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A review by katsbooks
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
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? No
4.5
“She’s having a hard time right now because you’re not what she expected. But we’re never what our parents expected. They have to learn that lesson.”
“It wasn’t like chocolate, Lily thought. It was like finding water after a drought. She couldn’t drink enough, and her thirst made her ashamed, and the shame made her angry.”
I loved a lot of things about this book. As a history teacher, I love reading books that center perspectives that aren't often told. This book hits that on multiple fronts. The main character is Chinese-American and the story takes place in the 1950s. I really loved all of the research that went into, not only Lily's story, but also her family. The other historical perspective this covers is that of queer people. Again, not often a perspective we see often in historical fiction. This novel was fairly realistic in that Lily faced discrimination for both of these aspects of her identity at different parts of the story. So if either of those things are triggering, I'd encourage caution when diving into this.
While I loved a lot of things, the book was ultimately too long, in my opinion. I really liked the flashbacks into Lily's extended family but I could tell it was well-researched and that was interesting to me. I felt like I was learning something. However, in terms of a plot line, they don't make much sense. The story would be just as impactful without them.
This is one of those books that I hope gets taught in classrooms. I could see it being especially good for ethnic studies or gender/sexuality courses. There is a ton of great information in it and the story, itself, is amazing.
“It wasn’t like chocolate, Lily thought. It was like finding water after a drought. She couldn’t drink enough, and her thirst made her ashamed, and the shame made her angry.”
I loved a lot of things about this book. As a history teacher, I love reading books that center perspectives that aren't often told. This book hits that on multiple fronts. The main character is Chinese-American and the story takes place in the 1950s. I really loved all of the research that went into, not only Lily's story, but also her family. The other historical perspective this covers is that of queer people. Again, not often a perspective we see often in historical fiction. This novel was fairly realistic in that Lily faced discrimination for both of these aspects of her identity at different parts of the story. So if either of those things are triggering, I'd encourage caution when diving into this.
While I loved a lot of things, the book was ultimately too long, in my opinion. I really liked the flashbacks into Lily's extended family but I could tell it was well-researched and that was interesting to me. I felt like I was learning something. However, in terms of a plot line, they don't make much sense. The story would be just as impactful without them.
This is one of those books that I hope gets taught in classrooms. I could see it being especially good for ethnic studies or gender/sexuality courses. There is a ton of great information in it and the story, itself, is amazing.