Thanks so much to Penguin Teen for the advanced copy!

This is such a wonderful book. Malinda Lo brings a very interesting part of history alive, and tells the story of a young woman who fights for her right to love. This is the best LGBTQIA+ love story I’ve read.

Lily Hu is seventeen and is discovering her queerness. She falls in love with Kathleen, a young woman in her class and they explore their relationship and visit a lesbian bar called The Telegraph Club. However, it’s 1954 in America-hardly a safe place for two women to date. The Red Scare paranoia is moving fast, especially through Lily’s home in Chinatown. Against all the odds, Lily and Kathleen risk everything to be themselves and fight for love.

This is a history lesson we all need. The book covers so much about communism and the lesbian community in 1954 San Francisco- as well as being Chinese-American. Malinda Lo writes from a very personal place. I can tell how much love, care, and research went into this book. Don’t miss it!!

For seventeen years, Lily Hu has been—at least outwardly—a dutiful daughter, happily completing all her family and community obligations. If she is more interested in math and space travel than girls should be, well, after all, her beloved Aunt Judy is a human computer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

But Lily has a secret concealed from even her best friend, Shirley. She keeps pictures of Katherine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, and male impersonator Tommy Andrews hidden in her favorite book. In the afternoons, she sneaks into the drugstore to read Strange Season, a pulp fiction book about two women in love.

When Kathleen “Kath” Miller, inadvertently sees Lily’s picture of Tommy and signals understanding, the girls develop a friendship. Kath, the only other girl in Advanced Math and who dreams of being a pilot, represents not only the world outside Chinatown but also, perhaps, a girl Lily could love. Despite the risks, they sneak out to visit the Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar and soon become ensconced Tommy’s orbit.

At the same time, federal agents are intent on rooting out communism in Chinatown. Even though Lily’s father served in WWII and became a citizen, he is threatened with deportation. The entire family faced even more pressure to be a respectable, “proper” American family.

When Lily’s burgeoning identity and love for Kath and her charge to be a good Chinese-American daughter inevitably collide, Lily must determine how to honor her truth while negotiating the relationships with those she loves.

In 1950s San Francisco, Lily faces prejudice and discrimination on multiple fronts. The denizens of the Telegraph Club embrace her as a token Asian yet erase her identity by calling her “China Doll.” Shirley at times wishes she weren’t Chinese because of the closeness of the community which brings pressure to be perfect. A particularly disturbing section describes a motorized diorama of an opium den. Yet, in Chinatown, in the Hu family, there is no possibility of being gay. While it’s heartbreaking to see Lily’s situation, her empowered reaction is inspiring.

Malinda Lo clearly conducted extensive research for this book. Whether she was describing the ambiance of the club, the clothing, the streets of Chinatown, or the greater San Francisco environs, I felt completely immersed in the time and place.

I wish the book had included a little bit more about Kath’s family and home life and expounded on the threats to her father, but these are extremely small quibbles. The book is worth reading for its exploration of multiple identities, its love story, and its historical context.

Last Night At The Telegraph Club feels personal and intimate, as if I’m taking a cautious glance directly into Lily’s heart, and it makes the book all the more gripping. I feel every single one of Lily’s emotions as if they were my own. It is a deeply heartbreaking exploration of our protagonist's struggle with her racial and sexual identity in a time period where she does not feel accepted for either. One side of her identity, she’s always known and never questioned until it became a barrier to her future. The other, she is just beginning to understand and explore. This contrast is done beautifully.

I would advise readers to go into this story with the knowledge of it being an interracial lesbian romance set in the 1950s at the forefront of their minds. Every odd is stacked against our protagonists, and Malinda Lo does not shy away from the harsh realities of the homophobia, racism, and sexism of the time.

My 4 star rating is due to the abrupt ending (though narratively it is a choice that makes sense, I had just wished for something different) and lack of closure for other characters and plotlines.

I have to be honest, what drew me to this book was the cool cover art. I hadn't read any Malinda Lo books before, but I'm always interested in broadening my horizons. And this historical novel featuring an Asian-American teen waking up to her sexual identity definitely met my expectations and then some.

Lily Hu is a good Chinese girl, living in Chinatown, with Chinese friends, in the late 1950s. As she's reading the newspaper one day, she spots an advertisement for a male impersonator performing at a place called the Telegraph Club. She sneaks the page out of the paper and is transfixed by the headshot of the singer. Working in a group in class one day, Lily realizes she has things in common with their Caucasian groupmate, Kathleen, and soon the two become friends. It is Kath who takes Lily - at her request - to see the impersonator at the Telegraph Club.

The book is told mostly from Lily's perspective, but Lo also peppers the storyline with historical snippets about Lily's father, mother, and aunt, giving the story a full multi-generational feel. She also uses Cantonese words, all defined in footnotes, which brings an authenticity to the novel. I loved the depiction of Lily's journey and exploration of who she is and who she wants to be. The ending was hopeful and satisfying at the same time.

I love reading Own Voices books, because they allow me a window into cultures I am not ordinarily a part of. Lo does a fabulous job here with a Chinese lesbian in a time when being out and proud was not something one did. I highly recommend this book.

Oh gosh, I don’t even know where to begin to review this one! There were so many layers, both informative in their history and emotional in their journeys. I’m not usually one for historical fiction, but the way Malinda Lo folded historical events into the present-day storyline was engaging. Admittedly, I found it a bit tough to follow the timeline sometimes, but I’m not sure if that was just because the ARC formatting was off.

This story shined a spotlight on the 1950s San Francisco scene, including Chinatown and the queer community. (cw for external and internalized homomisia) Lo says in her author’s note that there aren’t many records for queer Asian Americans at that time, so she wanted to write Lily’s story framed within that idea. It was definitely uncomfortable when the white characters would refer to her as “China doll” and constantly asked if she spoke English; it seemed to be symbolic of how queer BIPOC people are still deemed “other” in the white queer community.

There are many points like this, as well as what it was like (and still like) to be Asian in America, and how conflicting it can be to miss your home country even when you’ve never been there or may never get to go back. There were also examples of sexism in the 50s (girls and women being told they can’t hold certain jobs or like “boy” things)—let’s face it, things that still persist today, like the lack of women in STEM.

I can’t speak to the rep in this one—Asian American, specially Chinese, and lesbian—but as a queer person, I empathized with Lily’s feeling of living two lives, where those closest to you don’t know the you that you’re becoming. My heart broke for Lily and Kath, but also held so much hope for them. (No spoilers, but let me just say, thank GOODNESS for the epilogue!)

I feel like this review was more of a ramble, but it’s really because there was so much packed into this story that I can’t begin to touch on all of it. It could have been a little shorter, maybe less detail-oriented, and I’m confused a bit by the inclusion of Lily’s parents’ short backgrounds/POVs. Lo says in the author’s note that part of their story is inspired by her own parents’ history, but I thought the POVs were leading toward this big reveal or something. I would have been ok with less, but I also know that many people will appreciate all of these details, so it’s less of a negative and more of a personal preference.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo 🌉

Thank you to @penguinteen for the eARC via @netgalley. Last Night is available on January 19! ✨

Set in 1950’s San Francisco Chinatown during the Red Scare, the novel tells the story of high school senior Lily Hu, a girl who dreams of building rockets to space and seeing Tommy Andrews, a “male impersonator,” perform at the Telegraph Club, a local lesbian bar. Her classmate Kath invites her to go one night, and Lily begins to discover that she is not alone and her feelings don’t need to be a secret.

Wow. This book was so stunning and made me feel so many raw emotions. I loved the setting and the characters, all of whom felt very real and fleshed out with their own desires, goals, and personalities. While the time period and culture are obviously very different from my own, the experience of coming out and exploring your identity as a child of immigrants is still so universal. Lily’s journey of self-discovery was so special and precious to me, and I was rooting for her the entire time. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is the perfect start to 2021, and I hope to read many more wonderful YA books in this same vein.

I knew from the beginning of Last Night at the Telegraph Club that it would break my heart. Lo delivers a book that was destined to appeal to all my soft spots. A Chinese-American space obsessed girl coming to terms with her queer identity while also struggling with her family's future and the growing racism against the Chinese. Not to mention her name is Lily - talk about mind meld! Lily's story is one of feeling out of place, with everything against her. It's about those experiences when we discover language to feelings we never knew had a name.

At the same time, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a story about Lily struggling with her feelings and the growing insecurity of her future. To know that if she were to be public about her queer identity, it could give the government another reason to deport them. How their future depends on her maintaining the status quo. How the government doesn't need an excuse. Lo introduces layers to Last Night at the Telegraph Club by adding POV chapters from Lily's family. It becomes a story about the generational immigrant mentality, about their struggles for security and fears for the future.

While many might have heard about McCarthy and the Red Scare during the 1950s, the Lavender Scare is not as well know. The Lavender Scare was a time where gays and lesbians were targeted by the federal government. Homophobia was common as most did not understand the complexities of gender and sexual identity. Amidst the Black Civil Rights movement, the LGBTQ right movements began in the 1950s.

Malinda Lo’s beautiful novel about intersectionality is excellent historical fiction that “un-erases” lesbian history and Chinese American history in the 1950s. The 1950s come to life in culture, fashion, and media throughout the narrative. Readers follow Lily Hu as she begins to ask questions about sexuality and gender that eventually lead her to befriend Kath. They venture across San Francisco visiting historical sites and find their way to the Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar. The novel bring to life the fears and anxieties that LGBTQ individuals experienced during the Cold War. Because of Lily’s Chinese heritage and changes as a result of the Communist Revolution in China, her character experiences complex emotions about remaining connected to her family despite the feelings she doesn’t quite understand. The novel documents the prevalence of homophobia and racism that was rampant in the 1950s. In addition to the novel, the author provides a summary of her historical research along with resources and materials. The list is helpful for readers who want to learn more about the time period and specific events.

It takes a while for the plot to get going and there are some flashbacks that I am quite sure how they helped further the storylines. The first half of the novel moved a little slowly and the ending was abrupt. There was a lot of world building, which is helpful because the readers feels as if they were in San Francisco in the 1950s.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this story of coming of age, first loves, set in Chinatown, San Francisco. Lily is a whip-smart and dutiful daughter who slowly realizes over the course of the novel that she is gay. This realization and actions resound through her close-knit family. Adding to the depth of this novel are family histories, interracial love, and a lesbian bar called The Telegraph Club.

Content Warnings: racism/racial slurs, outdated/offensive terminology (Malinda Lo specifically writes why she decides to use these terms, as she wanted to be as true to the 1950s as possible), homophobia, physical abuse, emotional abuse, underage drinking, body horror (war context), mention of miscarriage, external & internalised lesbomisia, queermisia, heteronormative language, sexism & misogyny, deportation discussed, death of a father

Last Night at the Telegraph Club has it all: the cute, the sweet, the tough moments, the coming-of-age narrative. But most of all, it's a hopeful queer love story, even in the face of the turmoil of 1950s America.

My heart was truly captured by the cute moments, and I felt grounded in the era Lily lives in partly because of how her coming out story parallels the uncertainty and chaos rising to the surface with threats of Communism dominating the mainstream. She's both fighting and growing more confident her sexuality, while the events now known to history are quickly becoming intersected with her life.

An important piece of Last Night at the Telegraph Club is its constant evaluation of "Who is an American?" and how exactly are we defining "American"? What makes us include or exclude a person from this definition we have created? "American" is so malleable and flexible; yet, there are times when we treat it as if it's a clear cut identity that is easy to define.

In addition, since Lily (the main character) is Chinese American and she lives in San Francisco's Chinatown, there were definitely parts in the book where I was nodding my head in agreement. I also liked how Malinda Lo included both Mandarin and Cantonese (sometimes romanized and sometimes in characters), since both are spoken. There are occasionally footnotes to explain the meaning or the general translation can be understood from the context of the sentence/chapter etc.

I was pleasantly surprised when the flashbacks appeared. I think that these flashbacks gave the story more depth, time-wise, since they were told from the perspectives of Lily's mother and Lily's aunt Judy. Their stories blend into Lily's in her present-day.

There wasn't much that I explicitly disliked, but I cannot stand Shirley, Lily's best friend. Oh my goodness. Cannot stand her. However, since we are seeing Shirley from Lily's perspective, and Lily does acknowledge some of Shirley's as a person/friend, I grudgingly went along. Lo does make a good point about toxic and manipulative friendships through the Lily and Shirley dynamic.

The only small thing that got me was that the ending was pretty jarring. Since there's a time jump, I think that's what caught me off guard. But it is a hopeful ending, so yay!

In other things: can we talk about the cover for Last Night at the Telegraph Club?? After reading and taking another look at the image, you can really feel like you're on the street that the Telegraph Club is situated. I recognized some of the places mentioned in the book, and, of course, there's Lily and Kath in the corner!! I love how the cover is bursting with life and possibilities.

I think it's also important to mention that Lo provides some more historical context at the end of the book plus a select bibliography as well. These additions are a testament to her research and rounding out how she tells the story of a lesbian Chinese American girl living in San Francisco's Chinatown in the '50s.

f you're looking for a pure happiness sapphic story, I would be a little cautious with Last Night at the Telegraph Club because there are definitely some heavy topics discussed such as racism, Communism, lesbophobia/queerphobia.

However, I would definitely recommend! There's something for everyone here, and if all of its elements speak to you, then Last Night at the Telegraph Club might be perfect for you: history, lesbians!!, San Francisco nightlife in the 1950s, and the Asian diaspora, to name a few things!

TW: period typical racism, homophobia, sexism

If you are looking for a way to break into the realm of historical fiction this is a great book to do it with. "Last Nigh at the Telegraph Club" is the story of two girls falling in love in 1950's San Francisco during the red scare. Chinese-American teenager Lily Hu is our main character and she is captivated by the Telegraph Club which is a lesbian bar she sees an ad for and thus begins her journey of self discovery. She is fascinated with the feelings she has for the club as well as their main act, Tommy Andrews, a male impersonator. She befriends a girl from her school, Kath, who has been to the club and they begin to go together and lose themselves amid Communist anxiety and harsh prejudice against homosexuals. This story is about Lily finding herself both in terms of her sexuality and who she wants to be. We see her grow and learn about her new feelings as a relationship between Lily and Kath develops and Lily owns her sexuality.

I read a lot of historical romance but most of it is based in the regency era and follows straight white love stories so I was really looking forward to breaking out of my comfort zone. This book was a great way to start reading about a different historical era while still focusing heavily on romance which I loved. I have to admit that I think this is the first story I've read that focuses on a WLW relationship and I am here for it. Lily and Kath made my heart ache as their connection felt so pure and their fondness for one another was so human (if that makes sense). I felt like I was right there with them experiencing their journey. Lo's writing drew me in and I could always visualize exactly where she wanted the reader to be whether it was bustling Chinatown or the Telegraph Club filled with warmth and new experiences. The classroom scene with Kath and Lily was probably the highlight of this book and I literally can't describe the feelings it gave me. Watching Lily figure out her sexuality and discover herself was so poignant and the way that Lo wrote everything was so nuanced. I sped through the last chunk of the book anxious and greedy for more as there were so many questions I had that needed an answer.

However, while there were many positives to this book I also had a few problems that really hindered my reading. For instance, one of the main conflict points is that this story takes place during the red scare with the threat of deportation for Communism running rampant. But, there really is no conflict or big event regarding the threat of Communism. It felt like just a backdrop and I wish the author would have done more to use it as a plot device. There were a few mentions of it affecting Lily's family but it's really never touched upon again in a major way. In addition, there is a scene where Lily unknowingly goes to a youth Communist group picnic that some of her friends are a part of. However, the picnic is only mentioned once or twice and then forgotten about and those characters are pushed to the side. Even towards the end when there is a seemingly important discovery that I thought would be talked about more it is quickly covered during an argument and then boom done. There are also a lot of chapters that follow Lily and her childhood best friend Shirley as they navigate their bumpy friendship. This in itself isn't a bad thing as I think it added to the story and helped readers understand Lily and her relationships better. The problem is there were so many unnecessary (in my opinion) scenes with them including random picnics, dress shopping, and more preparation for Miss Chinatown. While all of this is happening there is a huge part of the climax that is yet to be answered and we as readers have to suffer through these chapters while still hoping our questions are answered. Unfortunately, I really feel like my questions were never answered. There is a big conflict scene towards the end that is very important and emotional but the actual ending left me unsatisfied. I was disappointed and I felt like the epilogue came way too quickly. What happened? Time passes and we never really get answers which left a lackluster ending for me. Furthermore, there are a few chapters that include POV switches to Lily's aunt, mom, and dad that I felt pretty unnecessary. If anythingLily's aunts chapters made some kind of sense for the plot but the mom and dad just felt out of place.

So while I spoke of quite a few negatives above my overall enjoyment of this book kind of outweighed them. This love story will stick with me and I encourage others to read it. I'm giving it 3.5/5 stars, it was beautiful book filled with love and heartache and It exposed me to a different time with different culture

i received a free ARC from Penguin Teen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Penguin Teen for the chance to read this wonderful book.

This was such a lovely YA historical fiction read! When it comes to themes of identity, it takes on quite a lot -- our main character is a wonderful exploration of what it meant to be Chinese American and queer in the 1950s. I think Malinda Lo took on a difficult task and did a wonderful job of it. While the setting is fun and lively, the plot itself is fairly straightforward. The power of the story largely lies in the MC's introspection and the hidden world (of the Telegraph Club) that slowly unfurls to her. I think this book will appeal to many, including fans of Kristin Lambert's The Boy in the Red Dress!

Thank you Penguin Teen for providing an e-galley through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It's always great to see more historical fiction touching on time periods we see less often (heads up: not everything needs to be set during World War II!) and featuring marginalized characters. The setting and the sense of the 1950s was really strongly evoked, and I really appreciated the balance between realism and hope in the story and the ending in particular, letting readers know that despite the hardship, queer people did live happy and fulfilled and loving lives throughout history. However, I found the pacing extremely slow - it's often the sort of story where not much happens - and the focus on both the Red and Lavender Scares to be overly peripheral to the recountings of relationships and everyday happenings. Additionally, while the flashbacks outside of Lily's perspective seemed intended to elucidate on the concept of American identity and the importance of fitting in to her family, I didn't find them particularly effective in that regard, or at least no more so than the main POV.

Malinda Lo created an enrapturing story about Lily, a young woman pulled in two binary directions struggling to fulfil societal and familial roles, and follow her heart. The friend conflict was powerfully realistic, painfully accurate. This was such an easy book to devour, just utterly get lost in this world, I didn't want it to end. Lo included little timelines that helped me place this historical fiction in its proper place, that was a such a huge help to orient myself. Thanks to Netgalley and Dutton Books for Young Readers for an e-arc.

The lush narrative envelopes the reader in the internal dynamics of a teen girl coming into her own in a detailed historical romance.

I am <i>so</i> not the audience for this book and yet, I couldn't put it down. Thanks to a recommendation, I found this via NetGalley and am offering up a review.

I teach high school English at a private school that in most years hosts a fair number of students from China. A book like this would be fascinating for them as it explores Chinese immigrant culture from 70 years ago, during a decade when everything seems poised for explosive change.

It's the mid-1950s and Lily Hu is living the typical Chinatown life in San Francisco when she embraces the notion that she is a lesbian. She comes to this realization on her own, but blossoms when she and her classmate Katrh connect and explore what this means by visits to a lesbian nightclub.

Were it just that, the book would have been a fine LGBTQ+ YA novel, but Malinda Lo layers it with issues affecting the adults in her world. The hunt for Communists threatens her father, who treated a patient who turned out to be a Communist sympathizer for the newly Communist China. His citizenship papers have been seized.

Lo also nicely gives us flashbacks to both of Lily's parents and her aunt Judy, showing their experiences coming to America and assimilating a generation earlier. It's not often the adults get such a spotlighting YA fiction so this is most welcome.

Lily explores this new world in secret but when the secret is exposed, the repercussions drive the final act and help her (and the readers) realize she is far from alone. Sympathy comes from unexpected corners.

The book is nicely realized and if Lo is to be faulted for anything, it's that Kath, the main Caucasian character, is underdeveloped.

Lo is to be commended for the back matter, placing much of the events in the historic and cultural context.

