Last Night at the Telegraph Club Summary
Malinda Lo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club Overview

Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a work of young adult historical fiction by Malinda Lo that follows Lily Hu, a Chinese American teenager living in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1950s who begins to explore her attraction to other girls. Through Lily’s ethnic and sexual identities, Lo addresses themes of gender, shame, and loyalty. The novel is structured as both a coming-of-age story and a romance, showing how the main character’s understanding of herself deepens through her relationships with others, including friends, family, and a female classmate for whom she develops feelings.