The Best We Could Do

This graphic novel is gorgeous. It covers the story of a girl whose family has to escape Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon and make a new life in the United States.

The illustrations are beautiful, but the story is also beautifully told, showing the ways in which migration can affect family dynamics. It is about memory, sacrifice, trauma, and hope. It’s also a coming-of-age story. While there are a lot of great graphic novels about migration, this one is my favorite.

Thi Bui's graphic memoir offers a touching and visually stunning account of her family's journey from Vietnam to the United States. I was captivated by how she intertwines her personal story with historical context, providing a deep understanding of the refugee experience and its generational impacts.

The book's emotional depth and beautiful illustrations make it a profound exploration of family, trauma, and resilience.

This is a superb personal memoir about the Vietnam War and its impact on four generations of one South Vietnamese family. Unlike the legion of memoirs told from the U.S. perspective, Vietnam-born American author Thi Bui gives us the harrowing local view. By compressing her sprawling story into a tight, gripping, intimate tale, she demonstrates the storytelling power of the graphic-novel form. Here hope triumphs and tragedy is merely a runner-up.