Welcome to Litsy!

YA historical fiction! I'm planning to do a round-up of must-read middle grade historical fiction later this year too.

https://bookriot.com/must-read-ya-historical-fiction-novels/

Got locked out at work this week. Luckily, I had a book to keep me company.

What a great story about lesbians in the 1950s!

Well researched and well written, it‘s the story of Lily who is a Chinese American high school student and is dealing with her family‘s struggles living in Chinatown in San Francisco. It‘s sort of a coming of age and a coming out story, which normally I would be annoyed at (do we really need another?) but in this case, we do. It‘s good!

I can‘t wait to read what happens next.

Reading on the train to Providence and Newport! Going for a quick weekend break to get out of the city. Anyone been? Any recommendations?

This was such a great read and a YA book I feel should be in every school library. Malinda Lo uses real historical events in 1950s San Francisco mixed with her story of a young Asian-American girl coming to terms with her sexuality to tell an unforgettable story.

Loved it and I'm so excited there's a sequel coming out. 💚

Award winning YA novel set in 1950s San Francisco, featuring a Chinese American teen who is a lesbian and is interested in rockets and Spence travel. Lo deals with matters of racism, communist hysteria and anti-LGBTQ bigotry (all things we still see today). https://cannonballread.com/2022/04/last-night-at-the-telegraph-club-elcicco/

Award winning YA novel set in the 1950s, featuring a Chinese American teenager who is also a lesbian and dreams of rockets and space travel. Malinda Lo covers a lot of important issues like racism, intolerance of LGBTQ community, and the communist scare.

This was an excellent YA Queer Romance novel that explore issues of bigotry, racism and anti Chinese Sentiment. The story was captivating and I loved the narrator Emily Zeller Woo. She really brought the whole story to life. I also loved the historical portion at the end that put the whole story in context.

An engaging coming-of-age story of a queer Asian American girl growing up in 1950s San Francisco. A girl who loves reading about space, dreams of rocket ships. A girl who discovers her sexuality and is fascinated with the lesbian culture she encounters, once she frequents a lesbian bar. The book touches on xenophobia, and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments during the time, also on the McCarthy‘s Anti-Communist hysteria. I was more interested in the glimpses⬇️

Torn between "pick" and "so-so". A nice enough book. Some parts were quite endearing, others a bit dull and I found myself inadvertently skimming through. Glad I read it, but not one I will be dwelling on.

😍

A friend of mine recommended this book to me so we could talk about it, and it was nice to hear how she related to the main character discovering her queer identity. Even though I can‘t relate to it like she can, it was nice to see her get excited about it while we talk! That aside, this book made me feel all sorts of ups and downs as Lily faces problems lgbtq people face today, even though she‘s in the 1950s.

I love this book. Beautifully-written, with vibrant characters, I cannot stop turning pages. #lastnightatthetelegraphclub #malindalo

Set in the 50s in San Francisco‘s Chinatown, this is the quintessential coming out story. It forces us all to ask ourselves the question, if we were faced with the same choice, would we slip quietly back into the fold of family life, or would we stand up and say this is who I am! Deal with me! #BBRC Adult New Adult #PopSugar2022 #TwoBooksFromTwinTowns #LGBTQBookBingo #Holiday @LibrarianRyan @Kenyazero

Hre's my #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
Looking forward to my #bookspin and #doublespin books as well

I know I‘m biased because San Francisco is close to my heart — literally started reading this book on a street mentioned in ch 2 — but I can‘t recommend it highly enough. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lovely coming of age story about Lily, a 17 year old STEM-loving Chinese American girl living in San Francisco in the 1950‘s & discovering her sexuality

The extensive author‘s note about her research is fascinating in itself!

#ya #teachersoflitsy #bookclub #lgbtq

Interesting. Not what I expected.

May be an unpopular opinion, but while I loved the story, it was sooooooo drawn out for me.

Another #reread. I just love how richly Lily's world is drawn, and how much she feels for Kath. I fully believe they make it in the long run! #yalit #historicalfiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another fantastic #NYWD22 read, c/o @MeganAnn

A beautiful coming-of-age story about first loves. I admire Lily‘s strength and commitment to living her truth as the novel progressed.

Fierce AF rebel girls seems to be the theme of my reading this week. A wonderful coming of age tale of a queer, Chinese American, math and science whiz, who finds herself and a community in 1950s San Francisco. Malinda Lo went to great lengths to center this around real history and the attendant racism and homophobia that abounded. Kids today are so lucky to have these novels. STOP TRYING TO CENSOR THEM!

Snowy days call for a ramen and reading lunch.

Last book of 2021!
Great read, with elements that reminded me of Pulp (which I also read this year so it‘s here somewhere), and The Girl with Ghost Eyes, in the way that it talked about Chinese culture. Lots on cold war, immigration, quiltbang (spesh lesbian history), family, early days of women in STEM, and first loves.
Lo‘s writing has come a long way, and this is my fave novel by her so far. Authors like her are doing Gods work out there! 🤍

WHOO HOO! CONGRATS TO MALINDA LO!!! Her queer historical fiction book won the 2021 National Book Award! 🎉🎉🎉👏💕📚

Won for Young Adult category! https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/18/national-book-awards-jason-mott-wi...

This book is lovely. It's a coming of age story about a Chinese girl in the 1950s in San Francisco who may have some confusing feelings about male impersonators she sees advertised in the newspaper. That's how it opens. This book is lovely and complex and the main character drew me in.

#DoubleSpin done!
@TheAromaofBooks

❤️❤️❤️

I would read 18 more novels about Lily and Kath. Love their interests in space and flying, love their relationship, love that they get to be happy! #yaromance

Finally finished my last #LMPBC book, ending with this pick by @MeganAnn . I can‘t express how magical it feels to receive such an incredible book with so much heartfelt commentary already inside. I felt like I was experiencing this story surrounded by friends and I absolutely devoured this novel and experience. Thank you Megan (again) for your patience with my belated reading. I had no idea what like was going to throw at me these past 4 months!

Set in the 1950s, Last Night at the Telegraph Club is the story of Lily and Kath. I love the cover because it shows setting so well - Lily sneaks out of her home in Chinatown to watch a nightclub act with Kath. This was so well-written and the history in the author‘s note made it all the more interesting!

Single #bookhaul from my local indie bookstore. I‘ve been looking forward to this one!

What a great book! I liked how descriptive this book was & how the characters felt three-dimensional. But sometimes I felt that it could go pages without any dialogue, & that kind of bothered me. Lily lives in Chinatown in the 50‘s. Everything in her live is going great until she meets Kath. Kath takes her to the Telegraph Club to go see Tommy Andrews, a male impersonator, preform. Soon, Lily is questioning if she is falling in love with Kath. 4⭐️

Malinda Lo tells the story of queer Asian American experiences during the Red and Lavender Scare. Teenager Lily navigates the complex interactions of her identities, made more complex by dangerous politics targeting vulnerable populations. I don't always enjoy historical fiction, but this was a good read. #HistoricalFiction #LGBTQ #AAPI

Such a good coming-of-age about a Chinese American teen falling in love with another girl. This book is rich and complex, and I highly recommend reading the author's note for some interesting and important history.

@MeganAnn What a good pick! I LOVED it. I loved the lingering pace, the lovely writing, the emotional journey. Lo understands the importance of representation, and the way gay people have/had to search it out or invent it. Also, how invaluable it is to have a safe space to express yourself, your love, and explore your identity.

This queer historical YA set in San Francisco was special for me to read because I was able to walk the streets and neighborhoods mentioned in the book. This is a beautiful story about first loves, self-discovery and found family. I love that it gives a voice to those lost in history—queer Asian American women.

Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/COL-3u9rZbA/?igshid=z9m4p83ef7hx

This was my #LMPBC so I don‘t want to say too much. Lots of comments in the book and journal. I will say I did really enjoy it.

@rachelm I‘ll drop it in the mail for you Monday. 😊📚

@MeganAnn Thanks for picking this book for our group. I‘ll be honest and say I thought it was slow for the first 200 pages and that Lo could have better integrated all the threads of the story better but those last 200 really got me. And I was kind of crying through the last 100 because I forgot what it was like to be that teen. Thanks again and @GhostStories this will be in the mail to you tomorrow.

This book was so good. The slow burn romance between Lily and Kath was adorable.

Finished this one this morning. Such a great read. I didn‘t want the story to end. #deweysreadathon2021 @DeweysReadathon

This was a much better reading week than the last. My commute read to work is Last Night at the Telegraph Club and it is excellent. I really wish that I had the time to just sit down and devour it, but work.

How was your reading week?

Several catch-up posts coming after being on vacation all week celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary 🎉

Here‘s my final #bookspinbingo for March - almost had a bingo across the top but didn‘t have time to get to that last one 🤷‍♀️

Finished both my #bookspin Young Adult choice (review coming in my next post) and my #doublespin which was The Bone Season - a favorite series reread.

Favorite book this month was the tagged title for #lmpbc ❤️

I'm annoyed. It snowed last night. I'm going to hermit mode again and reading this.

@Soubhiville I have been working Mon - Sat (because of standardized test prep) and was dealing with a small medical emergency that required 2 minor surgical interventions to stabilize me until I can get the actual operation in June. I was going to post later today after I visited the UPS store. Sorry for the delay all! @rachelm #GroupL

This was really great. I was a little worried when I started because of the page count (long books are hard for me sometimes) but it didn‘t drag at all. I loved Lily as a character, figuring out life. I also loved how the author was inspired by real people to create her fictional story. I always like learning about people whose stories haven‘t been told as much. This was one of my most recent MyTBR recommendations.

4/5 star read. A good tale of a queer Chinese American teenager in 1950‘s San Francisco. Finished at the 9 hr 40 min mark in #20in4

Finished this for #lmpbc & will send it off Monday. I was so engrossed in the last half of the book, I forgot to make notes & had to go back and do it. Which was actually perfect because as soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again.

A beautiful coming of age lesbian love story set in 1950s San Francisco in/near Chinatown. Lo handled the balance between history, teenage first loves & Lily figuring out who she is + what she wants very well⤵️

Another great title from Malinda Lo. In fact I think this is her best yet. It's a historical fiction set in 1954 about Lily Hu, a Chinese American girl discovering her sexuality and falling in love. Lo went to great lengths to make sure the book was as historically accurate as possible and even includes notes in the back. It's a great look at queer and Chinese culture during the 50s. I also recommend listening to the audiobook too.

#20in4

Uuuugh. Let these books stack up with no renewals. Due back Monday. Game face ON!

Full TikTok here if you‘re interested: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeDc57yQ/