Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

31 reviews

pantslint's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

I don't often read historical fiction, but a close friend gifted this book to me and boy am I glad she did.

This book made me cry. It made me do further reading, too. I knew about the insanity of McCarthyism and COINTELPRO from schooling, but didn't know the extent of the effects that the Red Scare had on the Chinese-American community (which aren't surprising, honestly). I didn't know about Dr. Hsue-shen Tsien. Or about the Chinese Confession Program. Or how the Chinese Exclusion Act meant that Chinese immigrants and Chinese-American communities were largely men.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a beautiful coming of age story, and also a diaspora story. It encompasses a lot of what I feel for my own immigrant parents—compassion for the difficulties they've endured and the trauma they harbor, and yet anger for their refusal to see outside of themselves and their community's perceptions. I have so much to say about this book, but I think that's all I can manage for this first read.

All I have to say left is that I have a personal vendetta against Shirley.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Racial slurs, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

letters_from_gabriella's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

This book would’ve been a 5 star read if it weren’t for a few sections that felt unnecessary to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Xenophobia, Outing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Miscarriage, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Deportation, War, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad 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

A really important story about the Asian American queer experience in the 1950s.  

Despite this story covering some challenging topics, I found it very easily digestible & engaging. I believe it is important to remember that, as different as it seems to our modern day reality, the 1950s wasn’t that long ago & the long standing racism & bigotry persists even in small ways today. 

The story is very relatable while maintaining a historical accuracy that is clearly well researched & written with passion for telling untold stories of the time. 

I think this book should be put on required reading lists for high schoolers everywhere. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, War, Bullying, and Sexism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Deportation

This is a historical fiction, all words & terms used are due to trying to stay faithful to the time period it takes place in. Nothing felt egregious or unnecessary.

ajay913's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Alcohol, and Racial slurs

Minor: Police brutality, Xenophobia, War, Misogyny, Transphobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

gilnean's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Racism, Colonisation, Alcohol, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Sexism, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, Miscarriage, and Blood

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Violence, Drug use, Classism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Excrement, War, Gore, and Adult/minor relationship

almostelle's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Moderate: Deportation, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, and Hate crime

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

challenging sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It's an important book due to how it tells the stories of people who previously only existed in the margins of history and gives them a voice but I personally did not enjoy it. It's probably due to how I usually don't read historical/romance, didn't ship the main couple and personally would not make some of the major decisions the main character did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Deportation, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality, War, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Confinement

Underage drinking & underage smoking. (Not explicitly condemned in text.)

smithreads's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Racism, Alcohol, Sexual content, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Deportation

Minor: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, War, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

rinku's review against another edition

emotional informative 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

4.0

It was nice that with Last Night at the Telegraph Club, we got a book that combines historical and queer elements. There was just something missing for me to give it five stars, but it’s nevertheless a great read.  

I don’t have too much to say about the story itself since it’s more centred around its main character. We follow Lily, a Chinese American girl in the 1950s, discovering that she’s a lesbian and having to deal with all the prejudices that people have towards her identity. In the course of this discovery process, she meets Kath and visits with her the Telegraph Club. These coming-of-age elements of this novel were written so well and realistic. Furthermore, the time period that the story is set in is interesting as well and I had the feeling that I’ve learnt something about it. I knew the term red scare and that the government acted racist against Asian people in these times, but I didn’t know how extreme it was which is so terrible. The only critique I have towards the way the story was told is that I didn’t like the other POV’s chapter which were not really necessary in my opinion. 

From the beginning, you just have the feeling that something bad will happen at one point – and what happens is so sad and spoilered in the German synopsis, thanks for nothing lmao. After this event,

everything happening is just terrible and my heart ached so much for Lily; it’s so sad how homophobic everyone is and that not even her aunt accepts her

. The ending itself is

quite open and still sad in my opinion because Lily and Kath still have to hide their relationship. Considering the time period, I expected no happy ending from the beginning but still, it’s so sad

. 

I often have my problems with romances but this one was really good. It’s relative slow burn which I always like but some moments between Kath and Lily were a bit too coincidental and hence felt constructed. Together, they were so cute from the beginning, especially their bounding through their love for STEM. Lily was a great main character in general and it’s so intense how she slowly discovers her sexuality and gender identity, just like how she’s caught between her different identities. She has such a tough life and at many moments in the story, I just wanted to hug her. Besides her, I loved the other female characters from the Club as well and the strong solidarity between them. 

All in all, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a great book for both learning about the red scare period and for experiencing an emotional coming-of-age story together with Lily. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Deportation, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Police brutality

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Transphobia