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Banned Book Review: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

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Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club
Malinda Lo
Dutton Books for Young Readers
Published January 19, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Last Night at the Telegraph Club

“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Why I Read Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Last Night at the Telegraph Club has been on my reading list for a long time. It was recently banned where I live, along with several other books. I’m trying to prioritize being educated about the content in books banned here in Florida, so that pushed this one up to the top of my reading list.

One of the things that’s really frustrating to me is that the committee that banned the book acknowledges the literary worthiness of the story and the importance of the topic. They simply object to a few paragraphs in the overall text and therefore are banning the book for all grades.

Review

The book primarily takes place in San Francisco in the 1950s, but includes historical information about a few events from the 1930s to the 1950s. Some scenes show what happened between Lily’s parents or from her aunt’s point of view. It shows the progression of the fear of and persecution of communists and those accused of being communist sympathizers. It also examines the cultural attitudes during that time period toward Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans and attitudes about LGBTQIA+ people, especially women.

The background information feels very well-researched. Some characters’ experiences and backgrounds were inspired by Malinda Lo’s family’s lives. She includes, for example, the story of a Chinese man from a wealthy family who immigrates to the United States for college. He later serves in the military as a doctor.

I love that Lily is interested in rockets and math. The story references women working as computers and some of the efforts to develop technology to take humans into space.

So there’s a ton of really cool background to the story.

Lily and another girl also visit a nightclub several times to see a male impersonator perform. There, they meet other lesbian women. The story clearly shows Lily’s personal journey understanding her identity. Part of that recognition comes from when she reads parts of a sultry romance novel she finds at a drug store.

As Lily falls in love for the first time, and meets other women who love women, she finally feels like she can be herself. Like she’s not alone, and she doesn’t have to be ashamed.

There are so few historical books centering LGBTQIA+ stories, and yet queer people existed throughout history. I love seeing this sweet love story that openly explores what it might be like to be a Chinese American girl in the 1950s who is in love with another girl and wants to build rockets someday.

Parts of the story were hard for me to read. (They were meant to be so.) The number of people who ask Lily if she speaks English, or assume she doesn’t is astounding. And yet, I’m sure that experience is very real– and even more frustrating to experience in person.

The romance between Lily and Kath blooms slowly, but it blooms powerfully, too. Their desperation and their understanding of what could happen if they’re discovered is palpable.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a strong side of history and 1950s American culture, definitely put Last Night at the Telegraph Club on your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and touching above the waist. Brief/vague description of masturbation. Brief description of sex with sparse details. In one scene, an adult woman approaches a teen and it seems like something could happen between them, but she recognizes the girl’s age and backs off.

Spiritual Content
Vague references to church.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Homophobic comments.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol at a party and night club. Some characters smoke cigarettes. Reference to drug use (not shown on scene.)

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from my library. All opinions are my own.

Review: Loveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen

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Loveboat Forever (Loveboat, Taipei #3)
Abigail Hing Wen
HarperCollins
Published November 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Loveboat Forever

Return to the sparkling world of Loveboat, this time with Pearl Wong, on an entirely new, romantic, whirlwind adventure from Abigail Hing Wen, New York Times bestselling author of Loveboat, Taipei!

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans…and a new image.

Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor…and a summer that will change her forever.

Sweeping, glamorous, and deeply soulful, this companion to the New York Times bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei and Loveboat Reunion will reunite readers with their favorite characters, in a thrilling new journey of romance, self-discovery, and empowerment. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen.  

My Review

I really enjoyed Loveboat, Taipei, but this book is truly something special. Pearl, who appears as a minor character in the first book, takes the lead in this story. She’s a musician, so lots of the ways she describes things have a connection to music. She also plays the piano in several scenes and learns a new instrument called a pipa, or a Chinese lute.

True to Loveboat form, Pearl has a summer romance and finds herself drawn to two different boys for very different reasons. One is open and friendly and interested in the kind of music she’s trained so hard to play. The other is surly and frank and doesn’t seem interested in her until he teaches her to play the pipa.

