Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Intersectionality in the 1950s

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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This coming-of-age novel showcases the intersection of ethnicity and sexuality against the recurring backdrop of McCarthyism. It appears to have been meticulously researched, which I appreciate. The novel centers on Lily Hu during the first half of her senior year in high school. She becomes closer to her classmate Kath while starting to discover her sexuality. Meanwhile, there are some concerns about the government’s interest in her father. The plot will likely resonate with readers of all ages, but especially YA readers who tend to […]

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 […]

Return from Vacation – Various books!

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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I’ve just returned from our family vacation – where me, my husband and daughter caught Covid (there’s not many great times to catch Covid, but catching it while staying with your extended family in a vacation rental is definitely a supremely shitty time to catch Covid). My brain still feels a bit foggy, but as I return I’m excited to read all the posts about CBR Bingo. I am going to post my reviews from vacation reads (all completed after July 15) and claim their […]

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 […]

Growing up is hard to do

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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3.5 stars Official book description: Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. 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 […]

sorry this review is so late…

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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CW: homophobia galore, of course, but also familiar disappointment/lack of support on coming out (period appropriate, I suppose, but heart wrenching nonetheless) This is a hard one for me to review–it hits a bit close to home, years later and on the opposite coast. I’m so glad that it was the chosen book for AAPI month for Cannonball Read, even though I didn’t end up writing my review OR participating in time (everything lined up with when I was moving across the globe, but I […]



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