In her sixth YA novel, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, William C. Morris YA Debut Award finalist Malinda Lo (Ash; A Line in the Dark) offers a riveting, emotionally stirring tale of a young Chinese American woman learning about herself during San Francisco's Red Scare.
Lily Hu has lived in the city's Chinatown her entire life. She was raised by her parents to be a "good Chinese girl" as well as a model American citizen to combat their fear she might be seen as a Communist. This excellent upbringing notwithstanding, Lily and fellow "half Italian and Catholic" classmate Kathleen begin sneaking out at night to go to the Telegraph Club, a lesbian nightclub. As Lily falls in love with Kath, she begins to wonder how it's fair she is forced to keep her two worlds separate.
A young woman of the 1950s, Lily is expected to marry a successful man, raise a family and be a loyal housewife. Lo takes these expectations and uses them as fodder to develop an exceptional and compelling character in Lily: despite disapproval from her mother and best friend, she reads about developments in space exploration for fun and wants to pursue a career in aeronautics or engineering. Lo also stealthily and effectively passes on to her readers the lessons Lily learns as she meets and befriends people at the Telegraph Club. Last Night at the Telegraph Club--focused on unapologetically embracing one's true self--is a spectacular addition to the young adult historical fiction genre. --Rachel Firman, 19