Last Night at the Telegraph Club

This book was all kinds of awesome. Explores lesbian culture in SF yet it's fictionalized, but still brings you back to the 1950s in a way that feels real. Really cool historical fiction and exploration of an important time period for LGBTQ+

Killed me, I am dead

Was a great book, just not in the mood for this type of read. Will definitely revisit as some point! 

a very important story to be told. thought a lot about what it might've been like to be queer in the 50s in san francisco, especially considering the activism that followed in the 60s/70s. and also the experiences of being a (chinese) migrant/2nd gen at that time. seems like the world has changed so much yet so little since then.

I have so much to say - I loved this book. I bought it in 2021, but until now, I had never read past the first few chapters. My only regret is that I hadn't read it sooner. It was a quick and easy read despite its size. I, personally, have never felt so represented by a piece of media as a queer Chinese-American woman. In the Author's Note, Malinda talks about the research she did and explains why she chose certain Chinese verbiage over others, and it all just makes sense. It feels like this book was written with love. It is apparent that there was a real effort to represent queerness and Chinese culture during World War II with dignity, while acknowledging the harsh reality of the time. I would highly recommend.

it took me embarrassingly long to get thru this book but i did really like it it's so cute

A cute, sapphic historical romance. I appreciated all the history and research woven in, you can tell the author really wanted to the Chinese American and the LGBTQ+ experiences in the 50's and 60's justice. Lily's journey of self awareness and acceptance was inspiring and well done.  But sometimes the plot would veer off course, and we get stuck with filler chapters of relative's backstories. There were also a lot of minor plot points that don't get resolved. 

Beautifully written and heart wrenching.

Die Geschichte von Lily wurde so gut erzählt, man fühlt sich, als wäre man selbst in San Francisco in den 50ern.

Wirklich ein sehr gutes Buch, das einen am Ende schon zu Tränen rühren kann

THIS BOOK WAS SO CUTE!!!!!!!!! I love love love Lily and her story and development and all the little lesbians. I feel like there could've been more historical context? Like they brought up communism a lot but it seemed like it should've been more important but then it wasn't??? Anyway the ending was SO SAD but then it wasn't????? Which was beautiful because if they didn't get a happy ending I think I would riot. Love love love

4.5

No puedo describir todas las emociones que me hizo pasar este libro :”).

Malinda Lo, presento en una increible manera Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Posee personajes e historias completas, que conectan con el lector. En mi caso, pude identificarme especificamente con Lily y su camino hacia el autodescubrimiento, aparte de la relación con sus padres. Fue una muy buena lectura en general, e incluso me atrevería a decir que una de mis lecturas saficas preferidas.

Lo que me impidió darle cinco estrellas fue el hecho de que Calvin y su grupo tienen demasiada importancia al inicio de la historia para ser olvidados unos capitulos después. Y, el epilogo lo sentí un tanto incompleto, o tal vez sea la fangirl en mi que esperaba un poco más de Kath y Lily.
De resto, fue una inolvidable e increible lectura.

This is a book that has been recommended to me more times than I can count. I went into it with no knowledge of any of the plot, besides the fact that it was sapphic. That is the best way to approach a book like this.

I'm always nervous about reading a book when I see how high of a rating it has but Last Night At The Telegraph Club lived beyond any expectations that I had. This is the perfect example of a book that deserves more hype despite having lots already.

When I'm reading historical fiction, this is what I have in mind. I want to learn about the past and read how it is incorporated into the story. This touched on identity, sexuality, race, deportation, communism and many other heavy topics. I felt like I learned so much just by reading this. I also love that it included the translations at the bottom of the pages in scenes where the characters would speak in Chinese.

The love, the self-discovery, the found family...

It's not often that a book from the Young Adult genre hits me so profoundly but I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

I wish I could give this more than five stars.

This book was my first finished read of 2023 and what a delightful start to the year it was. The writing is beautiful, the characters are compelling and it really felt like it could have been a real story.

The book ends on extensive notes by the author regarding the research she did and the language she used in the book which I found really interesting.

i really enjoyed this!! i loved how real all the characters felt and i especially enjoyed the flashback chapters we would get from lily's parents and her aunt judy. it's also incredibly clear how much research and thought malinda lo put into these characters and this story, truly a peak into what life was like for a queer chinese american teen girl in a time where one half of who she was made her an outcast to the other half.

This was a fun book to read, some parts were a bit too slow for me with not much going on and the end left a lot of things unresolved which didn't bother me too much but it's still somewhat.. noticeable? I loved that the protagonist is Chinese-American and lives in Chinatown because although that was not the main focus of this book, I feel like it was something different from the usual books you might find and read. It's clearly YA and sometimes I feel like it moves a bit too fast other times a bit too slow but overall it was really enjoyable.

Perfectly readable queer coming of age in San Francisco. Easy recommend, tons of great history but never feels stodgy or overwhelming. The human element is always prioritized.

Really good, although I feel like the end should've been longer as it left me a bit confused and rather disappointed.

This book was so so so good. I loved the cultural references both to queer culture and Asian-American culture during this era. An absolutely beautiful love story and a fantastic piece of historical fiction. I wish I had this when I was a queer teen.

while this book had its faults, it featured three things that matter so much to me: 1) queer coming of age 2) discussions centering immigrants/asian-americans vs. the american government 3) san francisco, my lovely little hometown

i was hooked by the setting alone, partially because i'm homesick but also partially because how can you not be romantic about roaming the streets of san francisco (even on a windy day)? but the story pulled me in, with all of its rich layers and the main character, lily, not only having to grapple with being chinese-american during the 1950s, but also being queer and a girl who thinks in equations and the laws of physics. lily's entire existence is “non-traditional” and seeing her confront this throughout the book hit close to home but also felt like a warm hug. 70 years later, it's still kind of scary to be a queer asian girl in america for many reasons, but to see lily (& kath!) persevere was wonderful

4.75

This book was wayyyyyy too good. This was some of the most authentic, nuanced high school portrayals and characters that I've read. It rarely fell into some of the cliches of high school romance (apart from some Shirley stuff) and it deftly handled so many complex topics within its characters. The LGBT community, high school drama, Red Scare, women in science, San Francisco, and Chinese American identity were all elegantly interwoven within Lily's life in a way that made her feel so alive and real. Her struggle really opened my eyes to perspectives that I had never really considered and it managed to do so with a compelling narrative that kept me invested.

My only issues came from some overly dramatic bits in the beginning that felt very “floaty” and the places where the book meandered a bit too much.

A beautiful book that sucked me in with excellent world building, a complex and compelling main character and a sweet romance with painful spots but ultimately an ending with promise and love. I loved dreaming with Lily in this world, her journey to reach tenaciously for what and who she loves.

i'm so glad this book had a semi happy ending, i wouldn't be able to live it it didn't

anyways loved this book and how it incorporated queer/lesbian history. such a good read.

Theoretically this sounded great but it failed to deliver. The characters were not believable, the plot not compelling enough to make finishing worth my time. I feel like Malindo Lo wanted to write something set in a particular time and place but lacked a good story to bring it to life.

Definitely a historical novel and very well written. Different from the style of books I usually read. Different but very good. More serious feeling but not too heavy? The setting felt so real.

Thanks Penguin Teen and NetGalley for both the digital ARC and finished physical copy. This has not influenced my review one way or the other.

While I don't tend to read a lot of historical YA or even YA romance, I really loved this book. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a love letter to San Francisco, a cautionary tale about xenophobia and homophobia, a young woman's coming of age, and more. I thought Lo did a great job weaving in historical elements by showing instead of telling, and Lily's character development as she navigates friendships, family, and love felt very organic and rich.