Plot Summary

Lily Hu wants to make it through her last year of high school so that she can study mathematics and work in a rocket lab like her Aunt Judy. She wasn’t expecting to be distracted by Kath Miller, the only other girl in her advanced math class. Kath introduces Lily to a new world, showing her what lies beyond her home in San Francisco’s Chinatown. This new way of life found at the titular Telegraph Club brings Lily new revelations about herself that she loves but puts her in danger. As a Chinese American in 1954 America, she’s already at risk of suspicion, and what lies beyond the doors of the club in North Beach could bring her further into jeopardy.

Plot Summary

Lily Hu wants to make it through her last year of high school so that she can study mathematics and work in a rocket lab like her Aunt Judy. She wasn’t expecting to be distracted by Kath Miller, the only other girl in her advanced math class. Kath introduces Lily to a new world, showing her what lies beyond her home in San Francisco’s Chinatown. This new way of life found at the titular Telegraph Club brings Lily new revelations about herself that she loves but puts her in danger. As a Chinese American in 1954 America, she’s already at risk of suspicion, and what lies beyond the doors of the club in North Beach could bring her further into jeopardy.

Critical Evaluation

About the Story

Queer history is rarely if ever taught in history classes. It seems as though gay people and lesbians were a sudden invention of the 1960s and 70s Civil Rights Movements that were brought down in the 1980s through AIDS. But queer people have existed long before that, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a testament to this. At its surface, the book is a Sapphic high school romance, but the details that pervade the story remind the reader of the 1954 timeline, and the narrative sections from the adults bring a context of what it meant to be a Chinese American in the 1950s. There are simple problems and activities, like Shirley’s desire to be Miss. Chinatown and deeper controversies such as the two best friends getting caught with a group associated with communism. Even when in the company of the other women at the Telegraph Club, Lily is not able to escape the problems of her race as each woman begins the conversation with, “We don’t see many Orientals around here. Does she speak English?” Lily’s life is tied to her history and her race in every interaction, highlighting both the wonders of it and the struggles. 

Lily’s struggle with her self-discovery while keeping it a secret from her friends and family was paralleled with stories from her parents and Aunt Judy, all of whom were greatly affected by World War II and the Cultural Revolution that followed. While staying true to the era, Malinda Lo captures the experiences of PTSD and anxiety in the adults. This delicate but provocative writing provides sympathy for the adults in Lily’s life. This made parts of the ending even more heartbreaking, knowing how important family and human connection was to each one of them. Overall, Lo’s weaving of history into this love story is exceptional and grounds the piece. I enjoyed the immersive nature of the setting, particularly since it took place in the same city that I’m living in, if at a different time. 

About the Narration

Emily Woo Zeller is a wonderful narrator, imbuing each character with a unique voice that makes following the plot easy. I had heard her work before when I was reading The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, and her narration for this piece of historical fiction was just as filled with majesty. An important aspect of this novel is its use of Cantonese. In the physical book, the Chinese characters are written out when the characters are speaking in their dialect. Zeller, reading the characters in Cantonese, continued that experience from page to voice.

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation

Malinda Lo’s books have been censored across the country, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club is no exception. In fact, whether due to its notoriety or its explicit depiction of a lesbian romance, drinking, and smoking, the novel is her most-censored book (Lo, 2025). Most of these actions have been by right-wing groups that want to “censor books about LGBTQ+ people, people of color, accurate representations of American history, and science, and racism,” all of which perfectly describe Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Lo, 2025). This title is very likely to continue to be challenged because of the lesbian romance, depiction of a lesbian bar, and cross-dressing. 

The best defense to this is to state that LGBTQ+ teens exist and deserve to be represented in the literature that they read. Nothing in the novel ever crosses any explicit boundaries that teens will not know about or experience in their own lives. As for the historical accuracy of the novel, Malinda Lo has clearly done thorough and thoughtful research. The back of the book is filled with resources and information that she used to build the story. The story is fictional, but it is based on the experiences of real people in 1950s San Francisco. This novel depicts the rarely-seen and discussed reality of 1950s queer people and Chinese Americans. It has value because of that and offers a chance for queer teens to see themselves in history.

Reasons for Inclusion

My friend suggested that I read Malinda Lo a few months ago, but I never got around to picking up any of her books. Then I saw a summary of this book and got very excited. A queer historical romance set in the same city I’m living in? I was ecstatic to delve into its pages. I would include this novel in a library collection not only for its representation of lesbian and Chinese American teens but also for the depth it reaches in its portrayal of a specific historical time. Malinda Lo clearly researched the time period well, and information oozes from the pages in a way that is just as engaging as it is informative. I was hooked from the beginning and had a hard time putting it down.