If ever there was a timely novel, this is the one. When banning books has become a strategic weapon in our national culture wars, here comes an entertaining satire set in a quintessential southern town. Framed as a battle over books and a free-standing little library, it is about the influence books have in its residents’ lives and the town’s cultural norms.

This is the set up: Beverly Underwood and Lula Dean were born and raised in Troy, Georgia and have been enemies since high school. Now as middle-aged women, Beverly is on the school board, and Lula is on mission to rid the public and school libraries of all inappropriate books which of course, she’s never read. To replace the “pornographic” books she’s challenged, Lula sets up a little library in front of her home filled with books she deems appropriate reading despite never having read them. She’s judged them as suitable reading by their titles.

What Lula doesn’t know is that someone has removed her books and replaced them with banned books. Literary classics, black history books, stories about gay characters and many others replace Lula’s books on etiquette, cooking, and proper romance. The dustcovers from the removed books are put on those that had been banned.

Neighbors borrow books that surprise them given what they thought they were borrowing. But each has chosen a book just right for their situation and are personally life changing. Distinct chapters—much like in a novel of linked short stories— focus on the town’s residents, their situations, and personal epiphanies. The shift is ripe for the foundation layer of the book.

Troy, like many southern towns, revere their confederate roots and see it as a source of pride. When the story turns to reveal its history, all chaos breaks loose. I don’t want to spoil it by saying any more, but revealed truths about the town’s history are done well.

I enjoyed the read. I hope it reaches a broad audience and not the just those on the side of freedom to read. The only downside of the book was the ending. I thought it went too far. For me, it was hokey, given the rest of the book

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and honestly review this advanced review copy.

I absolutely LOVED this book!! It’s currently my top read of 2024, and it’ll take a lot to remove it from that spot!

This book explores Southern heritage, conservatives and liberals, human sexuality, race, gender roles, and the importance of open and educated minds. Lula Dean is neither open, nor educated, and in a quest for attention she decides to spearhead a crusade to ban “inappropriate” books in her small Georgia town. The resulting events that unfold are funny, enlightening, infuriating, scary, and heartwarming…and we are introduced to an array of overlapping characters who uncover secrets, discover themselves, and come together for a greater good.

This was a little microcosm of all the different news topics that have been swirling around America the last decade or so. It touches on everything from book banning to Black Lives Matter to the Me Too movement to drag queen story time. But it was all personalized, so you could get an understanding of how people came to different ideas and how information gets siloed. At times, it felt a little preachy. I don't think it'll change the minds of far right conservatives, but it's cathartic for those in the middle or on the left who are already against book banning. It’d make for a good book club pick, sparking interesting conversations.

I'm a huge fan of Kirsten Miller. The Change was a favorite novel of mine from a few years ago, and I've been eagerly anticipating her second novel, which will be available in the U.S. on June 18th. Big thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it ahead of publication. I don't think I could have waited another month to read it!
I'll preface this review by saying this novel doesn't pull any punches, and if you have a particular set of beliefs or opinions, it's probably not the book for you. Or may it is the book for you, but you won't feel comfortable reading it.

The small town of Troy, Georgia is steeped in Southern tradition and the kind of place where manners are everything and you can still be annoyed by your high school nemesis thirty years after cheerleader camp. People are long on memory and short on minding their own business. Especially when it comes to books.

Lula Dean is a busybody, nosy, orange-haired person who likes to stick herself into things that aren't her business. A kid's prank of putting a naughty cake cookbook in the public library starts the flames of book banning, with Lula Dean leading the way. In short order she's organized a citizen's group, pulled hundreds of books out of the public and school libraries, and has set up a little library outside her home that only has "appropriate" books she has curated for the townsfolk. Books that have a slant towards racism, whiteness, and putting women in their place.

Someone decides to swap out those books with books that were pulled from the public library--keeping the covers from Lula's books, but swapping out the books. So it appears that her books are in the little library, but people who decide to take one get a big surprise when they start reading. But that big surprise sets in motion so many life changing events for some of the townspeople that it's clear change is afoot and boy, is it coming fast!

Of course Lula has no idea what's happened to her little book library, which kept me snickering through the story. I loved getting to know the people of Troy. Some of their stories were funny, others were troublesome, but all of them were changed for the better by a book they read-a book that was banned.

It's an all out war in little Troy, GA as national news arrives, marriages crumble, friendships are strained, and beliefs long held dear are tested. Kirsten Miller's writing is biting, funny, witty, and also very pointed.

I loved this novel. We must protect books, authors, librarians, booksellers, and anyone who advocates for those who are seen as "less than". I know this is fiction, but oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if this battle played out with a happy ending in our real lives.

Rating: 6/6 for a novel that addresses all the things that are happening in our country--all the dark, weird, misinformed things. Loved the characters, the humor, the points made, and the evolution of some of the characters from ignorant to informed.

Available on June 18th in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

https://bookaliciousbabe.blogspot.com/2024/05/may-read-lula-deans-little-library-of.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR20KgVDjO-4cOLw3Iug-N0qZeXebZKhHU6Ed3KGdU9KhM28dOHml9b8V1A_aem_AZuYh1_6GUM4vJeExTco2JlaTE-T7zo9mVuEGfSj4KhbtMjEaIY6XlARX_qk2FJM497kn0a_AyuPSbX2no3jHfnp

I loved this book! I mean, I really loved it! I've only read one other book by this author, The Change, which I also loved. But I loved this one even more. It would be easy to feel despair reading a story about a small town in Georgia, and the people who decide to remove "questionable" books from the school library. After all, this is something that is happening too much in America today. But one act of resistance at the beginning of the book leads to incremental change throughout this entire town. Not everyone has a happy ending in this book, but most do. And sure, the ending may even be a little too neat and happy, but I didn't care. I loved every minute I spent reading this book. It would be easy to stereotype some of the characters, especially Lula, but the author doesn't do that. She doesn't excuse Lula's actions, but she also humanizes her in a way that too often we don't find in our increasingly binary thinking society. The writing was delightful, and funny, and so evocative.

I appreciated the afterword by the author, who herself is from a small southern town, and the books she mentions by name throughout (she gives a complete list at the end). I particularly liked how she acknowledges book banning is a problem all across America, not just in rural southern towns, and how rural southern towns are also filled with people who are educated and informed.

This book should be in every little lending library everywhere.

The entire premise behind Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is both infuriating and delightful in equal measure. A book banning spree has decimated the libraries of Troy, a small town in Georgia. The woman who spearheaded the ban, Lula Dean, has decided to built a little free library housing more “acceptable” reading material for her community. Unbeknownst to her, every single one of these books has been swapped out for something she had labeled inappropriate, the dust jackets switched to cover the crime. We see each of these books fall into the hands of someone who needs it, and the town of Troy will never be the same.

I have to confess that I almost didn’t read this book. There were multiple uses of profanity on the first page, which just immediately turned me off. The amount of profanity continued to make me uncomfortable, but the story was worth the discomfort. This is also a book with a very clear agenda, and there were times when that made me uncomfortable, as well. But it was meant to have that effect. And, again, the story was worth the discomfort. The tone was often aggressive to the point of combative, but as this true core of the story was the battle for the moral soul of a town, that made complete sense.

It’s amazing how many tough topics were tackled in this 300 page novel. Hot button issues like (the very obvious from the title) book banning, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and so many more populated these pages and were the integral to the story being told. I would say that, politically, I’m on the conservative side of moderate. This book is definitely coming from a much more liberal viewpoint. However, I can still recognize that this is an excellent novel, and very much enjoy my time with it, without having to agree with every single point Miller makes. Now, despite our political differences, we have a lot of overlap, as I am an egalitarian and Miller’s writing leads me to believe that she is, as well. I believe that everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity; that’s what Jesus modeled, and so it’s what I try to live out in my own life. All of that to say, I feel like I would have gotten along just fine with the people of Troy who began finding themselves in the banned books they borrowed from Lula Dean’s library.

Speaking of Troy, Miller did a fantastic job portraying this little fictional town. It’s incredibly charming, populated with vibrant, wonderful characters, and hiding a cancerous root of secrets and malcontent and injustice. I fell in love with the town and the people, and was so rooting for them as they brought their problems into the light and tackled the injustice in their history without erasing it. I can see things like this happening in any small towns in the South. Honestly, the most unrealistic aspect of this book to me is that all of the books in Lula’s library were hardcovers with dust jackets, and that every book replacing these was miraculously the right size for these dust jackets.

I loved Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. It made me laugh and feel and think, and it’s a book I’ll definitely be thinking about for a long time. I would love to visit the Troy of the end of the story, though I am much more familiar with towns that look like Troy when the story first begins. I might’ve had some issues with the amount of profanity, but it was definitely worth looking past. This is such a fun, charming, powerful story, with so much to say.

This book was an absolute hit for me! From the small town shenanigans to the zany cast of characters, Miller totally nailed it. I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to William Morrow and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #LulaDeansLittleLibraryofBannedBooks. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I laughed out loud so many times while reading that I didn't want to put it down. And I'm going to recommend it to everyone I know. It's a timely satire of the issues dividing the country today - censorship, race, LGBTQ and much more.

Set in present day small town Georgia, Lula Dean is on a crusade to "save" the town from the "filth" on the library shelves. To set an example of what people "should" read, Lula fills her little free library with wholesome books like Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Clue in the Library. But soon people discover that the books in the little library aren't what they seem and the impact reverberates throughout the community. While it deals with some heavy topics, it's a hopeful book overall.

Miller's writing is sharp and her characters feel real and not too over the top. I like how she used book titles for each chapter, using each title to introduce a character and show how books can change a life - for better or worse.

This is a very timely title. We're going through something similar at my library and it hit a little close to home. There is a lot of humor throughout the book, which helps temper the tough subject matter. The book is chock full of characters, which can make it a little confusing when moving from chapter to chapter. Still, library patrons (and library lovers) should enjoy this title.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Not sure how I forgot to write a review when I finished Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books a few months ago. Kirsten Millers The Change positively moved me and is one of my favorite books of all time. I enjoyed Lula Dean (well the book, not the character...).

I wish that hate, bigotry, homophobia, etc could be solved by people reading a book from some one else's perspective.

At first I wasn't sure if each chapter was a short story not connected to the next. They were stories pulled from the headlines of current events in our nation. But as I continued I saw it was the story of a town in Georgia that could be Anywhere, USA. I live in the the north and this book banning stuff is happening here too. In a nearby suburb, a few noisy Lulas and Nathans are trying to speak for everyone.

This is a story that needs to be told. And very timely now! I hope it gets all the recognition it deserves and Kirsten Miller keeps writing more fabulous novels.

3.75 stars

This story is a combo of laugh out loud funny lines and very serious situations. The author is a Southerner who is honest about the down side of her heritage.

This deal with contemporary issues: racism, book banning, homophobia, the political divide, date rape, BLM, and Confederate statues among other things.

Some of the characters are a tad stereotypical - you have the closet Nazi sympathizer, the anti-woke mom pulling books off the library shelves, and the troubled heavily armed young malcontent. But the plot doesn't always unfold in a predictable way.

Lula Dean has spent her life trying to be noticed and appreciated. Her book-banning crusade plays on the community's fears and she uses it as a platform to thrust herself into the spotlight. In the meantime, the Little Free Library she starts full of wholesome books gets hijacked when someone substitutes more provocative titles hidden in the dust jackets. And that sometimes changes attitudes and lives.

This was a fun but thoughtful read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is the kind of book that reminds you how much you love to read.

Lula Dean is the town busybody. She's the leader of a the Concerned Parents Committee, a committee that SHE founded. Her mission is to remove all 'offensive' books from school and libraries. In order to encourage people to read 'better' books, she sets up a Little Free Library in her front yard.

At the same time, her archenemy's daughter takes the books and switches the dust jackets onto books that people actually want to read. The town and it's people learn and heal....all while a mayoral race between Lula and her arch enemy heats up.

While this was a fun read, it touched on real hot topics that are affecting our nation and education system. Topics like race and sexism are touched on as is the rise of the alt-right. While the end felt a little TOO cute, this is still an important story to tell.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book .

⭐️: 5/5

In a small town in Georgia, Lula Dean has made it her mission to remove all the public libraries of books she deems inappropriate, and starts her own small lending library in her yard, full of “safe” books. Lula’s rival, Beverly, opposes this ban, and her daughter Lindsey switches Lula’s books with the banned books. As one by one, the neighbors borrow books from Lula’s library, they find their lives changed irrevocably, all as the tensions within the town begin to reach a boiling point.

