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emotional
reflective
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
I really enjoyed this. I love coming of age novels and this was such an interesting one. The level of detail Lo has included means the book has a really vivid sense of place and time and I felt completely immersed in the setting of 1950s San Francisco. It's an emotional but hopeful story and while the romance isn't the main plot line, I thought it was really sweet. I also loved Lily as a character. She's thoughtful and brave and I often found myself thinking about her when I wasn't reading. I'd read a couple of Lo's other books but this is definitely my favourite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Police brutality
Minor: Transphobia
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
I basically didn't do anything today but reading this book until I finished it.
It's a queer coming of age story from the perspective of Lily Hu, a Chinese American girl in 1950s San Francisco. The books not only shows the life of Chinese people in the US at that time but also what it meant to be queer, and in Lily's case what it meant to be both. Lily has been a good Chinese daughter all her life until she discovers her fascination for the male impersonator Tommy Andrews and the queer night club, the "Telegraph Club". Through her classmate Kath she gets the chance to explore this new fascination but she has to keep it a secret from everyone else in her life.
I absolutely loved Lily's and Kath's story, it developed so slowly and delicately and shyly and was just so nice to follow. A warning though, you spend so much time in Lily's head with her thoughts and feelings, that the last quarter of the book or so is just painfully emotional. I cried non stop while reading because of the all the things that were happening.
What I didn't enjoy much was Lily's Chinese friends group, they were the worst. And although I like the idea of inserting a few chapters from different points of view to show more of Lily's family, these chapters were kind of boring and weren't relevant to the main story at all. I wish they had helped me to understand the family members and their relationship with Lily a bit more. (Aunt Judy's chapters were going in that direction but I wish there was still more.)
It's a queer coming of age story from the perspective of Lily Hu, a Chinese American girl in 1950s San Francisco. The books not only shows the life of Chinese people in the US at that time but also what it meant to be queer, and in Lily's case what it meant to be both. Lily has been a good Chinese daughter all her life until she discovers her fascination for the male impersonator Tommy Andrews and the queer night club, the "Telegraph Club". Through her classmate Kath she gets the chance to explore this new fascination but she has to keep it a secret from everyone else in her life.
I absolutely loved Lily's and Kath's story, it developed so slowly and delicately and shyly and was just so nice to follow. A warning though, you spend so much time in Lily's head with her thoughts and feelings, that the last quarter of the book or so is just painfully emotional. I cried non stop while reading because of the all the things that were happening.
What I didn't enjoy much was Lily's Chinese friends group, they were the worst. And although I like the idea of inserting a few chapters from different points of view to show more of Lily's family, these chapters were kind of boring and weren't relevant to the main story at all. I wish they had helped me to understand the family members and their relationship with Lily a bit more. (Aunt Judy's chapters were going in that direction but I wish there was still more.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-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
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! I am so glad I happened so see someone on TikTok recommending this. Malinda Lo's writing in this is beautiful and wonderfully descriptive without veering into the kind of overly-flowery, desperate-to-be-quoted type. Every element of the story was so evidently well-researched, and reading the author's notes and bibliography at the end confirmed that. The characters were so lovable and fully-developed and realistic. Like even though I'm white and born in 1995, I could relate to Lily and her struggle to balance her relationships as she grew into a new version of herself. I can only imagine what it's like for someone who Lily more fully represents! The worlds of 1950s San Francisco Chinatown and the Telegraph Club were both fleshed out so well, too. Most of all, I really liked the way that Lo balanced the realistic issues and struggles of being Chinese and gay in this setting (while never veering into overly-dramatic trauma), and giving readers the happy ending love story that has historically been hard to find for LGBTQ+ characters (while not making it overly easy for that happy ending to happen). Will definitely check out her other books and recommending this to everyone!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Xenophobia
challenging
emotional
informative
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:
Yes
This definitely lived up to all the hype! It's not getting 5 full stars just because it was a bit slow moving in parts, but it was necessary to the overall storytelling. Lo just captures Lily's voice so accurately, and the timelines and everything felt so authentic and well-researched. This isn't a topic covered much (if at all) in young adult literature, and I definitely think it was a voice that needed to be heard.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Miscarriage, Police brutality
Minor: Forced institutionalization
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage
emotional
informative
relaxing
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:
Complicated
I read Last Night at the Telegraph Club for this month’s #SapphicStoriesBookclub!
This is a story about friendship, finding your own voice, family and first love.
The author has given us a thoroughly researched novel about and what it meant to be queer and asian in the 50’s, where xenophobic, homophobic, Anti-Chinese and downright racist sentiments were extremely prevalent.
Moreover, the author includes brief explanations of research and resources at the end of the book. I think those were very important to get the whole picture of the story and to learn more about LGBTQ+ and USA history overall
To say that I really loved this story is an understatement.
I loved the reflections on the "first times" as a queer person and how exciting and hopeful, but also secretive, and scary they can be.
I especially loved the description of the first night in the Telegraph Club. It was so vivid and personal, it reminded me so much of my first time at a gay bar and feeling like I found a safe haven.
This book left my little sapphic heart very full, so I can’t recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content
Minor: Drug use
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
Listened to this one on audio.
I have had this book on my radar since it was announced like a trillion years ago, and I am so happy to say that it definitely lived up to the hype. I know I've been giving out 4⭐ ratings like they're candy lately, but I'm just gonna chalk it up to my fantabulous taste in books. I will be interested to read Own Voices reviews of this novel, but my admittedly uneducated reading experience was impeccable. I felt so many feelings!!!! And I cannot tell you what they were because spoilers! I fell in love with Kath and Lily, and the setting of San Francisco is rendered so impeccably you will want to book a trip ASAP (But not right now. We're in a pandemic). I haven't read much surrounding the Red and Lavender Scares, and Lo's perspective on the 50s was so fresh and compelling. Plus her Author's Note at the end is very informative and adds a lot of nuance to the novel.
I have had this book on my radar since it was announced like a trillion years ago, and I am so happy to say that it definitely lived up to the hype. I know I've been giving out 4⭐ ratings like they're candy lately, but I'm just gonna chalk it up to my fantabulous taste in books. I will be interested to read Own Voices reviews of this novel, but my admittedly uneducated reading experience was impeccable. I felt so many feelings!!!! And I cannot tell you what they were because spoilers! I fell in love with Kath and Lily, and the setting of San Francisco is rendered so impeccably you will want to book a trip ASAP (But not right now. We're in a pandemic). I haven't read much surrounding the Red and Lavender Scares, and Lo's perspective on the 50s was so fresh and compelling. Plus her Author's Note at the end is very informative and adds a lot of nuance to the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism