Last Night at the Telegraph Club

This is a coming-of-age novel about a young Chinese American lesbian in 1950s San Francisco. There is a romance, but the book is much more focused on themes of belonging, self-discovery and community. The main character is at a sort of crossroads where it is dangerous to be herself: her family sees it as a risk to be a lesbian not just because of 1950s homophobia but because homosexuality is associated with communism and as Chinese Americans they are already automatically tarred with that brush; when she's in gay spaces she tends to be the only Asian and is treated like a sideshow attraction even by people who are kind to her. 

The ways that Lily discovered that there were people like her who could lead full lives really rang true to me (Lily realizing women could kiss each other from reading pulps at the drug store is also an interesting tie in to Malinda Lo's own work considering that she was writing mainstream LGBT YA in the pretty sparse early 2000s market) and despite the traumatic things that happen overall the book has an optimistic tone that I liked.

A friend recommended this one and I held off for a while, thinking it might feel a bit too YA for me.

But oh god, no, its so great!! The historical and cultural context is so well done. The characters are deeply loveable. I had nostalgia for the SF bay Area, where I grew up.

Its because of this book that I've started delving into queer YA as a genre.

Really lovely writing in an interesting time period/cultural era and a heartfelt romance. A little slow at times (breathless in others) but readers will surely care enough about Lily to continue the story.

4.5/5 stars

I am in love with this book. I really liked how the author describes sexual activity with just the right amount of detail such that you understand what the characters are doing (with emphasis on their feelings) without it being pornographic. I also appreciated the inclusion of Kath asking Lily “Is this okay?” during sex to normalize asking for consent during intense moments.

Just beautiful! Hopeful while being realistic for the 50s Lo does an amazing job with the setting - glamorous and secretive clubs! - and Lily is a great character.

I remember being at the YALSA ya lit symposium in 2014 or 2015 and listening to a panel about LGBTQ teen books. Some ignorant librarian asked whether a book that had a character with multiple identities was “too much for teens.” People literally gasped. Without missing a beat, Malinda Lo was like, “Well no, I exist and I'm not too much.” I'll always remember it because the applause was thunderous. Iconic.

This could have been more, but this was so well written it didn't bother me.

CW: racism, micro aggressions, usage of slurs, homophobia, xenophobia

I don't usually gravitate towards historical fiction; even when I do, it's been largely limited to romances or WWII European settings. But when I realized this book was about a queer Asian American girl in the 50s, I knew I had to pick it up immediately. And this was just wow.

I have always heard a lot about the author Malinda Lo, how she is a pioneer in both bringing Asian American authors as well as sapphic fiction to YA mainstream, but I never got around to reading any of her works before. However, I now realize why she is considered to be such an inspiration. The writing in this book is beautiful and stunning - I felt transported to 50s Chinatown in San Francisco because that's how powerful and vivid the author's descriptions are. It's both an exciting coming of age story of a young lesbian girl as well as a daily chronicle of life of Chinese American high school girls of the time - and I really loved how the author did justice to both aspects of the story. The story might feel mundane at times, but it's still high stakes and there were so many moments where I was scared, happy, devastated and hopeful - it takes us through a gamut of emotions and it's a true testament to the author's skill.

Lily is a typical Asian American child in many ways. She is a dutiful daughter like her parents expect, concentrating on her studies and socializing with kids whose families are acquaintances. But she is also an American who wants to be free and is ambitious enough to want to go to space and just wants to create her own destiny. In the midst of this turmoil of trying to fit in with both worlds, especially when she is not completely welcome in one, she also grapple with the realization of her sexuality - which is both thrilling and scary. But the author does such a brilliant job of bringing all these aspects of Lily's personality to life and I loved her so much. Her complicated friendship with her childhood friend, a budding forbidden relationship with another young girl and just wanting to know more about this new community that she could possibly belong to - it's all very vividly captured and made it very easy to empathize with Lily. The way the author explores various relationships, especially the ones between lesbian women whom Lily meets, who are trying to live their life and find places where they can be themselves, left a very deep impression on me.

Having recently read a couple of books about Asian American history, it was very intriguing to read more about McCarthyism and the red scare of the 50s, and the author shows us how terrifying it must have been for the Chinese Americans of the time, who had dedicated their lives to be good citizens but still had to prove that they weren't communist sympathizers, sometimes while realizing that anything they did would never be proof enough. What really surprised me was that there was also a fear during the time that homosexual was related to communism, and the author deftly explores how this would cause even more chaos in the life a young queer Asian girl, who is now doubly scared of being deported (or of her family being subjected to it) both for her sexuality as well as her ethnicity. The author's note at the end goes into much detail about what inspired her to write this story and how difficult it is to find more information about the lives of girls like Lily.

In the end, this is a coming of age tale of a girl whose stories are usually missing from the historical fiction genre - queer Asian Americans. As we all know that it's even more difficult to be openly queer in Asian families, it's really important that we get to read more of these stories - so that young Asian kids know that they aren't alone. If you like YA or coming of age stories or just historical fiction, I highly recommend this book.

Really enjoyed this one! Lo does a great job of introducing you to the culture of 50s Chinatown in San Francisco as well as the culture of underground queer clubs in a way that you can absolutely understand what's happening and what things are big deals, while not dragging the book down with long infodumps. It's a tough balance! And Lily and Kath are an adorable couple to root for.

Mild spoiler:
I appreciate also that this conveys the serious societal risks LGBTQ+ folks faced in the 50s while also showing the potential for happy endings