma and PTSD; sexual harassment of a youth; a passing reference to a possible suicide attempt (by pills)

shealennon's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

mitchellprobably's review against another edition

3.75

emotional reflective fast-paced

lauradvo_15's review against another edition

5.0

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This was suggested to me by a fellow educator as a possible replacement for Persepolis in our IB curriculum. I agree and can totally see this working well; it has similar thematic notes, but more of a central focus on family dynamics. The visuals are also more complex. Now to see if I can convince my colleagues to make the switch.

ghostbird13's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

whitewolf42's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

chastitymarie's review against another edition

3.75

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced