Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

With the concerning rise in book banning, fear mongering, and ignorance, this is a very timely book indeed and society has given Kirsten Miller great fodder for this book. From book banning, prejudice, homophobia, misogyny, and oppression, plain old hate and hypocrisy, this book is absolutely jampacked with important topics that will instigate great discussion.

Told using interconnected stories, with many different narrators, the book was a bit slow to start, but Miller expertly reminds readers who's who and as we dive deeper into the issues in the small town and the secret lives of its residents, the book pulled me in, and I ended up reading it in a couple of sittings.

The fact that Lula Dean wasn't the hero of the story (more of a 'Dolores Umbridge' type busybody) was an interesting choice for a main character. A bit perplexing for me at first but interesting. Through Lula and the other small-town residents, Miller shows how book banning, fear mongering and censorship benefit no one and that ignorance only gives power to others. 

With bits of humour, heart and a powerful message, Miller gives readers an entertaining and timely story centred around serious issues that continue to plague society. 

Note: a list of the banned books mentioned in the book are listed in the back

Favourite Quotes:

When you have everything, the only luxury left is taking things away from others.

The first thing you need to do Beverly is keep learning. There are people in this town who are stuck. There are some that insist on going backward. You want to make up for what your ancestor did? Learn everything you can and do your best to lead the way forward.

What matters is never letting people tell you what to think. Don't let them convince you that one way is right and another way wrong. Gather as much knowledge as you can, because information is power. And choosing how to use it is freedom. The more you know, the freer you will be.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Kirsten Miller

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: William Morrow

First Published: June 18, 2024

Read: August 9 - 12, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, brings us a bracing, wildly entertaining satire about a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books, and a little lending library that changes everything.

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books—none of which she’s actually read. To replace the “pornographic” books she’s challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she’s sure the town’s readers need.

But Beverly’s daughter Lindsay sneaks in by night and secretly fills Lula Dean’s little free library with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets. The Girl’s Guide to the Revolution is wrapped in the cover of The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette. A jacket that belongs to Our Confederate Heroes ends up on Beloved. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean’s library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean’s enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town’s disgraced mayor.

That’s when all the townspeople who’ve been borrowing from Lula’s library begin to reveal themselves. It’s a diverse and surprising bunch—including the local postman, the prom queen, housewives, a farmer, and the former DA—all of whom have been changed by what they’ve read. When Lindsay is forced to own up to what she’s done, the showdown that’s been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever.