Last Night at the Telegraph Club

A book I wish I had as a teenager

I normally remember how I came across a book. Whether it’s a recommendation from a friend, a suggestion on Booktok, recommended reading from a website based on my specific algorithm of past reads, or simply that I picked it up and something resonated. A beautiful cover, a buzz in my hands as I held the crisp new copy telling me that magic might be found inside. But having finished Last Night at the Telegraph Club over two weeks ago I sit here reflecting on it, the story held so very vivid and strong in my brain but the journey in which it came to me left in the dust. 

I don’t know why or how Telegraph club came to me (aside from the fact that I purchased it) but I am so very grateful that it did. 

I’m no stranger to a coming of age story, specifically one of a characters coming of age within their sexuality. While the premise isn’t new, what Malinda Lo did that was so captivating was nailing the awkwardness of those first encounters. The self-consciousness of those feelings welling up inside you, nervousness of expressing those feelings towards another person, not to mention the fear within the realization that the object of your attraction and desire could very well be outside the norm of what is generally accepted in the world around you. Mix all of this in with a time period where these actions could have legal ramifications and a government climate that could threaten the immigration status for your entire family. 

This book is in the Young Adult category, and I realized after reading that I wish I had more books like this when I was a teenager. I remember being a teenager and feeling like messages in media as well as with my peers regarding dating and sexuality offered little hope to those of us who were uncomfortable. Everyone always seemed so confident, so sure of themselves as they navigated crushes, dating, and first experiences. But what about those who don’t know where to begin, who aren’t sure what they want but that possibly the status quo wasn’t quite it? 

I know that this book will have readers extracting different lessons, which is a beautiful thing. But for me the book was a beacon for all those adolescents who’s coming of age is a long series of swimming upstream when it seems like everyone else can simply let go and ride the current in a smooth float towards sexual discovery.