Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Finally, the intersectional, lesbian, historical teen novel so many readers have been waiting for.

Lily Hu has spent all her life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, keeping mostly to her Chinese American community both in and out of school. As she makes her way through her teen years in the 1950s, she starts growing apart from her childhood friends as her passion for rockets and space exploration grows—along with her curiosity about a few blocks in the city that her parents have warned her to avoid. A budding relationship develops with her first White friend, Kathleen, and together they sneak out to the Telegraph Club lesbian bar, where they begin to explore their sexuality as well as their relationship to each other. Lo’s lovely, show more realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self.

Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 14-18)

-Kirkus Review show less

Lo had me from the get go with her well-written YA romance, but this novel is far more than meets the eye. Set during the 1950s in San Francisco’s Chinatown, we follow Lily Hu as she navigates her last breaths as a closeted teenager and comes into her own as a lesbian Chinese American math nerd. Lo’s characters are vibrant and bring Lily’s world to light as she discovers a burgeoning friendship (and then romance!) with fellow highschooler Kath, tests the limits of the traditional Chinese American family, and strikes a balance between her Chinese heritage and her life as an American. Navigating along with Lily’s adventures we discover the tensions between the government and the “communist” Chinese American community and the show more oft hidden but very much alive queer community at the Telegraph Club, which paint a unique and engaging portrait of 1950s San Francisco. Underpinning the story are Lo’s careful attention to detail and her research into the time period, which lend the fictional story a sense of realism without becoming too distracting from the narrative. Reading this book, I was reminded of all of the novels that I read as a teenager (when I wasn’t devouring fantasy), trying to find out more of the world, modelling relationships and friendships, and seeing where I could fit in, so Lo’s perspective from a different community and time period felt like a unique and inclusive addition to this well-worn (but still well-loved) genre. show less

I picked this book up on whim because the back of the book mentioned it had a 'soft LGBTQ romance set in the 1950s' and it had a STUNNING front cover. Consider me sold on reading this book. Not to mention, I am always here for a story about vintage lesbians!

What I didn't expect was to actually enjoy this book as much as I did. I don't venture into YA books much anymore, but this one was engaging enough to have me finishing it completely in 4 days (a feat i have not achieved since I was a teenager).

Lily Hu, our protagonist, was a lovely character. I loved following her journey through discovering herself, her blossoming sexuality and falling in love for the first time. The story being set in the 1950s, with Lily being a Chinese American show more and on top of that being a lesbian too made the story all that more interesting but definitely more complicated for poor Lily. The story didn't skirt around other issues either. Malinda Lo brilliantly tied together the struggles of discovering you're a lesbian and also the societal and familial pressures of growing up Chinese during a time when neither (and often now still) were well accepted in America at that time. Her turmoil was heart breaking.

I LOVED the characters and the atmosphere that Malinda Lo displayed at the Telegraph Club. The home for those who had no place to go to be themselves, but also showed the dangers of these places too in this era. I would have loved to get to see more of that cast of characters.

I have to mention to romance aspect of course! The young relationship between Lily and Kath was sweet. I loved getting to see they early stages of interest turn into what they both thought was an unrequited crush to first love. Given the events of the last few chapters of the book I had a moment of despair in thinking that the relationship between them would end up not being a happy one but I was pleasantly surprised that it did not go that way. There is not enough LGBT stories with a happy ending, especially ones that include young LGBT characters.

Shout out to the author for all the extra work she provided in this book. I really loved seeing the Chinese characters when characters were speaking Mandarin or Cantonese but also provided the translations in the footnotes - very cool addition. The author's note section at the end with all the research and extra information was a brilliant addition as well and would be especially useful for readers who are not familiar with some of the aspects and themes that occurred within the book.

All in all, I enjoyed this little book and I am very glad I was enticed by a beautiful cover and the soft baby vintage lesbians - all good things wrapped up in a quick and meaningful read. show less

Finally, the intersectional, lesbian, historical teen novel so many readers have been waiting for.

