|
|
|
|
|
Along the streets you travel each day, you may have noticed a little library in someone’s front yard—a cheery-looking wooden display filled with kids’ picture books and dog-eared paperbacks that neighbors are happy to share. But the books in Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller change everything for one small Southern town.
The story begins when small town busybody Lula Dean calls to ban a number of books that she’s deemed offensive from the local library. Lula’s rival and school board member Beverly Underwood is determined to stop her. But as the two women prepare for battle, something unexpected is happening in the town of Troy, Georgia. One night, after Lula sets up her own little library in her front yard, someone removes the books and puts banned books inside the old books’ jackets—and it changes the lives of the townspeople in unexpected ways.
All of us readers understand the incredible power of the written word. And as neighbors stop by to choose a book from Lula’s library—whether it’s out of curiosity, boredom, or just the search for wholesome reading—they end up reading books that have been deemed inappropriate. But instead of being shocked and appalled, their eyes are opened to pain and prejudice and injustices. They find strength and inspiration. Long-held secrets begin to come out, kicking off a chain reaction that seems to affect everyone in town. And when the mayor is forced to resign, Lula and Beverly face off to fight for the office.
What plays out is often shockingly, laugh-out-loud funny. But underneath the clever silliness of these mixed-up books and the readers who are in for some big surprises, there’s something much deeper—something that questions and challenges and tests readers’ thoughts and beliefs. Admittedly, the satire can sometimes come off as heavy-handed. Lula Dean’s real-life counterparts are unlikely to pick up this book—and, even if they do, it probably won’t change their minds about fighting to ban the books that they don’t like (but probably haven’t taken the time to read). But, for the rest of us, it’s an entertaining reminder of the value of all kinds of literature.
Though it probably won’t shake things up the way that the books in Lula’s library did, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is a wickedly entertaining summer read—but also a surprisingly inspiring story about a town that read some books that moved them to change up the status quo.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
|
|
|
|
