Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

55 reviews

_meganno's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death

zoracious's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage

questingnotcoasting's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

This was a fascinating, moving read. I picked it up in a charity shop having never heard of it and I'm so glad to have found it. Thi Bui tells the story of her family in Vietnam and then the US while examining the legacy of trauma that war and displacement leave. Her family's story is poignant and heart-wrenching and her haunting illustration style and muted orange tones were very effective in portraying that. It was also really interesting to learn something about a part of history I knew very little about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Medical content, Miscarriage, War, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse

an_everyday_penguin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Death

lauravreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thi Bui immigrated to the states as a young girl. In her memoir, she delves into her family history and how the international political status of Vietnam affected so many citizens including her family. This is the first time I've read an illustrated memoir and it was quite the experience. Reading a comic book-style memoir brought a different element to the book that  I loved. I learned so much about Vietnam, the french colonization of Vietnam, and the political divide between the north and south. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, War, and Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, and Rape

stacyrenee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, and War

carmentxx's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

this book had me tearing up like hell. as the daughter of vietnamese immigrants myself, the constant questions of identity and belonging really hit home. the drawings are beautiful and the art style really emulates the level of pain and confusion felt throughout war. this book has made me want to learn more about my own past. an excellent introduction into the refugee complex, the vietnam war and just an overall beautiful and heartbreaking story and family, hope and loss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Miscarriage, War, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Classism and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity

jennazim's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and War

saracatalyst's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This book is incredible. I learned so much about the history of Vietnam and her family. I also learned and reflected a lot about what family means and what’s meaningful in life. 

The illustrations are incredible and the mix of images and text for storytelling is masterful. I will absolutely read this again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

kathis_wonderland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui shows her life. Born in Vietnam, Thi and her family had to flee the war there. Reflecting on her family's decisions and taking a look at her parents’ lives, Thi is searching for her family’s history and her heritage.
 
This is my first graphic novel. It is quite a different reading experience than reading a book without illustrations, but I enjoyed it. I learnt a lot about Vietnam's history, which was really interesting. The mixture of personal story and history was awesome. I keep thinking about using this memoir in my history classes at some point in the future. It just gives a different point of view on the events than there is in the history books. The memoir also illustrates perfectly how your parents' trauma can affect your own life. I discovered that there is a teacher's guide, discussion questions and a pronunciation guide available on Thi Bui's website. Reading through some of the questions helped me to understand the book more and reflect on the story.
 
I find it difficult to write a review about a memoir that tells a personal story about someone's life. However, I really liked this book and learnt a lot while reading it. It educates the reader about historic events and at the same time, shows multi-generational struggles. To be honest, this book is quite a masterpiece that can be used in education. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Murder, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racism, Violence, and War