Lily Hu has spent all her life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, keeping mostly to her Chinese American community both in and out of school. As she makes her way through her teen years in the 1950s, she starts growing apart from her childhood friends as her passion for rockets and space exploration grows—along with her curiosity about a few blocks in the city that her parents have warned her to avoid. A budding relationship develops with her first White friend, Kathleen, and together they sneak out to the Telegraph Club lesbian bar, where they begin to explore their sexuality as well as their relationship to each other. Lo’s lovely, show more realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self.

Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 14-18)

-Kirkus Review show less

The first LGBTQIA+ book I ever read and it set the bar HIGH. This is one of the best books I've ever read and there's a reason its got a million stickers on it. The author clearly did her research and you can feel the neon lights from San Fransisco's queer night life jump off the page. You can smell the perfume and the cigarettes and all the mentions of the food made me hungry even if I had just eaten. Lilly is such a lovable character and I love how her relationship with Kath develops from strangers to allies and friends to eventually lovers. This book does have a happy ending, which is so nice to have. It seems as though each character is fully fleshed out, even if they're just side characters. This is the perfect queer love story. No show more notes. 100/10 read it now.

*Favorite Award: Most Descriptive (In a Good Way)

Spice level: Rated PG-13
- The main character and her love interest do have a *scene* together, but it isn't graphic

Warnings:
- mentions of racism, homophobia, underage drinking, smoking, police raids

Five and Above Club show less

Finally, the intersectional, lesbian, historical teen novel so many readers have been waiting for.

Lily Hu has spent all her life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, keeping mostly to her Chinese American community both in and out of school. As she makes her way through her teen years in the 1950s, she starts growing apart from her childhood friends as her passion for rockets and space exploration grows—along with her curiosity about a few blocks in the city that her parents have warned her to avoid. A budding relationship develops with her first White friend, Kathleen, and together they sneak out to the Telegraph Club lesbian bar, where they begin to explore their sexuality as well as their relationship to each other. Lo’s lovely, show more realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self.

Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 14-18)

- Kirkus Review show less

The intent of this novel is right up my street.

The story follows Lily, a Chinese American teenager coming to terms with her sexuality in 1950s San Francisco. She forms a friendship, and then a romance, with Kath - the only other girl in her maths class - and the two begin sneaking out to the Telegraph Club, where they encounter other lesbians and find a space in which they can exist more openly. Running alongside this is the deep distrust of communism rippling through the Chinese community, and the pressure of traditional family values within Chinatown.

I did find the opening a little slow, though it snowballed into something I was fully hooked on by the end - a marathon read to the finish. I’m not sure whether that’s just me, or show more whether the pacing felt slightly odd early on, without quite enough tension to pull it forward sooner.

The flashbacks from Lily’s mother’s and aunt’s perspectives were, in many ways, a good device. They add depth and understanding to those characters and set Judy up particularly well for the ending. At the same time, I’m not sure I always felt their relevance to the specific moments of the main narrative where they appeared. They sometimes felt more like a way of rounding out the adult characters than something strictly necessary to the forward motion of the plot. That may also be an audiobook issue - the repetition of timelines was occasionally a little wearing in that format.

The majority of the book, though, I really liked. The author’s note at the end clarified just how much deliberate nuance was at work here. Lo isn’t only interested in Lily’s experience as a lesbian, but in placing it firmly within the context of the Red Scare, contemporary racism towards Chinese Americans, and the intersection of those pressures at both a personal and political level.

I especially appreciated the presentation of diversity within the Chinese community - the attention to different languages, customs, and internal distinctions - as someone who knows very little about those cultural specifics. Lily herself is a lovely, complex character: her love of rockets and science, her need for someone she can talk to differently, sits alongside (rather than being subsumed by) her sexuality. I also loved that Kath is a genuine match for her, particularly through her love of planes. Those shared interests add texture to what could otherwise have been a much narrower coming-out narrative.

I also appreciated the limits placed on prejudice in the book. There are no hate-filled slurs hurled by Lily’s family; their resistance is rooted in love, misunderstanding, and a desire to protect her. The sweetness of her brother’s response, the understanding offered by her aunt, and the clear contrast between insinuations in the press and the genuine warmth of the lesbian community all helped the book feel balanced. It remains challenging without tipping into gratuitous trauma, even though the path for Kath and Lily is far from smooth.

Well worth the read, and fully deserving of the appreciation it’s received. show less