Set in 1954 San Francisco, the story follows Lily Hu, a seventeen-year-old high school student living in Chinatown. While navigating the expectations of her traditional immigrant family, Lily discovers a hidden world of queer life through an advertisement for the Telegraph Club, a local lesbian bar. Accompanied by her classmate Kathleen Merritt, Lily enters this underground space just as the Red Scare intensifies. Her father faces the threat of deportation after the FBI confiscates his citizenship papers, creating a high-stakes environment where Lily must weigh her personal identity against the safety of her community during the height of McCarthyism and anti-Chinese sentiment.
This book is intended for readers interested in intersectional history and the specific challenges of LGBTQ+ life in mid-century America. It provides a detailed look at the social pressures of the Cold War and the McCarthy era. Readers gain a technical understanding of the San Francisco landscape in the fifties, the nuances of butch-femme culture, and the legal risks faced by Chinese immigrants. The narrative offers a clear view of how political paranoia and cultural heritage dictate the boundaries of private desire and public belonging.
- Published
- 2021
- Language
- EN
