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Study Guide: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Analyzing literature can be hard — we make it easy! This in-depth study guide offers summaries & analyses for all 48 chapters of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Get more out of your reading experience and build confidence with study guides proven raise students’ grades, save teachers time, and spark dynamic book discussions. SuperSummary Study Guides are written by experienced educators and literary scholars with advanced degrees in relevant fields. Here's what's
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“I was taking a very fast paced class. I had to read 5 novels within 5 weeks so the chapter summaries really helped. I ended up getting an A-B on every paper I wrote! I recommend SuperSummary to all my college friends.” — Annabell C., College Student “I use SuperSummary to supplement my own lesson planning designs. I particularly like the discussion questions/essay questions offered, as well as the summary of events and then interpretation/meaning of a section.” — Adrienne B., Middle School Teacher “I started a book club and wanted some reference material. SuperSummary helped me lead a productive discussion , get ideas for questions and gain a deeper understanding of the material.” — Laura D., Book Club Member “ I needed a quick clarification of my own understanding of a novel before discussing it with my students. SuperSummary guides are easy to maneuver — everything is labeled and well-organized. — Stella I., High School Teacher “ Subscribing to SuperSummary was the only way to save my grade. SuperSummary helped me get a high grade on my test and complete my summer assignment.” — Dudley L, High School Student
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Published September 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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September 25, 2026A story about a young Chinese American navigating her way through being gay in 1950's SF, which, as we could possibly imagine, is about a thousand steps harder than it being a teenager should be. Lily was 16 when she met Kath, whom she clicked with immediately. She knew immediately that she was different from the others, but like her. Things change when Kath offers to bring her to the Telegraph Club.
What I liked was the realistically painted picture of realising you are gay and having to hide away while trying to figure out who you are. Her friendship with Shirley really stuck with me - the juxtaposition of having a friendship built on time and shared experiences of being a minority, yet having to navigate hatred and homophobia from the same friend. I also had friends like Shirley and it was painfully realistic.
In the story, Shirley lashed out and dropped Lily when she found out she was friends with Kath after Shirley warned her that Kath was friends with a lesbian (even just the association...!). After a period, Shirley acted like everything was back to normal and invited Lily for lunch, but throughout the lunch, she seemed to be testing whether Lily was straight by asking leading questions and dropping microaggressions towards gay people.
The historical aspect of finding queer, safe spaces in the 1950s is really informative. Bars continue to be that space, though in the Telegraph Club you still see straights clutching their pearls at the scandalous male impersonators and lesbian behaviour (seriously, just leave). Lily experiences the added barrier of racism, as clubgoers make comments about her 'orientalism' and infantalises her.
I found the writing not very compelling, unfortunately, and I think it needs another round of editing. There were lots of threads that seemingly got dropped (the fears about being deported, accusations of communism, her parents' flashback story which was quite awkwardly dropped in), and I found the ending quite rushed and unsatisfying. I wanted to know how they kept up their relationship long distance? How did Lily feel and deal with moving away? Did she keep in touch with her older queer friends?? But alas it was literally just one chapter, a done and dusted deal.
Didn't quite like it though I wished I did.
What I liked was the realistically painted picture of realising you are gay and having to hide away while trying to figure out who you are. Her friendship with Shirley really stuck with me - the juxtaposition of having a friendship built on time and shared experiences of being a minority, yet having to navigate hatred and homophobia from the same friend. I also had friends like Shirley and it was painfully realistic.
In the story, Shirley lashed out and dropped Lily when she found out she was friends with Kath after Shirley warned her that Kath was friends with a lesbian (even just the association...!). After a period, Shirley acted like everything was back to normal and invited Lily for lunch, but throughout the lunch, she seemed to be testing whether Lily was straight by asking leading questions and dropping microaggressions towards gay people.
The historical aspect of finding queer, safe spaces in the 1950s is really informative. Bars continue to be that space, though in the Telegraph Club you still see straights clutching their pearls at the scandalous male impersonators and lesbian behaviour (seriously, just leave). Lily experiences the added barrier of racism, as clubgoers make comments about her 'orientalism' and infantalises her.
I found the writing not very compelling, unfortunately, and I think it needs another round of editing. There were lots of threads that seemingly got dropped (the fears about being deported, accusations of communism, her parents' flashback story which was quite awkwardly dropped in), and I found the ending quite rushed and unsatisfying. I wanted to know how they kept up their relationship long distance? How did Lily feel and deal with moving away? Did she keep in touch with her older queer friends?? But alas it was literally just one chapter, a done and dusted deal.
Didn't quite like it though I wished I did.
Read
August 7, 2026just realised that I read this in the pride month!!
it gave me such an irresistible urge to hug myself because I remembered being in high school and in love.
it gave me such an irresistible urge to hug myself because I remembered being in high school and in love.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews