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Coming of Age in 1950s Chinatown

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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I read Last Night at the Telegraph Club for our Cannon Book Club to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage month. The YA novel is part historical fiction and part romance. It was a powerful story of coming of age and sexual awakening. It’s also a captivating window into what life was like for 1950s Chinese Americans and the LGBTQIA community. We meet shy Chinese-American student Lily Hu who loves studying math and science. She likes to fall into books and loves sci-fi, which I can relate to! When […]

My thoughts, two months later.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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. . . which are not many. I’ve honestly been wanting to read one of Malinda Lo’s books for years now, but never got around to it. After having finally done so, now I’m not sure if I’ll be reading more . . . maybe the queer Cinderella retelling (Ash, I think?). This was well-written and I liked it, and the premise is well-thought out and a bunch of other complimentary things . . . but this was just a good read for me, not […]

Book Club Discussion Post: Last Night at the Telegraph Club

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Welcome to our our AAPI-themed Cannon Book Club discussion of Malinda Lo’s Last Night at the Telegraph Club! In this National Book Award-winner, Malinda Lo challenges popular perceptions of the 1950s, including stereotypes about Chinese Americans, the invisibility of the lesbian and gay community, and the role of women in the space program, particularly as computers. For those of you returning or who might be joining in for #CannonBookClub for the first time (hello new friends!) all are welcome, you don’t have to be registered […]

Lily was struck by how duplicitous a song could be, as if multiple languages were hidden within the lyrics.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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What struck me the most about Last Night at the Telegraph Club was how separate Lily Hu is from the world around her. She is a watcher. She pays attention to the details of what happens around her as she tries to understand who she is in relation to the world. Only when she is with Kath do the details become fuzzy and she fully engages. Towards the end of the book, I thought a lot about a conversation I had with my mother when […]

“If she closed her eyes she might fix this in her memory always: the pulse in Kath’s throat; the warmth of her body; the scent of her skin.”

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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In Last Night at the Telegraph Club Malinda Lo created National Book Award for Young People’s Literature winner which aims to challenge pervasive perceptions of the 1950s in the United States, including stereotypes about Chinese Americans, the invisibility of the lesbian and gay community, and the role of women in the space program, and the reach of Red Scare paranoia on people’s day to day lives. It is also the story of two young women falling in love during their senior year of high school […]

Let’s not go back there again

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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Join us now through May 21 for the #CannonBookClub Discussion of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a multi-award winning young adult novel that takes on several heavy topics and does so admirably. Set in early 1950’s San Francisco, the story’s protagonist Lily Hu is a teenager with big dreams. Yet she faces a number of formidable obstacles related to her race, sex and sexual identity. Through Lily, Malinda Lo shows the reader how dangerous it […]



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