A tremendous thank you to NetGalley and WilliamMorrow for my advanced reader copy of Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller! This book publishes June 18, 2024!

The Story

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.

My Thoughts

I have told everyone and their mother how much I loved Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. I pre-ordered it so that I could have a physical copy, and will probably do a little giveaway on social media when it comes out because I love it that much.

Why?

It’s super hard for me to put my finger on it. I keep coming back to the fact that this feels like a very important book that NEEDS to be read.

If you don’t know, I live in the south, and there are a lot of people and beliefs around me that I just don’t agree with. This book brought a lot of those issues to life, but in a lighter way. The book talks about a family coming to terms with their son’s sexuality, a woman realizing her husband is a white supremacist terrible person, someone with felony charges trying to get a second shot . . . the list goes on.

Plus, it’s all about the power of books to be able to change our perspectives (and our lives).

I was also just so pleased with the ending of the book! I don’t read many straight fiction books, and so it was nice to have a pleasant ending without waiting for that final shoe to drop. Plus, I liked that everyone (who deserved it) got a good ending. It just wrapped up in a sweet way.

It seems like I don’t have much to say about Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, but it’s because I just want everyone to experience it for themselves! It’s absolutely worth it. Keep an eye on my social media accounts (linked on the right) around mid-June for those giveaways. 😉

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