As a little free library steward, I was eager to read this one and it didn't disappoint.

Honestly, it could have been nonfiction with how the world is right now. I loved that it didn't shy away from the tough topics and showed how important books are to everyone and how they can positively impact to make someone not feel alone.

My only gripe with the book is it had a LOT of characters to keep track of but overall I loved it.

4.5/5

This is a very sweet and uplifting book that would be perfect for a book club who is willing to get into difficult issues while having some laughs along the way. The book tells the story of a small town, Troy, GA, whose citizens deal with very relevant issues including book challenges, fake grassroots politics, Confederate statues, Neo-Nazis, and the dark legacy of slavery. This book really strikes a unique tone in that it's serious but also cute & funny at the same time. There are a TON of characters so it might be a little hard to keep track of them all at first, but it's a really quick and enjoyable read that will spark a lot of great discussion. Sassy southern ladies abound as well.

Lula Dean has made it her mission to rid the town of banned books in the library. She has put up a little free library in front of her house and filled it with appropriate books for the people to enjoy. Lindsay goes to the library and empties out all the appropriate book and replaces it with a banned book but keeps the old dust jacket on it.

The neighbors come to the library and read a book and are changed by the book that they read. It shows the impact that a book can make on an individual and that there shouldn't be censorship in books.

I enjoyed this book so much because I am a little library steward and I do share banned books. I enjoy this author because she doesn't sugar coat the issues but she does throw some comic relief in along the way. It talks about some serious issues going on today.

I could not read this fast enough, I had to know what was going to happen next. I loved it. I will be recommending this to many people. Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the egalley.

This book is such an important read about the importance of books. In a time where ignorance and fear run rampant, this book reminds us of the power of truth, connection, and the written word. This is one of the few books I wish I could read again for the first time. I was drawn into the inner-world of the characters and the connections between them all from the very beginning until the very end. Wonderful book!

Lula Dean's Little Lrary of Banned Books is quirky. The first third of the book is humorous and reminded me of books by Fannie Flagg and Lorna Landvik. It was a delightful read, although if you believe in MAGA or think Ron DeSantis is a savior I doubt you'd like this book. The messages were clear and well thought out. I liked reading about how lives were changed.
The next part of the book becomes a bit dark. I felt like the author was told that the book was too fluffy and needed more drama. It was really long and a bit unbelievable I this part. Would a Black man really go into a home of a self proclaimed Nazi? I hope not.
The final chapters again were cute, and I enjoyed the fast forward of 10 years where it showed how the town had changed.
I give the book 3.75 stars. I'd probably give it 4.5 stars without all the middle drama

This book took me awhile to get through and not because it wasn't good, but because it deserved to be read slowly. It was beautifully written and it's a story that needs to be told and heard.

I could not put this book down! It's a hilarious story about the the age old topic of banned books in a small town and everyone's opposing views on everything from politics, BLM, CRT and other hot topics in today's society.

Someone disguises the banned books in book jackets of acceptable books in Lula Dean's small lending library (Lula is the town's adult bully). What’s interesting is how the community unknowingly borrows the "banned" books & the ones they borrow are about something that really has or is happening in their life.

Kristen Miller has hit a home run with this book! It's definitely going to be the book of the summer!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Books for an arc of Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books. This book is so timely right now. I don’t live in a state that is banning books, so this was pretty eye opening to me. The story is told from many POVS about a small town in Georgia who a group of parents are banning books from the school library. This is only the start of all the discussions and issues in this book. I keep thinking about this book. It talks about serious topics, while it also has you laughing out loud. This book comes out June 8th, pre-order it today.

“‘…stories are the most powerful things in this world. They can mend broken hearts, bring back good memories, and make people fall in love.’

‘Or convince them to do the right thing,’ Nahla added.

Betsy shot Nahla a look. ‘Sometimes. But the trick is getting to know people well enough to tell their stories. You can't just assume you know what they're like. You have to pay attention. You got to watch and listen.’”

What can be said about Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books? Just as the title suggests, you are in for a ride on a tour of small-town Southern hypocrisy & hilarity. The plot centers around the town of Troy as one woman — Lula Dean — has made it her mission to ban books deemed “unsuitable” to read. The story is told from the perspective of various Troy characters who encounter different books in Lula Dean’s little free library that has been compromised by the town’s free-thinking youth, looking to stir up a hornet’s nest of drama. Drama does ensue, and, while the plot turns serious at times, there are well-paced moments of levity and tender humanity that reminded me people I knew in my small Southern town (I especially loved Willa Jean Cummings). There truly is something for everyone in this tightly wound novel that comes together intricately in impressive ways; a great book to teach plot structure, for sure!

That said I believe its one failing is in trying to do too much. Surprisingly I didn’t have too tough of a time keeping up with the many different characters as I often struggle with in similar alternating POV books. However, I think that was because some of the characters & arcs felt unnaturally exaggerated so families stood out from one another. Yes, this is a microcosm of a fake Southern world meant to shine a light on the absurdity of the here & now where Southern people have been performing in exaggerated manners. Yet it felt like some chapters moved too fast in making their point to serve the greater narrative than providing nuance befitting their characters. As a Southern girl, it is exactly that nuance that I crave when reading books meant to capture the paradox that is “Southern hospitality.” While Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books does hold a candle to this subject, I’m still unsure whether it is a welcome open flame or emblazoning destructive force for readers who need to watch and listen to this story the most.

Grateful to NetGalley and William Morrow for the chance to read this ARC. I look forward to its release & reception among the book-ish world.

The Change was the best book I’ve read in years. I was skeptical that this would compare. As a lesbian, a lifelong avid reader, and a southerner, it gets no better than this book. Kirsten Miller nailed this one. It has her trademark humor and wit and revenge, and so much heart. I may love this one more. Don’t make me choose. Thank you so much for this wonderful book. It will be featured on an upcoming episode of Your Rainbow Reads podcast.

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is an amazing read. The message is so important and the story is incredibly paced. Would recommend this to any book loved.

I laughed, I cried, enjoyed every single page of this deliciously mischievous truth-telling, heart warming story. It’s only January, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being the best book I’ll read all year. I’ve already advance ordered a copy to re-read and share widely.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kirsten Miller and Harper Collins for the privilege of previewing an advanced reader copy.

This book was fun and quirky but I found it far too overtly preachy. It felt like every character had a specific agenda to represent some issue in politics, and it was all very blatant. I wish the character’s issues and arcs were a little more nuanced.

The town of Troy was a character of itself, and I really appreciated the strong sense of place. I also liked how we were introduced to each of the characters individually and then they were threaded together in the second half of the book. Unfortunately, there were way too many characters for me to keep straight. I found characters from the first two or three chapters especially hard to remember because I hadn’t yet acclimated to the format of the book.

I finished this book but ultimately found it predictable and didn’t feel any sort of connection or compassion or new understanding for any of the characters. I enjoyed the levity of the voice but I wish there was more depth. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a great book. Kirsten Miller offers a timely layered story about not just book bans but about the people, on both sides, who are involved in these bans. The story is funny at times (I laughed out loud a few times), sad in others, heartwarming and gently nuanced in messaging; Miller never lectures or preaches, she lets her story and her characters speak for themselves and lets the messages land without being over the top with the messages she wants readers to ponder.

I loved the sense of self discovery many characters had. I am sure some reviewers will comment on the ideal liberal world of self awakening that characters have (fine, that's not unreasonable) but I also like to believe that a book can change people's world views, that if we give people a chance to think and reflect on their own then they can come to their own conclusions. I also appreciated that some of the stories allowed me as a reader a chance to understand how young people can be a part of the book ban conversations and that worked well for me as a reader.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is an ode to books themselves, the power of words and stories, an appreciation and love note to specific books and writers, and a reminder to believe in the greater good of humanity.

This was one of those books where I'm just not sure how to feel now that it's done. It did make me realize that I don't think I've read a lot of books that take place in the south. When I started it, I didn't think I would get to see so many different POVS. I was hoping there would be a little more interconnectedness, like I felt that we got a few threads that started but didn't really wrap up - we could have had a few less characters. Definitely topical, definitely relevant to our times.

This book has so many layers and characters that can at first it seem as though it will be overwhelmingly difficult to keep everything straight. Banish that thought! Kirsten Miller effortlessly weaves the stories of multiple townspeople of Troy, Georgia, together into a charming, and at times unsettling, story.

