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!

Full disclosure: My reading tastes tend more towards urban fantasy and quirky realistic fiction. I picked this book up because Malinda Lo's "Ash" has long been one of my favorite fairy tale retellings. "The Telegraph Club"'s prose style is lyrical and reflective, lingering on little world-building details that highlight Chinatown and the queer scene in 1950s San Francisco.

That difference in style means that, rather than fly through the book like I normally would for favorites, I found myself reading more slowly to fully absorb a setting that to me, a white queer woman of the 2000s, felt more foreign than a fantasy. There simply are not YA books out there about the Red Scare, let alone with intersectional immigration and sexual identity politics. I felt like I learned a ton about the era, and it was all grounded in Lily's personal story of self-discovery.

The content and style reminds me of "The Glass Castle" and "The Kite Runner," while the characterization of San Francisco feels very "Tales of the City." The prose felt a little stilted at times, Lily's inner thoughts careful and methodical. Overall, not my usual preference but definitely worth the read.

I really enjoy books with alternating chapter voice - it makes me feel like I have a deeper connection to the characters and the story. This book will definitely find a place in the hearts of many high school students. The story provides a view of life from the not too distant past that many may not have realized, known or thought about. This is a rich, engaging and memorable read AND so much more! Thank NetGalley for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1950s, this book follows Lily, an Chinese American teenage girl, as she goes to high school, plans for a future where she'll hopefully work for JPL, and dealing with feelings towards other girls that she doesn't fully understand.

Just like so many teenagers, Lily doesn't quite feel like she fits in. She's interested in majoring in math college and working at JPL when she graduates from college. She's one of only two girls in the advanced math classes in her high school. She's Chinese American, and sometimes feel like that makes her not fit in with some of her peers at school as well. She's not interested in any boys, despite her best friend Shirley's attempts to set her up with one of their classmates. She's attracted to certain women, including her classmate Kath, but she doesn't understand this attraction, and deep down feels like she needs to hide these feelings, until one day she and Kath actually start getting to know each other. Lily not only has to deal with the fear of her family discovering her feelings for Kath, but also the fear of her family being accused of being Communists and her father being deported because his immigration papers were confiscated when he wouldn't accuse another Chinese American young man of being a Communist.

There are occasional flashbacks as well to Lily's parents when they are younger.