As a lover of books, I loved this book. Kirsten Miller has written an ode to the power of books to open minds and hearts, to teach and inform, and to rescue and heal. LULA DEAN'S LITTLE LIBRARY OF BANNED BOOKS is a cleverly written, timely expose on the dangers of small minded people trying to force their will on others and the importance of standing up to bullies wherever and whenever we find them.

Set in small town Troy, Georgia, traditional southern hospitality is a slim veneer covering ugly thoughts and uglier intentions. At the center of the story is Lula Dean who heads a group trying to remove books from the local school and library. Some of her supporters have more treacherous goals - modern day Nazis who want to return Troy to a past rooted in racism and hatred. One of Lula's ploys includes installing a small free library in front of her home featuring titles she deems appropriate, such as crocheting and genteel southern manners. Her plan backfires when a resident replaces Lula's chosen books with books that had been removed from the library; books addressing slavery, feminism, sexuality, and other topics Lula and her group consider to be "woke" and, thus, inappropriate. One by one the books are discovered by town residents and bring to light the truth about their local hero and the town he founded.

Ms. Miller uses several techniques that made this an outstanding read for me:
- The story is told through the points of view of a number of different townspeople, each with a perspective integral to the plot.
- Each chapter references a different banned book and challenges the assumptions that the books are harmful.
- The tone of the book is lighthearted while the subject matter is anything but. The humor keeps the tone gentle rather than preachy.
- Each of the characters and chapters is intertwined with the others illustrating the interconnectedness of community.

Having enjoyed her earlier novel, The Change, this was a highly anticipated release for me and it exceeded my expectations. If you believe in the magic and power of books to transform, you'll want to grab a copy of this well paced book.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

In the first chapter the author draws you with her beautiful writing, the way she sets the scene it makes you want to get know the characters and the town. It’s commentary on on the book bans and how we wish people would take the time to listen to the marginalized communities that these book bans affect.

I LOVED this one!! It's told in a. narrative style that seems pretty popular lately-each chapter is told by a different character in the small southern town of Troy, Georgia. It's got some heavy themes-prejudices, racism, homophobia-but she tells it through characters you love (or hate), and some of it is silly, but most of it is funny. I saw it described as a satire, and I can see that. I think it will be a HIT this summer!

One of my favorite reads of the year so far! This is an amazing read for anyone and everyone who loves reading and appreciates both the impact and limits of freedom of expression in our society today. Unfortunately, the people who really need to read this book probably won’t—unless we can sneak it into a real life “little library.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The little town of Troy, Georgia faces a big shakeup that all starts with a woman thirsty for attention and admiration starting a movement to ban books and take the town back to "better times."
Lula Dean leads the charge in removing books like "The Diary of Anne Frank" from school and library shelves, but leaves the sexy romance novels she reads in place. She's on a crusade, with a growing number of followers, to shift back to the old days where Blacks knew their place, there was no such thing as being gay, Christianity ruled society, and the Confederates were widely celebrated. To move the process along, Lula sets up a little free library filled with titles including "The Southern Belle's Guide to Etiquette" and "The Art of the Deal."
Beverly Underwood, a pillar of the community, is horrified and makes efforts to push back against Lula's movement but it's too strong to stop. When the mayor steps down in disgrace, Beverly and Lula face off to take his place. In the meantime, a large and unusual collection of people are borrowing from Lula's library. Someone has put different books under all the dust jackets, mostly those books that Lula and her group banned from the libraries. The tension between the people wanting to turn Troy into a "God-fearing town" and those who espouse honesty and freedom, Troy is in for a lot of changes.
This is a wonderful book that depicts the details of southern small town living in the modern age with considerable accuracy. The characters are many, and Ms Miller still develops them to 3 dimensions through various chapters from different angles. I highly recommend this book!

A great idea that unfortunately fell very short in the execution. It was lacking from the beginning and did not improve.

Absolutely, entirely, delightful and intensely powerful. This story bites back at a generation focused on taking away important books. Lula and Beverley are total opposites and their differences are portrayed strikingly in this novel. I devoured this in an evening and cannot wait to see what other stories Author Kirsten Miller has in store. Poignant and lively - this story packs a punch.

I loved this book. I loved how each chapter has to do with a banned book.
I love how the characters weaved in & out of each chapter.
A great beach read.

I cannot say what I expected from this book. I knew it would be cute and I knew that I would like it as I NEVER support banning books.

Instead, there was such a strong message of togetherness, southern pride (without being racist, homophobic, antiliberal, antisemitic, etc.), and HOPE! The reader never gets to fully get into the groove with one character as the perspective is constantly shifting. However, this shows how each book positively impacts each and every person in this small town. The growth of the characters is stunning, especially with as little of them as we get to see.

I love how this book turns stereotypes on their head and helps the reader understand that the south is more nuanced than one may believe.

I would read anything Kirsten Miller chose to write and am looking forward to more of her work! Make sure you read this book!

Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow for the eARC!

Rating: 5/5 Stars

This book was everything I was hoping for it to be and more. This book was funny, surprising, heartbreaking, and one of the best books I've read so far this year. This book had depth I wasn't expecting but gladly welcomed. There were a lot of characters to follow at first, but as you got to know each of them and their stories, you start to look forward to each of their little chapters and discovering more about this town that is so backwards and is also trying it's best. This book made me really come to turns with the reality of why banned books are more important to read now than ever before.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2024 & it did not disappoint! This book is very relevant to what is happening in the world today around book banning and censorship.
I really enjoyed the small town setting and I liked all the characters, they all were well developed with their own distinct personalities.
Overall this was another great book by Miller and I look forward to her next!

In a small southern town, one lonely, angry woman in search of power whips the town into a frenzy over banning inappropriate books. As a consolation, she sets up her own little library of approved books. But in the dead of night, someone comes along and swaps her books for the books on the banned list. And then all hell breaks loose.

This is a fun read. It might oversimplify a complex issue, but it's also a somewhat dumb issue, so maybe a silly, satirical response is exactly what it warrants. I’m sure anyone who reads this book is already against banning books, so the preachiness gets a little grating (we are the choir, after all), but it’s still funny and thought-provoking. And who knows, it could end up in the right person’s hands at just the moment they need it…

Another FANTASTIC Kirsten Miller book that did not disappoint! Arguably my MOST anticipated book of 2024, I was sooo excited to receive an early ARC copy of this one and devoured it in one sitting! EXTREMELY relevant, this book is set in Southern Georgia and follows the happenings in one small town as an older woman, Lula Dean, advocates book banning and has her little free library taken over surreptitiously by banned books hidden inside the sleeves of more innocuous ones.

Told from multiple POVs that highlight the difficult lives of various town members, who suffer are targeted for being Jewish, queer and a number of other 'taboo' things, this book does such a great job fighting for why it's important to stand up to hate in all forms and fight for the freedom to read books that serve to change lives and open minds.

An impassioned, must-read with tons of heart that could literally be ripped from the headlines of any American (or Canadian) town, this book will have you rooting for the underdogs and cheering for justice to be served. I loved how secrets and wrongs from the past get dragged into the light and the way Lula Dean's own children come to save the day in the end through a Drag story time!!

10/10 recommend. I don't think I could love this book more if I tried, especially as a proud steward of a Little Free Library myself. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy, William Morrows for a physical ARC and Librofm for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest feedback.

CW: anti-Semitism, rape, hate crimes, homophobia, transphobia

Book banning is alive and well as we all know. This novel takes on the preposterousness of these actions and in the course of that brings out a message of tolerance and love for your neighbor. Set in a small southern town in Georgia it examines the premise that people are innately good and that it’s often just that they are quieter than the more vocal homophobic, book banning, racist members of society, but that when push comes to shove they will show up and speak up. Sometimes a bit too neat and tidy it does bring out a lot of the arguments for tolerance without being “too” moralizing. An enjoyable read and I liked how she handled the bit of suspense in the middle, leaving us for a few chapters to find out what happened. Definitely recommend. Loved the chapter that examined fake news.

Lula Dean and Beverly Underwood have been adversaries since high school. Fast forward several years - Lula has become the town's busybody, advocating for the removal of inappropriate books from all public libraries, while Beverly serves on the local School Board. Recently, Lula has even started her own mini-library of 'worthy books.' When someone replaces these 'worthy' books with banned books, the story unfolds.

The book is a timely, clever, and beautifully written satire that is sure to be unjustly banned somewhere!

I loved the book—it made me think, laugh, and cheer on the good guys! My only struggle was keeping the characters straight.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for providing an early read in exchange for a fair review.

Short synopsis: When busybody Lula Dean decides to save the children of Troy Georgia by banning books, a sneaky local changes all the books in the LFL disguised with different dust jackets.

My thoughts: This is such a timely book, and very fitting for today. I highly recommend for everyone to read. This deals with some very important topics about race and gender equality, and banned books and the important messages they hold.

There are A LOT of characters in this one, and it’s important to remember them and their stories. And especially how their stories intertwine with the banned book, and other people from the town. The way everything falls together was so well done.

There are definitely lots of triggers in this: anti-semitism, sexism, racism, Nazi supporters, gun violence, slavery, mention of rape and abuse.

Read if you love:
- Intertwining stories
- Small towns
- Character growth and change
- Doing what is right
- Banned books

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is an over-the-top story of a southern town that is turned upside down when the conservative titles in a little library are replaced by "subversive" books that have been targeted for banning by a local group. In humorous prose, it takes on pretty much every hot button political issue of the day. Though I sometimes thought the characters took on caricature status a bit more than I usually like, it seemed appropriate for the story, which was more a cautionary and instructive fable of the times than a realistic novel. This is not to say that all the issues considered are not painfully real and extremely important - they are! But the details of the story were often a bit unbelievable (dust jackets on all these books? I think not) though they served the story well. All in all, an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

Lula Dean has made it her mission to ban all inappropriate books in her small town of Troy, Georgia and has created her own little free library in her yard where like-minded people can find more appropriate books to read (such as The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette and the Art of Crochet). There is a group of people trying to stop her including someone who has come up with a clever solution - they have kept the dust jackets of all of her books but replaced them with the banned books that she is so against; these books include gay romances, literary classics, and black history novels. It has started somewhat of a revolution in Troy, because when you read a book you can learn so much about yourself and the people around you - books have the power to change people’s lives and the lives in this small town are certainly changing.

I loved this novel; I read another book about banned books last month and this approach is exactly what I was wishing the other book had taken - this novel shows how books teach by utilizing character anecdotes and therefore showing, through example, why books are so integral to society as a whole. What @kristenmillerbooks does with humor and grace is to show the pathology behind the people who want to ban the books - they are not one dimensional evil figure, there were reasons behind their bad acts, and the author goes into their backstories to share why they are such flawed individuals (some much more than others) by showing the events that slowly shaped them (because hate is learned). This was also just a fun quirky small town character novel and so it was more than a simple morality tale. I highly suggest this for any book lover.

4,25

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC to review

Wow! An excellent story that is extremely topical. Although it deals with many very serious subjects, there were times I was laughing out loud. If I taught high school or college English, I would want to teach this book.

Definitely one of the most entertaining books I’ve read this year, the story of Lula Dean’s library couldn’t be more relevant, sadly, to our country’s current conflicting attitudes and opinions. The plot involves opposing points of view on the most serious and controversial topics, but it’s SO FUNNY too. If you are a lover of books, and believe in the power of reading to open minds, you will enjoy this well-written and timely novel.