Having the option to read a book with a physically or digitally is honestly elite reader status, so I loved getting the physical ARC in addition to the eARC of this one! Even if I just had one, I would’ve loved this book. It’s kind of a narrative told primarily via a bunch of short anecdotes about various people in the town and how the little free library personally impacted them, which centers on them and their lives, but also moves the overarching story along in an interesting way. I feel like this could have made the whole thing feel choppy, but it didn’t at all! This did have all the hallmarks of one of those “in a perfect world” books where the people in the wrong always come around to the way of the people who are clearly in the right, and everyone who doesn’t is clearly worse off because of it. It’s highly unrealistic, but also super cathartic when reading it, because isn’t reading essentially escapism? Sometimes we want to be able to pretend that the world we live in isn’t as shitty as it actually is. Anyway, this book was funny, relevant, and engrossing, and I will be recommending it to everyone!

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this free ARC for my review!!

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.

What Lula doesn’t know is that a local troublemaker has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula’s library with banned books: literary classics, gay romances, Black history, witchy spell books, Judy Blume novels, and more. 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.

This gem started out a little slow for me, but I am so glad I kept at it. This book is a gem, and it speaks to important issues we are facing today in the US (and around the world). Such a fun and creative premise. I loved the writing, the characters, and the plot. Chef's kiss brilliant!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

I gave Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books five ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net Galley, Harper Collins and Kristen Miller for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I loved this book! I’m not even sure exactly what category this book fits in. The storytelling is great! It was funny, but serious at the same time. It captured my attention right off the bat and I had a hard time putting it down.

It was a light read, but also heavy. Which doesn’t make any sense, I know. But, it tackled some very heavy ideology, but in a light way so it doesn’t feel threatening. But, it still drives home what needs to be discussed.

The characters are rich and entertaining and even though, there are a lot of them, it was easy to keep up with them.

Just an all around good book that needed to be written. Thank you Kristen Miller!

Stars times infinity. I loved this book. So many hot topics were covered in this book-sexual orientation, race, statutes and history, ignorance, bullying, family relationships-just to name a few. Kirsten Miller did a fabulous job supporting both sides of the situations in realistic scenarios. I recommend this novel for everyone regardless of how you stand on book bans. While reading I envision that Lula Dean was based on a Georgia politician with the initials MTG. This book is my new recommendation when people ask, “got a book suggestion?”.

The author's note at the end is so on point for issues that are in the news today. Now.more than ever, it's imperative that individuals and groups fight book bans and books being removed from schools and libraries by a minority of squeaky wheels. I almost put down this book about 25% in as it was SO sugary Southern but I am glad I stuck with it. Replacing horrible, unwanted books with books that make people think was brilliant. Hopefully this book inspires lots of resistance to book bans/book challenges by librarians, parents, teens and caring individuals.

An intriguing, captivating, thought-provoking, entertaining, hilarious read! Kirsten Miller explores several critical topics with grace, gravitas and glee. I loved reading about the Southern culture conflicts and how a small town copes with drama after drama.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC.

In a small Southern town, Lula has made it her mission to replace the "pornographic" books she's challenged in her town's library with access to a quaint lending library in front of her home. This little free library offers lessons on southern charm and good family values that she sees as missing in today's world.

However, many people in the town aren't happy with the changes in the library system, and one resident decides to pull a literary prank unlike any other. All these charming and carefully curated books retain Lula's covers, but the books are replaced with banned novels that offer experiences for each of the residents who pick them up.

What unfolds is the discoveries that each person makes about themselves, their family members, and the town's heroes, which will change the lives of everyone forever through the power of these stories.

There are heartwarming moments like Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret, which teaches a boy about periods and what his mom's "bandages" under the sink are for. There are also more pivotal lessons, like a wife discovering The Diary of Anne Frank and understanding her husband's collection of Nazi memorabilia with a whole new lens. At its root, the books (some real, some fictional) showcase the empathy we discover when we read these novels for the first time.

Set up as short stories that entertain, some are beautifully fleshed-out experiences, while others offer readers unusually tidy or less well-developed endings. She provides a chapter for every hot-button topic in the news at a dizzying pace.

The story takes provocative turns that sometimes alienate conservative readers from conversations that could have happened in book clubs around banned books- halting what I believe could have reached a wider audience.

If you are left-leaning, this book will be a sheer delight.