Review – Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
Length: 415 pages
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 19, 2021
ASIN‏ : ‎ B087BGBJ83
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed eBook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.

But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book from the library to read.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book a lot. It’s set in the 1950’s in San Francisco and there are a ton of interesting historical events in the background here. Lily is affected by Red-Scare paranoia and is trying to walk a fine line as a Chinese American. Women are starting to break away from the “norms” that have been set for them as well. In addition to all that, GLBT culture is starting to work its way out into the open in San Francisco. Then there is the intriguing popularity of female male impersonators.

Watching Lily and Kathleen attempt to navigate this changing world is fascinating. Aside from that this ends up being a very sweet love story between the two. The turmoil and acceptance (or not) of their families is intriguing, heartwarming, and heartbreaking all at once.

This story is incredibly well written with amazing description, a wonderfully intriguing setting, and very human characters. This book was incredibly hard to put down and I really loved it. Previous to reading this book I had also enjoyed “Ash” and “Huntress” by Lo; I was not a huge fan of her “Adaptation” series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely loved this book. It blended together so many amazing elements. I loved the historical setting, the complex characters, and the amazing writing. This was one of the best books by Lo I have read in some time and I look forward to seeing what Lo comes up with next.