Come join the Teen Version of the Diversity and Discussion Book Club as members discuss the graphic novel: The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

This newly formed book club focuses on books with realistic characters facing realistic struggles  from race to religion to mental health, etc. and is for ages 15 - 18.

This beautifully illustrated and emotional story is an evocative memoir about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.

At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through. With haunting, poetic writing and breathtaking art, she examines the strength of family, the importance of identity, and the meaning of home.

In what Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “a book to break your heart and heal it,” The Best We Could Do brings to life Thi Bui’s journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past.

Meeting is for High School Students, Ages 15 - 18
Books may be available to borrow through the Minuteman Catalog in physical format: https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3605681
and digital format through Libby/Overdrive: https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3720424
as well as digitally through Hoopla: https://find.minlib.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3883685

Registration not required, though helpful to be able to notify attendees of any meeting changes that may occur.

Questions?  Coordinator and student group leader, Eve Melychev, may be reached at
eam221 @ students.needham.k12.ma.us [without spaces]