But as she gets to know both boys and learns more about her own family history, she discovers that there’s more to her than being a classical pianist, and she wants to explore these things. She begins examining her feelings about music (her preference for Western composers, for example) and what it means to be a Chinese American musician.

At one point, she meets her mom’s extended family while trying to track down proof of her connection to her great-grandmother, a professional pipa musician. I loved those scenes and how they changed her path forward in the book.

Conclusion

Honestly, this has to be my favorite book in the series so far, and I absolutely need to read more of Abigail Hing Wen’s work. This story has layers for days. From the romance to the explorations about a musician’s identity to how we treat Chinese American artists to the power and strength of community, this book has so much to offer.

If you haven’t read the other books in the series, you could still start with this one, but it will spoil the endings of the other books. If you plan to read all three, start with Loveboat, Taipei first.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 13 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Few instances of profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and brief touching under a shirt.

Spiritual Content
Pearl’s family is Christian. She references her family history and her grandfather’s conversion to Christianity and her questions about the context of that conversion after she visits a place where he lived and worked.

Violent Content
Pearl’s social media post goes viral, labeling her photos racist. At first, she is furious, but as she learns more about how racist tropes have harmed Chinese people, she realizes why she triggered some hurt with her images.

Drug Content
References to drinking alcohol, smoking, and vague references to drugs. It’s legal for eighteen-year-olds to drink alcohol in Taipei, so some do, mostly off-scene. No drug use happens on-scene. A tabloid magazine reports drugs were used at a party, but it’s unclear whether that happened or is a rumor.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

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American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang
First Second
Published September 5, 2006

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About American Born Chinese

All Jin Wang wants is to fit in. When his family moves to a new neighborhood, he suddenly finds that he’s the only Chinese American student at his school. Jocks and bullies pick on him constantly, and he has hardly any friends. Then, to make matters worse, he falls in love with an all-American girl…

Born to rule over all the monkeys in the world, the story of the Monkey King is one of the oldest and greatest Chinese fables. Adored by his subjects, master of the arts of kung-fu, he is the most powerful monkey on earth. But the Monkey King doesn’t want to be a monkey. He wants to be hailed as a god…

Chin-Kee is the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype, and he’s ruining his cousin Danny’s life. Danny’s a popular kid at school, but every year Chin-Kee comes to visit, and every year Danny has to transfer to a new school to escape the shame. This year, though, things quickly go from bad to worse…

These three apparently unrelated tales come together with an unexpected twist, in a modern fable that is hilarious, poignant and action-packed. American Born Chinese is an amazing rise, all the way up to the astonishing climax–and confirms what a growing number of readers already know: Gene Yang is a major talent.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a long time. I haven’t seen the show on Disney, but the preview already looks a lot different in the way it incorporates the storylines from the book. Someone with knowledge about and familiarity with Chinese folklore and culture will have more insight into several elements of this book than I do.

I’m not very familiar with the myths about the Monkey King, so I don’t have other information to compare with the stories from this book. I enjoyed the fables and their larger-than-life feel. There’s a great balance of emotions explored in that thread of the story, from jealousy to sadness to humor.

The second thread of the story follows Jin through school as he tries to form friendships and fit in with his classmates. His first friend is a bully who treats Jin terribly. It’s unclear whether Jin puts up with the treatment because he is just grateful not to be alone or whether he is oblivious. Some of his observations make him seem oblivious, but the clues in the illustrations and some of the dialogue let readers know this is not a real friendship. Later, Jin meets Wei, and the boys develop a close friendship.

The third thread in the book is the hardest to read. This one follows Danny as his cousin Chin-Kee, an overtly stereotyped character, follows him to school. Danny feels embarrassed by his cousin’s behavior and the other students’ reaction to him. What these chapters do so well, though, is highlight Jin’s fears about how he’s perceived by others and his fear about being stereotyped himself in these negative ways.

It’s uncomfortable to read, but the discomfort is the point. One of the things that I thought was brilliant about those scenes is that they read as though they’re some sort of sitcom. As I read the first scene, that’s what I thought it was supposed to be. Whenever Chin-Kee does or says something that aligns with a stereotype, laughter lines the bottom of the panel. It highlighted how people try to use humor to justify harmful statements and stereotypes and how that laughter falls flat and fools no one.

