Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

278 reviews

churroeon's review against another edition

emotional informative relaxing sad

3.75

i would like to mention that i did enjoy this book. i love learning about gay history and i believed the author was successful in illustrating 1950s gay culture and even gave the reader some background knowledge on lesbians, their roles, etc. I loved that! however, i just feel a little dissapointed in the story, especially the ending... i will dive into some spoilers so be aware

im not much of a person who likes sad stories because i really love happy endings! but honestly, i absolutely endored how the author depicted Lily's emotions while her and Kath were separated. i was able to feel what she was feeling and honestly!!!! i felt my heart hurt!!! thats really rare because i feel like authors just dont know how to do that anymore, but Lo really did so i gotta give her props. but when Lily was gone for a year and her and Kath met up i felt like it was rushed? like so we didnt see each other physically, only by letters or phone calls, and here we are together reunited. all that i am given is that they love each other (awesome i love that) and that we will meet again at a restaurant later today. thats it??? nothing else? i felt like more emotional writing could've been applied here. the author knows how to write impactful scenes, why didnt they do that here? kath and lily have not seen each other in a year and were separated. i feel like there should've been some more meat towards the ending because it felt rushed. there is potential and im sad it wasnt achieved.

overall, i have to give this book a 3.75. i was expecting more, but it was a fun read nonetheless :3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Homophobia

charliebites's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Deportation, War, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Police brutality, Medical trauma, Drug use, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

kajoreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The beginning was a bit too slow for me, otherwise I really loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual content, Deportation, Child abuse, War, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

tigerkind's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: War and Toxic friendship

jayjayjers's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Homophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs and Toxic friendship

meagan123's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia and Homophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

vael's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Toxic friendship, Deportation, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Sexual content, Outing, Classism, Police brutality, Misogyny, War, Racism, and Racial slurs

literarypenguin's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This novel was a genre that I love, Historical Fiction. It also talked brought up LGBTQ  history and how it was handled back in that time period. In this story we follow a girl named Lily who comes from a Chinese American family in the 1950's in San Francisco. When she starts to hang out with a girl named Kathleen and both of the girls hear about a club called the Telegraph Club, Lily finds herself questioning more about who she is more then every before. 

I loved the character of Lily and how we saw this story from her perspective mainly. She is Chinese, has many expectations placed upon her by her parents yet she has dreams of getting a career in space and mathematics. She also helps take care of her two little brothers who she is very close with. She also has a friend that she grew up with in the same city she live in named Shirley, the daughter of restaurant owners. This friendship with Shirley is tested throughout this book with Lily questioning their friendship and how Shirley has treated her in the years they have been friends. Not only does she rethink her friendships but she thinks about her sexuality. How she has always felt different then others and never had an attraction to the boys in her school. When she starts up a friendship with Kath, those questions come at full force as she starts to realize what these feelings might be. One thing I loved about Lily was her interest in space, sci fi, and mathematics. Her bond with her aunt and uncle is also very sweet that she had someone she could relate to. 

The history weaved through this story about actual LGBTQ events, places, and history. I loved how the author brought up LGBTQ reading material that was available in those times. How the Telegraph Club was based on actual clubs that were around at those times. The facts put in to the story made this story so much better to me! 

The romance between Kath & Lily was super sweet, very well developed, and a beautiful relationship. It was bittersweet especially at the end but thankfully it gave me hope that they would be alright. Their bond was and buildup of the romance was wonderful and showing a positive female female love.

I enjoyed this book and I may pick up the follow up of this story. Maybe even pick up more books from this author as well!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Miscarriage

amoonymess's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Outing, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Deportation, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Misogyny

livreittoashley's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Outing

Minor: War, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, and Alcohol