Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Last night at the Telegraph Club

Lo just knows how to tell a good story, so with that and the LGBTQ historical fiction topic AND it's Vermont Reads pick of the year, I wanted to at least give it a try. She does a great job describing the world Lily lives in. San Francisco feels like a character within itself. The little blips of experiences of her family were interestingly used to frame the reader on where Lily is coming from based on the experiences of her family. Particularly when this "don't say gay" mess is going around, this seems like a very timely book.

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sashahc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read Malindo Lo's "Last Night at the Telegraph Club" and oboy what a lovely and heartaching book. Sweet baby dykes in Chinatown and North Beach San Francisco during the 1950s. It was so evocative and touching. I'll definitely re-read this one.

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mcreasman's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

TW: homophobia and family issues related to homophobia, racism. I really liked this book up until the big conflict, which I hated but was anticipating. The story itself is so well written and the characters are cuties. This is a historical fiction based in the 1950s following an Asian-American girl who finds herself questioning her sexuality. The romance is so cute that I had to scream into a pillow a few times. The historically accurate ending was soul crushing but true to the time. I’d recommend this book, but be aware that there’s blatant homophobia and racism.

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cvbattum's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was so much more than the lighthearted young adult novel I had been expecting. It's a raw, unfiltered look into a lovely young girl growing up in a world that doesn't take well to her. It's engrossing and rich, with a depth to it that hurts.

I think my main praise goes out to the prose. It's simple, but so incredibly effective at communicating several layers of emotions at once. It's written in a way that's easy to understand for younger people without shying away from horrific realities that will sometimes border on psychological horror. The message is subtle but couldn't have been screamed louder. It knows exactly what needs to be said, and what needs to be said without words. The world is so vibrant and lively that it could easily bleed into reality.

As a slightly older reader (25), this was still thoroughly enjoyable. It's a pure and raw depiction of love and growing up, and while it's aimed at a lower reading level, there's so much that goes unsaid between the lines which I'm sure can only be appreciated fully with a few more years. It's a cautionary tale if nothing else, and I feel like this should be read by anyone, period.

This comes highly recommended, and I will surely be reading it again as well.

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ghostlyprince's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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