60 pages • 2-hour read
A Scatter Of Light
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Further Reading & Resources
Further Reading: Literature
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (2021)
While A Scatter of Light is a standalone novel, it can be read as a companion piece to Lo’s earlier work, Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Lily Hu, its protagonist, is Aria’s distant cousin. As a teenager in 1950s San Francisco, Lily explores her sexuality while also dealing with the prevalent societal racism toward Chinese Americans. Lily comes across an ad for the titular Telegraph Club in the newspaper and then discovers that one of her classmates, Kath, has been to the nightclub. The story spans five months and includes an epilogue that takes place a year later as Lily and Kath navigate their relationship and the secrecy that the LGBTQ+ community must maintain in the mid-20th century.
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club on SuperSummary
Further Reading: Beyond Literature (Nonfiction)
“Ignored in Life, Bernice Bing Is Discovered as Museums Rewrite History” by Carol Pogash (2022)
In this article for the New York Times, Carol Pogash discusses Bing’s place in the contemporary art world of the US and the space that Asian art museums are making for Asian American artists. In addition, the article summarizes Bing’s life story and links to the 2013 documentary, “The Worlds of Bernice Bing,” which Aria sees a poster for in San Francisco in A Scatter of Light.
Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon founded the website Diversity in YA in 2011. The intention of this project is to “celebrate young adult books that are about characters of color, LGBT characters, and/or disabled characters, as well as YA authors who are of color, LGBT, and/or disabled.” The site posts new book releases, book lists, author guest posts, and statistics.
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