I have to admit, I've been getting tired about coming out stories as LGBTQ YA fiction. It's not that we're somehow past coming out being a thing people deal with, far from it, but I do feel like it can crowd out the other kinds of stories we should tell about queer people. While this isn't marketed just as a coming out story, I reasonably assumed that would be part of the plot. This is the part of the review where I might say, "So, when I opened this book, I was nervous about what I was going to read..."

Except I wasn't. In Malinda Lo we trust, and that trust was not misplaced.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is great in a lot of ways, but I'm going to focus on three aspects of it: it's excellent depiction of self-discovery, it has a coming out arc that diverges from stereotype (and finds more truth for doing it), and it's the kind of YA historical fiction that makes me want to read more YA historical fiction.

This book has been blurbed, and will be by other reviewers I'm sure, but here's my spin if you're only reading this one review:

Chinese-American teenager Lily Hu is captivated by a newspaper ad for male impersonator Tommy Andrews, who performs at the Telegraph Club, but would likely never do anything about it- until she discovers her classmate, Kath, has been to the Telegraph Club before. Would Lily like to come with her, sometime? Over her senior year of high school, Lily discovers who she is, who she loves, and what her life might look like, against a backdrop of Communist anxiety amid post-war prosperity.

While the coming out arc is important, the primary driving force of this book is self-discover.y It seems to be a meme on the author's Twitter that this book has a lot of noticing, and noticing of noticing--and while this can be and has been done badly by many writers (myself included in that list, probably), Lo shows how noticing (and noticing-noticing) are driving forces of self-discovery. All through the book, I was struck by the details Lily's limited 3rd person perspective provided. Descriptions of boys in the book are kind but perfunctory; descriptions of girls and women are pointed and yearning. I'm confident that without a title, blurb, or marketing campaign, most people reading this would still figure out Lily was gay before she does. Watching Lily figure it out herself is delicious dramatic irony, but also poignant and true.

I won't discuss specifics of the coming out arc-- I think it happening doesn't really constitute a spoiler, but anything past that probably would. I will say, though, that I was surprised by it multiple times. I had strong preconceived notions of what happened in coming out narratives, but at some point realized there were not enough pages in the book for things to end how I expected them to. This was challenging in a great way, and again, felt true to the time and place. There's also a lot of nuance to the way people react to her coming out, in a way that keeps them from being written off as just homophobic.

I honestly don't read very much YA historical fiction, but books like this make me want to read more. There's something really compelling about the sort of low-to-the-ground perspective on historical events a teenager can bring-- their limited understanding means details can be presented without being over interpreted, and people can explain things to them (and us) without it feeling contrived. Beyond Lily's exploration of the lesbian bar scene in 1950's San Francisco, we also learn about the ongoing geopolitical issues with China, Lily's family's worries about being Chinese-American amidst that, and vivid details of life for a teenager in the 1950's. Lo clearly did a lot of research, and appends the book with a few pages of further historical detail on what came up in the book. I have to be honest, I normally skip these, but the book had made me so interested in it all that I really appreciated it (and it was well-written, just like the rest of the book).

My one caution, for librarians recommending this book: I probably wouldn't hand this to most younger teens. Despite a joking threat of Lo's on Twitter at one point, the book isn't particularly sexually graphic or inappropriate (there is a fair amount of underage drinking, I guess). It's just kind of difficult, honestly. I loved it and devoured it, but there's a lot of darkness in the book, and adults who aren't kind, and unresolved hurt. It's a complicated, wonderful book that deserves to be read, but in the wrong hands could be a little bit overwhelming.

Overall, I'm blown away by so much about this book, a lot of which I didn't even touch on. I'm buying a copy in anticipation of a re-read someday, or to hand it to others (or just to look at the gorgeous cover). Don't miss this one.

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.

This is a really well-researched novel from a rare POV, first generation Chinese American and immigrant families living in Chinatown during the '50's. The narration does an amazing job of illustrating the male gaze, and especially how it effects Asians without being preachy at all. The novel shares two different timelines with different coming-of-age experiences that really play well off each other.
Again, very well-researched. I think this book could withstand several readings to glean more.

I was given an early release copy of this book on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Last Night at the Telegraph club tells the story of Lily, an American Chinese girl living in Chinatown San Francisco in the 1950s. It was a scary period for Chinese people who were worries because the American government suspected everyone of being a communists at this time. The threat of being deported was very real and was constantly looming over people.
Lily had very strong ambitions. She wanted to go to college and work to go to space. It was her dream and she wanted it so badly. She didn't care about marriage and children like those around her peers did. At school there was one girl who suddenly understood. Her name was Kat and she had dreams as well. She wanted to be an airplane pilot. The two girl were drawn together and started a friendship that later turned into a sweet romance. Being two girls in love wasn't easy in the 1950s and the two go to the Telegraph Club, a bar where they can show who they truly are with more freedom. My favorite part of the story was the night club scenes where Lily was able to meet people like her and be a part of the LGBTQ+ community while discovering her feelings for Kath.
The author did an incredible and thorough job researching this time period. I appreciated the additional reads suggested at the end of the novel for anyone interested in the topics discussed who wanted to know more. The author definitely knows what she's talking about and that was demonstrated in her writing. Her care in describing every little aspect in the novel was so clear.
I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a YA book that's historically accurate and has a lot of good representation.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Well researched and transportive historical fiction with excellent LGBTQIA+ representation. High praise for the supporting characters.

This is a must buy for libraries and a great read. It made me laugh and cry and it was so engrossing. I didn't want to finish it too fast, but I ended up reading the second half in one sitting.

It’s clear that Lo conducted meticulous research for this novel. It’s entirely immersive—readers will feel like they are walking next to Lily through Chinatown and sitting with her and Kath at the Telegraph Club into the early hours of the morning. There is so much history to learn in this novel without it being formal or academic.

My heart broke for Lily so many times throughout this novel. She’s a character that you just WANT to root for because of her plight and because she’s just a great teen. Lily is queer and she’s Chinese-American. This is such an underrepresented intersection and I’m ecstatic that Lo created this character.

The relationship between Lily and Kath is a slow burn, but I think that’s realistic for that time period. They couldn’t be out to their family, friends, or community because they could be arrested, disowned, or worse. Despite it being a slow burn, I didn’t feel like the novel was slow. It was just right for the relationship.

Overall I highly recommend this novel, it was beautiful, immersive, and heartbreaking.

Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a thoroughly researched and well imagined dive into history and first love. Encompassing her research of minority women working in aviation with 1950s queer history, Lo has crafted a tale full of historical context while also placing the budding love and coming out story of its main character, Lily Hu.

I really enjoyed the unique style in which the author crafted the story. The chapter breaks include some timelines about what was happening in the world in terms of Chinese American legislation, McCarthyism, and in the events of the Hu family's life. Flashback scenes by Lily's family members give the reader a firsthand look at immigrant life during a time where deportation threats, government allegiance, and the rise of the "Joneses" perfect image plagued the nation. Lily is faced with dire consequences over who she hangs out with and who she is. While the consequences are severe, you can't help but root for Lily every step of the way to explore and accept who she is and embrace the power of first love. This book is a wonderful historical fiction novel with queer main characters. While published as YA, it is easily an enjoyable adult crossover read. It'll remind you what it feels like to be kissed by someone you've just fallen head over heels for.

I think the book was very good, but I felt like the story was a bit too slow paced for my liking. I still greatly appreciated the story telling and narration none the less, but I didn’t really connect with the main character.

Beautiful love story set in 1950's San Francisco and Chinatown. As historical fiction, it's different style from Lo's previous fantasy and Sci fi, but still told with her signature queer teen heroines. Great description of the male impersonation singers and the fear of McCarthism.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing book! Every aspect of this book is simply stunning - the plot, the characters, the setting, and the writing style. The main character is Lily Hu, a 17-year-old Chinese American girl in San Francisco in the 1950s, who realizes that she is queer and goes to a lesbian club to find a community of people that she can fit into. She falls in love with another girl at school, but she has to hide her true identity and feelings from her traditional Chinese American family and others around her who disapprove of her so-called "deviant" lifestyle. While I personally am not queer, I really appreciate that books like this exist and I think this book is an incredibly powerful narrative about queer identity and the journey to self-discovery. I learned a lot about the historical context of the 1950s, and I really felt like I was living the story along with Lily since the writing style is so evocative. All the characters felt real and deep to me, and I also loved the small chapters that go back in time and show the perspectives of some of Lily's family members. This is truly an incredible book, and I would highly recommend it to just about anyone!

Ideally I'd love to see LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB reach readers to the same extent that George Takei's THEY CALLED US ENEMY did, educating as well as engaging readers about the world of San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s (and beyond, as Malinda shares stories of Lily's family members). I also hope it reaches some of the readers of Ellen Klages' PASSING STRANGE, with its focus on the life of women who love women in historic San Francisco.

A beautiful story about 2 teen girls falling in love in the 1950s.

Lo's descriptions bring us into 1950s Chinatown, where I could feel myself living while reading this book. The story is about young love - but at that time very forbidden between 2 girls. Lily dreams of rockets and Kath dreams of flying airplanes.

The only place the two can feel truly themselves is at the Telegraph Club. Fake ids get them in, friends made keep them going. There was nothing gratuitous in the story. Nothing beyond what a young adult book should be.

Intertwined with the "present" of Lily's day were the histories of her parents and aunt. While interesting, I did not ever feel they were needed for the story. A good history lesson for sure, but wanted those diversions to lead to something

Recommend for grades 10 and up.

This book focuses on an area of history that is often ignored: the stigma rampant in San Francisco around the LGBTQ community in post-World War II America. The story is intricately woven between a search for identity and the oppression of family and community.

Once again, Lo has created a fully engaging and complex world — albeit this time it's historical, not fantasy! A beautiful novel that spotlights an often ignored corner of history, replete with characters that stay with you long after the book is over.

This was a phenomenal book! I'm slow to get into historical fiction, but the queer element of this made is so much more powerful and moving. Truly one that cannot be missed!