"A powerful memoir by 25-year-old Ly Tran about her immigrant experience and her recent family history in the aftermath of the war that spans from Vietnam to Brooklyn, and ultimately to the Ivy League"-- Ly Tran was just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrated from a small town along the Mekong river in Vietnam to an apartment in Queens. Ly's father, a former lieutenant in the South Vietnamese army, spent nearly a decade as a POW, and their resettlement is made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. Torn between two worlds. Ly knows she must honor her parent's Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, while feeling pressure to blend in at school. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her? -- adapted from jacket

"Ly Tran is just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family immigrate from a small town along the Mekong River in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Queens. Ly's father spent nearly a decade as a POW, and their resettlement is made possible through a humanitarian program run by the US government. As they navigate this new landscape, Ly finds herself torn between two worlds. She knows she must contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours alongside her family. But at school, Ly feels the mounting pressure to blend in. When she can no longer see the blackboard at school, her father forbids her from getting glasses, calling her diagnosis of poor vision a government conspiracy. His frightening temper and paranoia leave an indelible mark on Ly's sense of self. Who is she outside of everything her family expects of her? Told in a spare, evocative voice that, with flashes of humor, weaves together her family's immigration experience with her own fraught and courageous coming of age, House of Sticks is a timely and powerful portrait of one girl's struggle to reckon with her heritage and forge her own path"--