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Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malindo Lo.
I didn't love this book as much as other people did and I feel a bit weird saying so! In part because I like Malinda Lo as a person. There are a lot of great things about the book, and it's an Important Book in a lot of ways.
The detailed writing immerses the reader into the experience of a queer Chinese-American teenage girl in San Francisco in the 1950s. It's impressively well researched and beautifully descriptive. There are many wonderful insights into Lily's experiences, including a friendship that goes sour, dealing with racist micro-aggressions, and vivid details about her neighborhood and family.
My problem was mostly the pacing. The middle felt too long and I got stuck on it for a bit, then the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. Lots of new conflicts came up in the final chapters, and those are mostly left unresolved. Lily's big fight with her mother was upsetting, and that tension just kind of hangs there. Maybe this is realistic but it left me feeling sad.
I didn't love this book as much as other people did and I feel a bit weird saying so! In part because I like Malinda Lo as a person. There are a lot of great things about the book, and it's an Important Book in a lot of ways.
The detailed writing immerses the reader into the experience of a queer Chinese-American teenage girl in San Francisco in the 1950s. It's impressively well researched and beautifully descriptive. There are many wonderful insights into Lily's experiences, including a friendship that goes sour, dealing with racist micro-aggressions, and vivid details about her neighborhood and family.
My problem was mostly the pacing. The middle felt too long and I got stuck on it for a bit, then the ending was rushed and unsatisfying. Lots of new conflicts came up in the final chapters, and those are mostly left unresolved. Lily's big fight with her mother was upsetting, and that tension just kind of hangs there. Maybe this is realistic but it left me feeling sad.
