I really enjoyed Miller's first book but this one was even better - I love reading anything about Banned Books and I really enjoyed how this one turned my preconceived ideas of how the plot was going to go on its head.

Having travelled in America a few times I can see how easily people can be duped and hidden from historical facts - although to a European not knowing anything about the Holocaust seems incredible....
This book very much shows the power of the written word - and how this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view...

I loved this so so much! A powerful and timely novel about the power of books and community, I cannot recommend it enough to everyone I know! I cried with joy on multiple occasions, a book for the soul.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough! It's a must-read, especially in today's world. I love all of the different issues this book seamlessly tackled.

At times I found it a little long and was getting confused on who was who and how the characters were related to each other. By the end I felt like a native of the town of Troy and was totally invested in how things panned out.


Recommended. 4 stars.

Although it was easy to see which way this book was going to go, I enjoyed the journey. Seeing how the books in the little library impacted on each member of the community in turn was interesting and made me wish this could be done on a large scale in real life.

My review for this book is overdue due to issues I had with the ARC, like many reviewers the text in the proof copy was unreadable. However, I was really curious about the story, so I waited and borrowed a copy from my local library. Considering the plot of the book, this seemed fitting, and I’m really glad I did.

The town of Troy has been contaminated however not with the liberal agenda but with the dogma of the past. This unwavering dedication to the traditions of time that was only ever grand for part of society is something that is replicated time & time again in the world around us. The insidious banning of books in this novel sadly reflects the incidents that we consistently see from communities that follow the dog whistles. Miller has perfectly captured the various forms of the manipulation that is sadly part of a slice of life in today’s society.

This is an impressive book which contains so much power within its pages. The people that really need to hear this message probably won’t as it’s captured within the pages of a book that in essence challenges the right wing massive to be better people.

Like in the novel, the fight continues.

In the small town of Troy, Georgia, where tradition and scandal often intertwine, Beverly Underwood and Lula Dean are locked in a fierce rivalry. Beverly, a member of the local school board, is committed to the town’s educational progress, while Lula has made a name for herself by crusading against what she deems inappropriate literature. Her mission to cleanse the public libraries of “unsuitable” books has become a town spectacle.

In retaliation, Beverly’s daughter, Lindsay, embarks on a covert operation. Under the cover of the night, she sneaks banned books into Lula’s newly established little free library, cleverly disguised with innocuous dust jackets. Among these literary subversions are classics and controversial works, their true content masked by covers promising genteel Southern propriety. The transformation of Lula’s library into a clandestine hub of forbidden knowledge sets off a chain reaction, altering the lives of many unsuspecting townspeople.

As the townsfolk—ranging from the local postman and the prom queen to a farmer and the former DA—read these subversive books, their perspectives and lives begin to shift in profound and unexpected ways. The hidden library becomes a catalyst for change, illuminating the power of literature to challenge, enlighten, and transform.

With the local election for mayor approaching, Beverly and Lula face off in a battle that promises to shape the future of their town. As the revelations about the library's contents come to light, the community is forced to confront their own beliefs and biases. The town's fabric, previously held together by tradition and conformity, begins to unravel as secrets and revelations come to the fore.

The Library of Rebellion delivers a compelling commentary on the clash between knowledge and ignorance. It highlights how literature can challenge societal norms and provoke change, often in the most unexpected ways. This novel's thought-provoking narrative and engaging characters make it a poignant reflection on the enduring struggle between progress and tradition.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Being familiar with Troy, Alabama (a university town), I was intrigued to be offered an ARC of this unusual novel, set in the fictional Troy, Georgia. Like a university, this novel is equally concerned with educational learning, or perhaps the interference of it: the subject-matter concerns the banning of books that the pillars of the closeknit Southern Society do not consider worthy of readership. Pitted against each other are the fearsome empty-nester Lula, who is on a book-banning mission to make her hometown more ‘wholesome’, and her rival since school days, Beverley, who is determined to sabotage those efforts in ingenious ways with the help of her effervescent daughter Lindsay. As other reviewers before me have written, this book is the rarely successful literary tightrope act of humorous writing style underpinned with serious messages – in this case xenophobia, ultraconservatism, and misogyny. An unusual read from a writer to watch out for! My thanks go to NetGalley and HQ for the much-appreciated ARC supplied in exchange for this unbiased book review.

This was an enjoyable read, which I found quite amusing in places. Each character worked well and I enjoyed what they bought to the story. Would recommend

This was a brilliantly crafted book that I really enjoyed.

The characters are well written and developed, The story is about Lula, who is n a mission to ensure the town people still have access to books that are deemed inappropriate. These books start to have an impact on the lives of the people who read them

As a School Librarian in the UK this book resonated to me. I am pleased the book ended on a positive note. The characters and the situations were drawn well with a light realistic touch.

A really beautiful novel on the power of books and the sway they can have on our lives. I loved the motivations in this book and it's way of showing multiple people and their struggles. My only gripe is the ending was too rushed and I wish Lula had perhaps found a book that would change her perspective rather than just a sudden change of mind, but it was still enjoyable!

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller is perfect for our times and imho, sweet, funny, reflective, wholesome and thoughtful

Lula Dean sets up a free library of wholesome books in a small southern town when the books begin to be replaced by "banned" books. Battles on social media, confrontation and conversation in the streets and ultimately a compromise of why all books should be available to read

Timely, poignant, perfect

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author Kirsten Miller for this ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

A contemporary satire about what happens in a small Southern town after a woman campaigns against controversial books. Excellent if you read it as a satire. Might ruffle feathers of a few people. Better for those who enjoy character-oriented storytelling and are liberal in their thinking.
A great read I loved it. Funny!!

READ THIS BOOK! 🤩

Hands down one of the best books of 2024, it was funny, serious, heartbreaking, anger-inducing, heartwarming and everything in between.

Lula Dean’s making a mark for herself as she leads a book banning committee. Her ‘wholesome’ little free library falls victim to a prank though, as those wholesome book covers hide banned books that cause waves across the little town of Troy in Georgia.

It’s told in short chapters, focusing on different residents’ stories, and honestly what a book that sends some incredibly important messages.

Read this book!

Thank you to the author, publisher & Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I actually really really disliked this book. I thought that it was full of cliches, the humour fell flat and it was really hard to figure out what exactly this book was trying to do. Was it trying to make a big point? Was it meant to feel like satire? I just found it very over-the-top, but perhaps it was written for a different audience. Maybe it's better suited to an American market?

I was quite surprised to see how many 5-star ratings this book received on Netgalley, so it's clear to me that it's perhaps just not my cup of tea?
From a merely technical point of view I found the prose a bit too simplistic and with a lack of any depth to it.

An unusual book but, one, that I really enjoyed. A clever series of interlocking stories about people and their lives and all coming together. Brilliant. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

"Aside from the fact that people should be free to read whatever they like, can't you see how fucking stupid this shit makes us look?"

Whenever I see an article of Instagram post about a book being banned it always saddens me. One of the main reasons I love to read is because it expands my view of the world and gives me new perspectives on topics I might not have previously considered. Some of my all time favourite books have been on a list of banned books, many remain on them. This is why I was so excited when I saw the blurb for Lula Dean's Library of Banned Books, and it lived up to every one of my expectations.

Lula Dean's Library of Banned Books is a love letter to books and reading, but it also repeatedly makes the point that whilst books explore ideas they don't make people do things. A book cannot make someone gay, for example. A book doesn't turn someone into a killer either, prejudice and hate have much more of an influence on whether someone turns to murder than a book ever could.

The book begins with two people taking books out of Lula Dean's little free library and swapping them for banned books. Lula Dean is a bitter and loney woman who starts her little free library after someone discovers a pornography book hidden among the bakery books in a local library. Lula takes to facebook and all hell breaks lose.

"What should we do with this filth? Lula asked her followers. Beverly scrolled down through the replies. The most common response appeared to be: Burn it!!!"

Lula Dean's Library of Banned Books follows the lives of a group of people who take a book out of Lula's library and instead of the book they expected they find one of the banned books in the cover of an approved title. The book then goes on to outline the positive impact these banned books have on their lives.

We soon learn that when Lula and her Concerned Parents Comittee pulled books of the shelves in the local and school libraries they were acting based on a list of banned books they found on the internet rather than of their own volition. Likewise, the books Lula replaced them with just happened to be the books she found cheapest in a thrift store. Netherless, the actions of Lula prove divisive in the small town of Troy, Georgia and tensions buid until the explosive conclusion.

The Little Library of Banned Books outlines the sheer absurbity of the reasons used to justify banning books. There is anger in there but also a lot of humour to balance it out.

"Recognize this?" Lula called out. "Y'all know who the Lord of the Flies is, don't you? You think it's a coincidence the book's named after the devil? He's been right here in Troy, and he's opened the door to a whole slew of demons. Anarchists and pedophiles and socialised health care. He's the reason your children complain about going to church. He's why your doors have to be locked when you leave the house. Without the Lord of the Flies, kids wouldn't be kidnapped or groomed or given double masectomies."



I think my favourite character was Wilma Jean Cummings, an elderly lady who is so fed up of her family scheming to get their inheritance that she has decided to just stop speaking...until she encounters one of the library books...

"It was round the age of her 80th birthday that WIlma Jean Cummings noticed a change. She was still the same, of course. It was everybody else in the family who'd lost their damn mind. They leaned in so close when they spoke to her that she could read their breath like a Chick-Fil-A menu. Then their voices would go soft and sweet as marshmallow fluff, and they'd avoid words with more than one syllable."

The small town of Troy is filled with secrets and the little library is about to blow them all up. Lula Dean's Library of Banned Books is a love letter to the joy of reading and has a host of characters that leave you wanting more. It is also absolutely hilarious. A definite hit!

Really enjoyed the interlocking stories and the idea behind the library of banned books. A great read

An absolute gem of a book that I am already pressing into customers’ hands. Fast-paced and genuinely funny, this is a powerful, feminist read that celebrates the power of education and the coming together of community. An engaging read that taught me a lot about American history and the lessons we should all be learning from the past so we don’t repeat them now.