Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Reading this was just 🤌 I so appreciate the thought that went into crafting this very important historical fiction YA novel. It was the perfect mix of informative and emotional that is my cup of tea, and I think it will be for a lot of other people too! I think a lot of young adults can see themselves in Lily or empathize with her and the feelings of first love. My only complaint is that I wanted more about post the big dramatic thing that happened, but I'll get over that by reading the cinnamon novel soon I think!

Quotes:

They had been in the same classes together for years, but it was as if they had been figurines on an automated diorama, moving on mechanical tracks that approached each other but never intersected until now. Today they had broken free from those prescribed grooves, and Lily was acutely aware of the unprecedented nature of their new friendliness. (56)
America had given her so much in the 4 years since she arrived, but it also regularly reminded her of how it saw people like her. (305)
-Lily felt as if she were stuck on a broken track and a diorama, as if she were not herself, but merely the figurine of a Chinese girl that kept jerking back to the beginning rather than continuing through her miniature world. It was clear that if she agreed with her mother--and Shirley--if she would only tell them what they wanted to hear, then she can move forward on her prescribed path. But that would mean a racing all of her trips to the Telegraph Club; It would mean denying her desire to go at all. It meant suppressing her feelings for Kath, and at that moment, her feelings seem to swell inside her. So painfully that she was terrified she might burst. (327)
"But we're never what our parents expected. They have to learn that lesson." (339)
A few hours at home and the Telegraph Club seemed more like a fantasy than a real thing. This troubled her. It felt as if someone had taken an eraser to her memory--to her very self--and rubbed at it, then blown away the remains. (369)

Content Warnings

saucy_bookdragon's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

"They aren't looking for the truth. They're looking for scapegoats."

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is personal, being about a Chinese immigrant family living in San Francisco in the 1950s following their daughter, Lily, who's a lesbian. She's dealing a lot with homophobia both internalized and externalized, racism, and both the red and lavender scares.

I found the way this book dealt with coming out to yourself to be really relatable. The gray area where you're beginning to realize you're queer but scared of acknowledging it openly and the awkward joy of being in your first queer space. I also really loved the family dynamic because even though Lily's relationship to her parents is complicated, through flashbacks you see what they've been through and why they are the way they are. That said, I felt some of the non-POV characters were kind of flat, particularly Kath and Lily's asshole friend.

I was gripped throughout the story, reading it all over the course of two days. It was pretty emotional with me screaming and almost crying at certain points during the second half (view spoiler)

Overall, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a needed bittersweet novel about learning to accept oneself and being Chinese and queer in the 1950s. The notes about the research at the end was also really great to read as it seems this was a personal novel for Malinda Lo who is Chinese-American and queer and included inspiration from her family along with her research.

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addyruth17's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

Content Warnings

smithreads's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

swaggyfrog's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

my time not spent reading this was spent thinking about getting back to it. i am glad to live in the time i live in now, i am grateful for the people before me whose lives were like lily hu's, and i am both excited and resentful of those who will come after me. i love you lesbians ❤️🧡🤍🩷❤️

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thecriticalreader's review

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emotional hopeful informative fast-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

4.75

Blurb:

Lily Hu is a high schooler living in Chinatown, San Francisco in 1954 whose life changes when she visits a homosexual bar, The Telegraph Club. As she learns to understand her own desires and identity, she develops a relationship with a female classmate. On top of the regular social pressures and strains that come with coming of age, Lily must navigate the complicated and complex pressures that come with being a queer Chinese girl with big dreams in 1954 San Francisco.

Review:

There are very few books that meet my stringent standards for historical fiction, but I’m delighted to say that Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo passes my scrutiny with flying colors. Lo obviously did her research; the extensive biography in the back confirmed what I knew from reading her writing. The details are immersive and luscious; there was not a single moment that I was drawn out of the story due to a historical inaccuracy or anachronism. Books like this one are the closest we will get to time travel, and for that they are special.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club would already earn a high rating just for its historical immersive quality, but Lo’s storytelling is equally skilled and compelling. The prose is accessible and easy to read, the plot is balanced and well-structured, and the characters feel like real people. Lo captures the nuances and imperfections of real-life circumstances, interactions, and relationships while crafting a focused, hopeful, and touching central storyline. I especially liked reading about the relationship dynamics between Lily and her longtime friend, Shirley. I did not want the book to end.

The only part of the book that I did not absolutely ~love~ is the chapters between sections from the point of view of Lily’s family members. I could not see how these vignettes added to the central story, and consequently, I found them less compelling. I think that Lo should have either put them at the end of the book as “bonus material” or left them out altogether.

Despite this minor quibble, Last Night at the Telegraph is a wonderful read on every level and deserves all of the recognition it receives.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Last Night at the Telegraph Club if . . .

· You grew up reading the American Girl Doll historical books

· You appreciate slice-of-life storytelling

· You are curious about learning about life from a perspective not often seen in historical fiction

You might not like Last Night at the Telegraph Club if . .

· You dislike books that take time to describe lots of details to set the scene

A Similar Book:

Good Luck, Ivy by Lisa Yee. Although Good Luck, Ivy is written for a significantly younger audience than Last Night at the Telegraph Club, similarities between the books include:

· A Chinese American female protagonist who lives in twentieth-century San Francisco

· Themes of understanding your identity and following your passion

· Historically immersive storylines

Content Warnings

bashsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a love-letter to butch/femme relationships and to Chinese-American culture. Its setting of 1950s San Franciso comes to life under Lo's descriptions. And there is a subtlity to Lily's changing feelings - about both Kath and Shirley - that shows Lo's fine handle on detail. The flashbacks supply important cultural context, and the timelines keep everything straight (pun intended). The author's note at the end is also very informative.

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