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing book to start off my reading for 2021! I read this book in the span of 2 days which shows just how difficult this book is to put down. Once I started reading it, I was so invested in Lily's story and wanting to know what was going to happen next that I just had to keep reading. While I really enjoyed this book, I do want to warn readers about content warnings for this book such as: racism, homophobia and offensive language that was often used during the time that this book is set in which is the 1950's. I'm sure there are many others but these are the three that stuck out to me the most while reading.

I really appreciate reading a historical fiction book that focuses on a non-white main character and the struggles that she faces during this time. I feel like the historical fiction genre is saturated with white stories and I appreciate reading from a different perspective. I think Lily as a main character is compelling and one that I found myself rooting for and wanting the absolute best for. I think the author does an incredible job weaving this story and telling a harrowing tale of a Chinese-American girl trying to find her true self while battling the oppressive nature of the time period. The ending is so bittersweet, I would totally take a sequel to this! But it was a satisfying ending but it made me so sad to say goodbye to these characters (but that's the beauty of rereading!)

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book from beginning to end and found it so difficult to put down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an out of the box YA historical fiction that touches on more difficult topics such as racism and homophobia. This is such a good book and one that I will definitely be recommending all year long! And a book that I desperately need a physical copy of once it comes out later this month on January 19! Thank you again to the lovely publisher for sending me an early copy of this phenomenal book.

Malinda Lo's latest Last Night at the Telegraph Club is exquisite. She creates such a vivid world that lives and breathes as though it could exist as an actual world today. It does not feel like a download of historical facts even though it is rich with history about how people lived during the Communist scare. and how terrifying it could be for anyone accused of being or being associated with Communist.. It's also bursting with queer history that I've never seen in YA before. This is amazing and I can't wait to get it into my students' hands! The risks that people took in this time to connect with their community at places like the Telegraph Club are extremely high. It could cost them everything. Today's readers may not know queer history like this and Lo delivers it with compelling characters and deep nuance. This is truly an outstanding book. I have already pre-ordered my own copy and will be using it as an example of how to write historical fiction with my creative writing students. They are going to love it.

I've thought this over, and I've gone back and forth between 4-5 stars, finally settling on 4. This book is great, and I enjoyed reading it, but I don't think I will ever read it again, and that's my parameter for 5 stars.

I won a netgalley arc of this from Yallwrite! Thank you! All my opinions are based on the unreleased copy I read.

"There are no homosexuals in this family. Are you my daughter?"

The ending was abrupt and, while somewhat expected, still a surprise that reminded me of how very far we've come in regards to lgbtqia rights and freedom to exist.

I really enjoyed the setting. I don't think that I've ever read a book that was set in the 1950s, and I definitely haven't read one from the pov of a Chinese American teenager. I learned a lot about the 1950s lesbian community, Chinatown, pre WWII Chinese immigration, McCarthyism, the Chinese Japanese war, and the Chinese civil war, etc. These are things that were glossed over, if not completely ignored in my history classes in the 1990s.

I really enjoyed the characters. I don't think there was any character I didn't like, save the one you're supposed to not like by the end. But that brings us to the true meaning behind my 4 rather than 5 stars... The communism storyline felt so superfluous. SPOILER It starts off serious, father had his papers taken away because he won't lie and say someone is a communist, and ends with Lily being sent away because having a lesbian daughter and suspected communist ties might be enough to get dad deported...? I realize this was a different time and that combination was probably possible, but it sure felt like it came out of left field and was there merely for convenience.

When it first happened, I didn't know what to think about the chapters told from other character's pov (Lily's relatives). But as I read more of the novel, I enjoyed the peeks into the past, and getting to know her parents and aunt better. I do wish we could have gotten more one on one with Aunt Judy, though. She seemed like the perfect person to help Lily there at the end.

All in all, I enjoyed Last Night at the Telegraph Club and I'm very thankful I was able to read an arc before it's released!

I enjoyed this novel, for the most part. Lily was an interesting character to follow, and her struggle between her Chinatown life and her Telegraph life felt very relatable. I did not quite understand the purpose of the flashbacks from the different character's perspectives. I also wished that we would have found out something happened to Shirley because she was the worst.