Take a Chance Book Club: "House of Sticks"
 

Expand your Reading Horizons!
Are you interested in joining a book club but not sure what you might like to read? We are a book club that reads and discusses a different genre each month. Take a chance with us! New members are always welcome.
Join us the second Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Westover Library.
REGISTRATION RECOMMENDED. By registering, you will receive event updates.
This month's genre is the memoir and the book selection is "House of Sticks" by Ly Tran.
2025 Reading List
- Jan. 13: "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwab (Fantasy)
- Feb. 10: "All the Sinners Bleed" by S.A. Cosby (Thriller/Noir Fiction)
- Mar. 10: "Fourteen Days" by The Authors Guild (Collaborative Novel)
- Apr. 14: "North Woods: A Novel" by Daniel Mason (Historical Fiction)
- May 12: "House of Sticks" by Ly Tran (Memoir)
- June 9: "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" by Casey McQuiston (Young Adult)
- July 14: "The Mighty Red" by Louise Erdrich (Coming-of-Age Novel)
- Aug. 11: "Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum" by Antonia Hylton (Nonfiction/Social Welfare)
A limited number of reserved print copies of the selected book will be available at Westover Library circulation desk approximately one month before the book club meeting. Books are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Patrons are also encouraged to place holds on available print or digital copies.
For more information, please call the Westover Branch Library at 703-228-5260.
- Date:
- Monday, May 12, 2025
- Time:
- 6:30pm - 7:30pm
- Location:
- Longfellow Room
- Library:
- Westover Library
- Audience:
- Events for Adults Good for Adults Age 55+
- Categories:
- Book Discussion
- Calendar:
- Arlington Public Library
- Location campus Westover Library
- Audience:
- Categories:
About the book: An intimate, beautifully written coming-of-age memoir--a young girl's journey from war-torn Vietnam to Ridgewood, Queens, and her struggle to find her voice amid clashing cultural expectations. Ly Tran is just a toddler in 1993 when she and her family emigrate from a small town along the Mekong River in Vietnam to a two-bedroom railroad apartment in Ridgewood, 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. Soon after they arrive, Ly joins her parents and three older brothers in sewing ties and cummerbunds piecemeal on their living room floor to make ends meet. As they navigate this new landscape, Ly finds herself torn between two worlds. She knows she must honor her parents' Buddhist faith and contribute to the family livelihood, working long hours at home and then later as a manicurist alongside her mother at a nail salon in Brownsville, Brooklyn, which her parents eventually take over. But at school, Ly feels the mounting pressure to blend in. A growing inability to see the blackboard presents new challenges, especially when 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.
Accommodations in the Library
Arlington County provides accommodations to individuals with disabilities upon request. Please contact us at least five days in advance to discuss accommodations for both online and in-person events.
- Phone: 703-228-5993
- Email: Jberg@arlingtonva.us
Learn about other available accommodations when visiting the library.