Jordy’s Book Club Pick for June 2024!
One of Read With Jenna’s 5 Books to Read This Summer
A Library Reads Top 10 most anticipated reads for June 2024!
“When the books Lula wants banned show up in her Little Free Library, it sets off a cascade of consequences in this sneakily smart novel.”
People
“[An] incisive comedy . . . A clever send-up of book banners’ misplaced fears. Miller’s fans will flock to her latest page-turner as social critique.”
Publishers Weekly
A bold and brilliant rallying cry of a book!
Womensprize.com
“[A] hilarious, over-the-top, richly woven story with a lot of small-town charm.”
Readers Digest
“Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is shaping up to be this summer’s Big Read. Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I really enjoyed the book, and you will too.”
James Patterson, NYT bestselling author (to put it mildly) and indefatigable champion of banned books
“A snort-inducing testament to the grit and humor of the South—and an elegantly crafted call to spread wide our arms and offer everyone a seat at the table. Amen.”
Lauren Myracle, NYT bestselling author of many a banned book
“Funny, relevant, and wildly entertaining all at once? Please read this one and pass it along!”
Susan Wiggs, NYT bestselling author of The Lost and Found Bookshop
Lula Dean is on a mission. The resident busybody of Troy, Georgia, is hellbent on removing the “pornography and propaganda” from the town’s libraries. Even her lifelong nemesis, school board president (and former cheerleading captain), Beverly Underwood, can’t seem to stop her.
To prove she has nothing against good, wholesome literature, Lula builds her own little free library in her front yard. Filled with classics like The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette, 101 Cakes to Bake for Your Family, and (of course) The Art of the Deal, Lula’s library is an instant success!
What Lula doesn’t know is that a local troublemaker (Beverly’s daughter) has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula’s library with banned books: gay romances, Black history, witchy spell books, Judy Blume novels, and more.
As the townsfolk borrow books from Lula’s banned book library, they find their lives transformed in hilarious, profound and unforeseen ways. Thanks to Lula Dean, the town of Troy will never be the same.
10 QUESTIONS FOR LULA DEAN READERS
Do you have any personal experience with book banning?
Has a book ever changed your life for the better? What was it—and how did it help?
Which banned book would you put in Lula Dean’s little library—and who would you want to find it?
Which character or chapter hit home for you? Who/what was it and why did that story resonate?
The book addresses some very serious issues with humor. How do you feel about that approach? Where did the humor work best? Were there places where it fell flat?
How do the young people in this book see the world differently from their elders? Do you think this is true of the young people you know?
Lula Dean takes place in a world with all of our problems—but with a touch more magic. How did you feel about the liberties that were taken with reality?
We meet a few members of Lula’s Concerned Parents Committee, and each has a different reason for banning books. How do Lula Dean, James Wright and Nathan Dugan’s motivations compare?
Lula Dean and Beverly Underwood are the same age and come from similar backgrounds. What makes them so different? How does their battle reflect a larger conflict within our society?
Did this book make you look at the subject of book banning—or the people involved—in a different way? How did you feel when you put the book down?