416 pages
English language
Published April 7, 2021 by Penguin Young Readers Group.
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.
It is a story where bad things happen to the queers, but it's not a tragic story. Things go on, people can leave, and find each other again.
I'm often easily bored by historical fiction (idk why!) but this worked very well for me.
Great writing, fascinating multi-layered story. Excited to read the companion novel. Great for YA LGBTQ collection dev. Fuck the book burning censors.
