Language: PG (4 swears 0 F); Mature Content: R (on-page sex); Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
In 1950's San Francisco, 17yo Lily Hu is fascinated with an ad for the lesbian bar, The Telegraph Club, which features a male impersonator, Tommy Andrews. Her friend Kath, the only other girl in her advance math class has been there, and invites Lily to come along. According to Lily's friend Shirley, Kath is someone Lily should avoid because she was "caught" with another girl in the band room last year, and isn't the sort of person a good girl like Lily should associate with. But Lily likes Kath, and as they spend time together, Lily finds herself attracted to Kath, and soon their relationship progresses. She's not altogether surprised, as she has wondered for a while about her attraction to certain female movie stars. But China Town is a small community, and Lily must keep all of this a secret.
Set amidst the Red Scare, there's some political worries as well - Lily's father has had to turn over his naturalization papers because he would't tell the FBI what they wanted to hear. I loved the night life and the descriptions of the Telegraph Club and its people. but overall, a lot of detail really slowed down the story. Quite a bit of side stories that didn't develop well including the Miss Chinatown pageant - starting the story with it, and having another within the plot line, I expected it to be a pivotal, plot point, but it just got caught up in all the details. Also, the flash backs to Lily's parents courtship felt superfluous. Although the characters (Kath and Lily) are in high school, it reads older.
Lisa Librarian
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