Widow, empty-nester, hard-leaning conservative, attention-seeking Lulu Dean has nothing better to do than taking it upon herself to rid Troy of books she and her followers have deemed inappropriate for both children and adults. "This is how the Lord of the Flies get into your homes, through books that encourage our children to use drugs, have sex, and pursue the homosexual lifestyle. The CPC has brought these books to your attention. Now the people of this town must decide what to do with them before it is too late."

She has a Little Library built in her front yard and fills it with what she deems "wholesome" books to enlighten the townspeople and get them on the path of righteousness. Little does she know, a prankster or two removes Lulu's books and replaces them with the same books she banned! The prankster(s) get away with this for quite awhile because they used the original book jackets to disguise their replacements.

Needless to say, chaos ensues and the town becomes divided. It takes a rag-tag group of teens and a few adults to expose Lulu for who she is and bring healing to their town. There are multiple underlying themes to this book that make it the five-star book that it is: prejudice and racism, inclusion and acceptance, accountability, strength and healing, working toward a greater good, righting wrongs, and what I personally feel is the biggest: family.

“They had to do whatever it took to keep future generations from living lives more fulfilling than their own. Instead of an equitable future, they preached a return to a glorious past. They walked around with Technicolor pictures in their heads—ideas planted by Hollywood of what the fabled South had been like. They dreamed of a Gone with the Wind Georgia that had never existed. Of white mansions with fluted columns and women in crinolines. Of mint juleps on the verandah and cotillion waltzes. Of happy Black folks tending the fields and benevolent slave masters introducing the heathen to Jesus. Of strapping young white men in gray uniforms marching off to fight for a cause that may have been lost but was no less noble. The historical reality would have sickened them. Literally. After a month in the old South they would have been suffering from malaria, cholera, or yellow fever. The people they met during their travels would be dystopian versions of the characters from their favorite movies. Real-life Mammy would have spent her fertile years nursing white babies while her own were sold off to the highest bidder. Ashley Wilkes, the ideal Southern gentleman, would own a plantation designed to turn human flesh into dollars. The soldiers nursed by saintly Melanie would reek of gangrene after losing limbs to a cause whose origins eluded them. Pretty Scarlett would do her business in a chamber pot she kept under the bed. This glorious antebellum South they yearned for never featured any of the ugly realities of the past—body odor, hookworm, rape, cesspools, death, disease, and whippings, not to mention the unrelenting poverty of the folks called white trash. Anyone who tried to open their eyes was ignored or vilified. They made heroes of sadists like Augustus Wainwright. They went around waving a flag they claimed was all about heritage. The flag for which their poor ancestors had fought and died, while the rich slaveholders who’d started the war were exempted from service by Jefferson Davis himself.”

Thank you to NetGalley & The Author for this Advanced Reader Copy!

A book I will not forget and will probably not shut up about for a long time. This book was incredible. You follow the story of a hard right-leaning conservative women who despite truly just wanting attention, goes on a rampage to have books banned in their town (and schools). She then sets up her own little front lawn library of books that meet “her” approval. THE IRONY is that our undercover hero (conservative ladies arch enemies daughter) switched all the “approved” books out, and added all the banned books under the “approved” book jackets.

AND THEN IT ONLY GETS BETTER !!!!
Each chapter moving at the perfect pace follows the consequences of this book swap. It is inspiring, it is dark, it is so relevant to our American culture currently. Although I feel this book itself could be viewed as political - and I’d imagine more “liberal-leaning” at that — I feel as if the Author does the most to be able to show every individuals POV fairly and with purpose. I feel as if this book could be very healing for some who may feel disconnect between themselves and their loved ones in the past years due to political and moral beliefs.

I will not that there are sensitive topics in this book including su!c!de, r@p3, domestic t3rr0rism, and racism.

Wow! I am a big fan of Kirsten Miller’s The Change so I was thrilled to be approved for a copy of her new one. I thought the bar was high and hoped I would enjoy it close to how much I loved The Change. I loved Lula even more. Kirsten has a way of tackling all of the issues facing our world right now and spin it into a beautiful story filled with amazing characters some you root for and others you detest or you wonder how they became so filled with hatred. I cannot wait for this to come out so I can purchase a copy as this book and these characters will stay with me a long time.

This was somehow both saccharine sweet and a scalding look at how stupid book banning is. I loooooved the format and, while many were a bit overtly stereotypical, all of the characters stuck with me. This was a super fun, entertaining read that I hope is able to change some minds - if, of course, this cooks ends up in the right hands.