
Genre:
Literary / General Fiction
Themes:
Against All Odds
Angsty
Butch / Femme
Coming of Age
Coming Out
First Love
Historical
Interracial / Multicultural Relationship
New Adult / Young Adult
Self-Discovery
Slow Burn
Heat Level:
Sweet (kissing, holding hands, etc., but no other on-the-page physical intimacy)
Archetypes:
Student
Geographic Location:
United States: Pacific
Setting:
Big City / Urban
Casino / Club / Bar
Historical
Sexual / Gender Identity:
Lesbian
Protagonist Identity:
Asian
Trigger/Content Warning:
Red-Scare paranoia, homophobia, racism
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
By Malinda Lo
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch.
Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.
But 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 let their love see the light of day.
Winner of the National Book Award
A New York Times Bestseller
“The queer romance we’ve been waiting for.”—Ms. Magazine
A NPR Best Book
A Boston Globe Best Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book
A BookPage Best Book
A SLJ Best Book
A Kirkus Best Book
A Booklist Editors’ Choice
A Horn Book Fanfare Selection
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Selection
A Chicago Public Library Best Book
A Boston Public Library Best Read
A New York Public Library Best Book
A Goodreads Choice Finalist
A Book Riot Best Book
An Autostraddle Best Book
A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Eleven Title
Winer of the Chinese American Library Association Award for Best Young Adult Book
Kids’s Book Choice Teen Book of the Year