About the Book
-
Author:
- Malinda Lo
- Genres:
- Girl-Girl Romance
- Historical Fiction
- Voices:
- Chinese Diaspora
- Cis Girl
- Lesbian
Cover Story: Clandestine Couple in Chinatown
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Talky Talk: Lo and Behold
Bonus Factors: Chinatown; Let’s Go, Lesbians, Let’s Go!; Women in STEM; Frienemies
Relationship Status: I’ll Meet You at the Club
Cover Story: Clandestine Couple in Chinatown
Simply GORGEOUS work by cover artist FeiFei Ruan and cover designer Kristin Boyle. The vibrancy of San Francisco’s Chinatown might be muted, but only to shine a literal spotlight on Lily and Kath.
The paperback cover is actually a bit obscured, because AWARDS GALORE: National Book Award, Printz Honor, Stonewall Book Award, and Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Youth Literature Award. (I feel like a Westerosi squire who just recited someone’s titles, titles.) Luckily, you can see the full illustration here.
The Deal
With the Red Scare looming over the United States, 1954 is not a great time to be Chinese American — especially if you’re also a seventeen-year-old girl who’s discovering that you might like other girls.
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu has known Kathleen Miller for years, but in the sense that they’re the only girls in Advanced Math together. When they discover a common interest in a performer at the Telegraph Club, Lily and Kath get to know a covert community not bound by societal norms — and each other.
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Lily’s starting to find her own path and explore her sexuality — which are obvs great and wonderful developments. Even though I was cheering her on, I was also scared and STRESSED. Like, good for you for taking these risks, but I’m unfortunately burdened by what has been!!!
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Because of how Lily and Kath’s bond forms, they both know that the other is a safe person, which is such a luxury in their circumstances. Their romance develops so gradually and naturally out of friendship, like YES — this makes so much sense.
Talky Talk: Lo and Behold
Fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, and now historical — one of the only obvious commonalities in Malinda Lo’s work is sensational writing.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club mostly follows Lily’s perspective, with occasional flashbacks from her parents and aunt. It has a creative approach on handling diaspora bilingualism, with translated Traditional Chinese text and phonetic romanizations. From the author’s note:
I chose to romanize Chinese terms when Lily and others are speaking Chinglish — that is, when they speak primarily in English but throw in a few Chinese words. I used Chinese characters when the whole sentence or the character’s thoughts are entirely in Chinese.
Lo’s meticulous research is evident in the book’s specificity in time and place, as well as the establishing timelines which place character milestones in the context of real-life events. She also doesn’t sugarcoat the casual racism, xenophobia, and homophobia of the time, even from characters who the reader is “supposed to” otherwise like. Nuance is still alive!
Bonus Factor: Chinatown
San Francisco itself is already such a distinct setting, but its Chinatown is really a world within a world. More broadly, the novel is peppered with vivid details from Chinese and Chinese American culture. (I was basically the Leo pointing meme.)
Bonus Factor: Let’s Go, Lesbians, Let’s Go!
Not only do Lily and Kath find each other, but they also find community. Through the Telegraph Club, their worlds expand with the glimpses of what their lives could be like. Even though their new friends seem so much older and more sophisticated than the girls, they’re all young women in their 20s trying their best to navigate a society that doesn’t accept them.
Bonus Factor: Women in STEM
Joining Lily and Kath for STEM representation is Aunt Judy, who works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a computer. (Back when being a computer was a human’s job, and not a technological gateway to many horrors that fits in the palm of your hand.)
Bonus Factor: Frienemies
For most of their friendship, Shirley’s been the queen bee and Lily her loyal sidekick. But sometimes when you grow up, you also grow apart, even if no one’s willing to admit it yet. While Lily sees the end of high school as the start of new possibilities, Shirley is resigned to following in her restaurateur parents’ footsteps, so she’s making the most of her remaining freedom by imposing her will on everything she can — including Lily.
Relationship Status: I’ll Meet You at the Club
… both the Telegraph Club and the FYA Book Club, that is! Malinda Lo has long been one of my faves; she’s such a thoughtful and versatile writer, and I’m so happy that our book club will be reading this gem, which saves me the trouble of YAngelizing to everyone individually.
Literary Matchmaking
When it comes to YA historical about Chinese-American girls, OBVIOUSLY another FYA fave comes to mind with Stacey Lee. Especially since Outrun the Moon is set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1900s! (Her latest, Kill Her Twice, also has a Chinatown setting, but in the 1930s.)
Want more science girls kissing? Check out another FYA Book Club pick, The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum.
If you want to mix it up with some alternate history, try Heidi Heilig’s The Girl From Everywhere.
FTC Full Disclosure: I borrowed my review copy from my local library; libraries are great! I received neither money nor gelato for writing this review (dammit!). Last Night at the Telegraph Club is available now.