The three unrelated threads connect together at the end, and I am definitely among those whose minds were blown by the connections. It made so much sense and spun the earlier scenes of the story more completely. I’m very glad I read the book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Jin Wang is Chinese American. His friend Wei Chan is Taiwanese. Chin-Kee represents harmful stereotypes perpetrated against Chinese people. In one scene, a boy uses a racist stereotype about Jewish people in a “game.”

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
One of the three threads of the story tells fables of the Monkey King.

Violent Content
The Monkey King fights enemies. White high school students use racist insults against Jin and Wei.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: It’s Only a Game by Kelsey Yu

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Only a Game
Kelsey Yu
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 9, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About It’s Only a Game

In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can’t resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. Whoever killed him plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina’s worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.

My Review

The really interesting part of this book is that it mashes up what is essentially a video game contest with a murder mystery. Marina carries secrets that she worries could put her friends and teammates in danger, but she longs to have uncomplicated connections with people and values the closeness in those relationships.

The chapters alternate between two different timelines. In the present, Marina and her team attempt to complete challenging levels of a video game to meet the demands of an unidentified person who threatens to harm the people each teammate loves. The other timeline begins ten years earlier and shows glimpses of Marina’s past, where she lives with her mom. She tries to piece together why the two live such an isolated life.

The tension spikes as the two timelines intersect, and pieces of the mystery come together. The relationships between the characters impact the story in some interesting ways, and I found it easy to root for all of them.

While this isn’t my favorite style of book, I did enjoy reading it. It felt like a quick read with its short chapters, and I particularly liked the mash-up of video game conquests and murder mystery elements. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before, and it worked really well here.

Readers who enjoy books by Karen McManus or liked How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao should check this one out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marina is Chinese American and romantically interested in a girl. One of her friends is transgender. Another friend is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Marina witnesses a shooting. Someone threatens Marina and her friends, effectively holding them hostage until they complete a series of tasks. A woman harms child repeatedly.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Theo Tan and the Iron Fan by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Theo Tan and the Iron Fan (Theo Tan #2)
Jesse Q. Sutanto
Feiwel & Friends
Published June 27, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Theo Tan and the Iron Fan

A Chinese American Boy and his snarky fox spirit face down demon kings as they race against time to be reunited with his brother’s spirit in Jesse Q. Sutanto’s magical, action-packed sequel to Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit.

Theo Tan and his fox spirit, Kai, are willing to go to hell and back for their family. Literally.

After exposing the corruption at Reapling Corporation and trapping the demon king Niu Mo Wang, they learn that Jamie (Theo’s beloved brother and Kai’s first human master) was not allowed to move on after death, and is now trapped in a waiting room in Diyu.

If they can reach his soul before it faces judgment on the solstice, they might be able to convince King Qingguang to send his soul back to earth! Still, a trip to Diyu is no easy matter, and Theo and Kai can’t do it alone. Fortunately, they have good friends who are happy to help.

But even with Namita’s knowledge and Danny’s powerful dragon familiar, the odds are stacked against them. Can Theo and Kai’s new bond hold up against lying demons with grudges, impatient Kings of Hell, and the wrath of the demon king’s powerful wife, Princess Iron Fan?

My Review

I’ve heard so much about Jesse Q. Sutanto, so I am really excited that I was finally able to read one of her books. Kai’s character is a lot of fun. She makes snarky comments under her breath or in her mind a lot of the time, sometimes even leaving them in footnotes that appear at the end of her chapters. I liked that though she is prickly and particular, she is also loyal to her friends and will do whatever it takes to protect them.

I also loved the scene in which Theo and Jamie first reunite. It was so easy to feel the connection between them as brothers and the pain of their separation.

