Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

Kirsten Miller

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

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.


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    The author was attempting to cover a wide range of important issues and identities in America today — which is good and important, but because it was with such a wide breadth rather than depth, the characters ended up feeling more like one-dimensional well-meaning caricatures than fully fleshed out, human beings. Despite my agreeing with and appreciating the message and viewpoints of this book, it was quite heavy-handed and idealistic, and situations with a lot of potential gray area and nuance were tied up neatly with a bow and things came together too conveniently. I think this could potentially translate better as a YA book, when things can be slightly more spelled out this way, and for our teens to be able to envision a better future like the conclusion of this book.

    With my reservations, I still ended up tearing through the book and still found myself getting emotional by the end, imagining what it would be like if our communities came together the way the town of Troy did. Imagining this almost utopic conclusion left me with a complicated mix of feelings, but I ultimately am glad this book exists if it brings even one person closer to believing that world is possible.

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