A review by leweylibrary
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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)
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