Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

31 reviews

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage

onefineelephant's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

7/10. I've heard glowing reviews for this book and I don't really get the hype. I like the book well enough but I think it's far from being one of my favorites. One of my biggest criteria for if a book will get a 10/10 or be one of my favorites is if it makes me laugh and cry and this book unfortunately did neither for me.

The girls don't really get together/confess their feelings until more than half of the way through the book which is not my thing. Also, many of the flashback chapters seemed disjointed from the main story and it felt like they took away from the plot when I really wanted to know what was happening with Lily and Kath. I'm not sure if it was because of the historical fiction genre or the author's writing style, but it felt like all of the characters were at an emotional arm's length; there wasn't enough depth of emotion or communication as I personally am into. I enjoyed the exploration of queerness during this time period, especially with the added element of a person being in high school and being a non-white person.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and War

hannibanani29's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Cultural appropriation

taelights's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

I was a bit nervous to give this one a try but I ended up really enjoying it. The book was obviously well researched based on the author's end notes which I found really interesting to read through and I really enjoyed the story itself. I do wish though that the book had been longer or more fast paced to explore more of the romance and give a slightly longer and more detailed conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Cultural appropriation

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Last night at the telegraph club took me by surprise. For school I had to read an historical fiction and as the raging queer that I am I chose this book to read. I wanted to read something that would mean more to me than just that one book I read for school and well…. The telegraph succeeded in that. Normally I’m not a big fan of this kind of book is just amazing. 

Characters 
The list of characters is really diverse and I loved it. I cannot speak for the Asian rep but I loved the sapphic love. I could really find myself in the panic that surrounds a baby gay and I wish with whole my heart that Lily’s story would have been easier. I felt a lot for her and she deserved better. 

Worldbuilding 
The worldbuilding is done in a very fun way. The story is played oud in the real world and it shows. If you google the locations you are able to find them and I love this! 

Story 
This is one of those books that is very important but before you read this please check the triggerwarnings! 

Writing 
The writing was beautifully done and gripped me. I had to finish this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Gaslighting

wrightdobiez's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

this definitely followed a rather classic gay storyline and in that sense was pretty predictable, but the style and the pacing made it so refreshing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

kalinamiski1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, and War

ufollowbooks's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is an incredible story. The details, from Chinatown to references to real historical figures, are fascinating. The romance between the girls is heart-wrenching, and the ending brings out full-blown tears. Needless to say, the style itself is absolutely beautiful, to my taste. Yes, there's a slow start and the book takes a long time to "rock out", but the end is all the more stunning. After all, that's exactly how it is in reality! A monotonous and repetitive everyday life and then BOOM!

I'd also like to point out that this book makes me much more angry at the way the queer community is represented by the hetero media. Here, here is our shared trauma, here are our fears, here is The History - and it all boils down to a male gay friend helping to pick out outfits... Somehow, it doesn't seem so all-encompassing and powerful when you live it. So - thank you, Melinda Lo.

By the way, there's a huge amount of references to literature on the subject at the end, so I what I'll be reading more. And Lo's other books have already been added to Read Later!

I absolutely recommend this book. Be prepared for a slow start - you just have to get through it so you have everything you could want from the book afterwards. And have tissues and valerian ready for that "afterwards" :)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Cultural appropriation

creativeerosion's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

averyk266's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Cultural appropriation