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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
challenging
medium-paced
I always appreciate what people are willing to share in a memoir. Ly Tran is vulnerable about her own struggles, but also very compassionate to her family for their struggles as well.
In stunning, mesmerizing prose, the author narrates her incredible story of resilience, determination, and grit as the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants in America.
**spoilers below**
The author recounts the many challenges she faced as she came of age in NYC—from having to work from the age of three assembling ties and cummerbunds in her family’s small, railroad apartment to dealing with the constant and lasting impact of her POW father’s PTSD. In particular, her father’s mistrust of the government led him to disallow Ly from getting glasses when her eyesight started to diminish, as he believed corrective lenses were a government conspiracy. Over the course of the memoir, as Ly’s eyesight worsens, this has a devastating impact on her educational trajectory, causing her to struggle in school despite being academically gifted. Even after Ly graduates from high school and secretly gets contact lenses, so much damage has been done to her self-confidence that she continues to struggle, and ultimately drops out of college. Fortunately, the story does not end there. I was moved to tears when Ly gets her acceptance letter to Columbia University, going from a college dropout to an Ivy League student.
But it wasn’t just big moments like this that made Ly’s memoir so special. It was all the small moments. The images of Ly and her family seeing snow for the first time. Ly lying in bed at night trying to build domes in her head to keep everyone she loves safe. Ly’s family laughing together as they take in a video of a chimp passing out from its own smell (one of the very first viral videos).
It’s already been a few weeks since I read this beautiful memoir, and I’m still thinking about it. I am certain it will stick with me for years to come.
**spoilers below**
The author recounts the many challenges she faced as she came of age in NYC—from having to work from the age of three assembling ties and cummerbunds in her family’s small, railroad apartment to dealing with the constant and lasting impact of her POW father’s PTSD. In particular, her father’s mistrust of the government led him to disallow Ly from getting glasses when her eyesight started to diminish, as he believed corrective lenses were a government conspiracy. Over the course of the memoir, as Ly’s eyesight worsens, this has a devastating impact on her educational trajectory, causing her to struggle in school despite being academically gifted. Even after Ly graduates from high school and secretly gets contact lenses, so much damage has been done to her self-confidence that she continues to struggle, and ultimately drops out of college. Fortunately, the story does not end there. I was moved to tears when Ly gets her acceptance letter to Columbia University, going from a college dropout to an Ivy League student.
But it wasn’t just big moments like this that made Ly’s memoir so special. It was all the small moments. The images of Ly and her family seeing snow for the first time. Ly lying in bed at night trying to build domes in her head to keep everyone she loves safe. Ly’s family laughing together as they take in a video of a chimp passing out from its own smell (one of the very first viral videos).
It’s already been a few weeks since I read this beautiful memoir, and I’m still thinking about it. I am certain it will stick with me for years to come.
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Nebraska Library Commission Book Club Spotlight - May 6th, 2025
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this year, as marked by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is for celebrating the “Legacy of Leadership and Resilience” of the wide-reaching diaspora. Today, for our Book Club Spotlight, we celebrate author Ly Tran and her family’s story of resilience, as Chinese-Vietnamese (Tang Dynasty Teochew) refugees to the United States. Her memoir, House of Sticks, was a New York City Book Awards Winner, and one of Vogue and NPR’s Best Book of the Year.
“We arrive in the blizzard of 1993, coming from rice paddies, mango trees, and the sun to February in the Empire State.” At three years old, Ký Lý and her family of 6 are sent to the United States, as part of a humanitarian effort to relocate South Vietnamese prisoners of war. Though she doesn’t quite understand it, Ly’s father was one of those men, confined in the Viet Cong re-education camps of torture and indoctrination. However, America was not the fresh start they were sold. The family struggles in poverty, resorting to endless nights of sewing garments in their cramped and dirty apartment to barely make ends meet. As she grows, Ly recognizes the dour circumstances around her, and her parent’s ceaseless effort to create a life for their children- free from the horrors of the past. In an attempt to protect her family from more hardship, Ly learns to hide the cruelty of others from her parents and to hide herself as well.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this year, as marked by the Federal Asian Pacific American Council, is for celebrating the “Legacy of Leadership and Resilience” of the wide-reaching diaspora. Today, for our Book Club Spotlight, we celebrate author Ly Tran and her family’s story of resilience, as Chinese-Vietnamese (Tang Dynasty Teochew) refugees to the United States. Her memoir, House of Sticks, was a New York City Book Awards Winner, and one of Vogue and NPR’s Best Book of the Year.
“We arrive in the blizzard of 1993, coming from rice paddies, mango trees, and the sun to February in the Empire State.” At three years old, Ký Lý and her family of 6 are sent to the United States, as part of a humanitarian effort to relocate South Vietnamese prisoners of war. Though she doesn’t quite understand it, Ly’s father was one of those men, confined in the Viet Cong re-education camps of torture and indoctrination. However, America was not the fresh start they were sold. The family struggles in poverty, resorting to endless nights of sewing garments in their cramped and dirty apartment to barely make ends meet. As she grows, Ly recognizes the dour circumstances around her, and her parent’s ceaseless effort to create a life for their children- free from the horrors of the past. In an attempt to protect her family from more hardship, Ly learns to hide the cruelty of others from her parents and to hide herself as well.
“Even the most monstrous of faces that I could conjure always had the same pained look in their eyes. And I imagined that they feared the dark just as much as I did.”
- Ly Tran
For Adult Book Club Groups who are fans of moving family memoirs like Educated and The Glass Castle , House of Sticks is a story of filial piety, and how the trauma of our parents move within us and propel our lives. How pressures of helping support a family, and neglect can weigh on a child into their adult years. Though Tran spends much of her memoir away from her family, they are a part of her and influence every step she takes. She was especially her traumatized father, but her ability for compassion and understanding helped bridge the long-worn gaps between them. Reading stories like House of Sticks can open us up to new perspectives and peoples. When we celebrate the melting pot of the United States, like with AAPI month, it’s important to take the time and learn about our history together. Even before we were a country, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians have been a part of our legacy.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I couldn’t put this down. This was one of the most touching, beautiful, and tender books I have read in recent memory. I cried so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault
I enjoyed listening to this book and it was very sad. I wish I could have gotten more details of her life post Hunter, as this part seemed rushed.