So much happens in the book. It was a wild ride from start to finish and a lot of fun too. I think readers who enjoy goofy characters and stories about folklore and mythology will find a lot to love here. It reminded me a little bit of DRAGON WARRIOR by Katie Zhao, but the voice in THEO TAN AND THE IRON FAN is a little more upbeat and goofy than in that series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Theo and Danny are Chinese American. Namita is Indian American. Kai is a fox spirit.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently. Theo and his friends journey to hell (literally). Most uses of the word are in reference to the place.

Kai and Danny encounter a ruler of one court of hell who is badly constipated. They are tasked with providing medicine that will help him or else face torture.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Theo and his friends journey to hell to find and free his brother’s spirit. They encounter various spirits and demons, all of whom are bent on causing suffering to the souls who inhabit the various courts of hell. One character is a fox spirit who shares a bond with Theo. Another character is a dragon spirit who shares a bond with Danny.

Violent Content
Some scenes show souls (blue translucent shapes) being tortured by a fall down a mountain of knives or being ground on a giant millstone.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THEO TAN AND THE IRON FAN in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Cartographers by Amy Zhang

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The Cartographers
Amy Zhang
HarperCollins
Published January 31, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Cartographers

Struggling to balance the expectations of her immigrant mother with her deep ambivalence about her own place in the world, seventeen-year-old Ocean Wu takes her savings and goes off the grid. A haunting and romantic novel about family, friendship, philosophy, and love.

Ocean Wu has always felt enormous pressure to succeed. After struggling with depression during her senior year in high school, Ocean moves to New York City, where she has been accepted at a prestigious university. But Ocean feels so emotionally raw and unmoored (and uncertain about what is real and what is not), that she decides to defer and live off her savings until she can get herself together. She also decides not to tell her mother (whom she loves very much but doesn’t want to disappoint) that she is deferring—at least until she absolutely must.

In New York, Ocean moves into an apartment with Georgie and Tashya, two strangers who soon become friends, and gets a job tutoring. She also meets a boy—Constantine Brave (a name that makes her laugh)—late one night on the subway. Constant is a fellow student and a graffiti artist, and Constant and Ocean soon start corresponding via Google Docs—they discuss physics, philosophy, art, literature, and love. But everything falls apart when Ocean goes home for Thanksgiving, Constant reveals his true character, Georgie and Tashya break up, and the police get involved.

Ocean, Constant, Georgie, and Tashya are all cartographers—mapping out their futures, their dreams, and their paths toward adulthood in this stunning and heartbreaking novel about finding the strength to control your own destiny.

My Review

This is another book where I feel like the cover copy doesn’t truly reflect the story. I get it, though– this is a really hard one to put into a neat and catchy few paragraphs. Ocean spends a lot of time obsessing over her relationship with Constantine and trying to understand her depression. But that makes the book sound like a downer, which isn’t good.

While THE CARTOGRAPHERS doesn’t shy away from emotional anguish, I wouldn’t describe it as a downer. I liked the way the writing pressed into messy feelings and relationships without closure or clear communication and how addicting they can sometimes be. I found myself nodding along with some of Ocean’s observations and thinking about a particular relationship in my own past that reminded me of the dynamic between her and Constantine.

The philosophy conversations were really cool, too. The whole book felt really smart to me and also a little bit whimsical. Sometimes funny, sometimes deep. Lots of chasing wild ideas. I loved that.

Some of those things make this a tough book to categorize. It’s not really a romance. Maybe it’s more of a coming-of-age story? A journey through depression? It’s a lot of thing, so many of them heartfelt, brave, and smart.

Something about this book reminded me of THE PARADOX OF VERTICAL FLIGHT or AWAY WE GO by Emil Ostrovski. (Both of which I LOVED!) I think readers looking for a book that doesn’t shy away from messy relationships and emotions, that explores the connections between people, will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ocean Wu is Chinese American. Two minor characters (girls) are in a romantic relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to a boy and girl having sex.

Spiritual Content
Ocean and Constantine talk philosophy in person and a Google Doc they share.

Violent Content
Ocean has suicidal ideations.

Drug Content
Ocean drinks alcohol with her roommates and at a dinner with her roommate’s family.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE CARTOGRAPHERS in exchange for my honest review.