Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

A Novel

By: Kirsten Miller

Narrated by: January LaVoy

“Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I enjoyed this novel and you will too.”—James Patterson

The provocative and hilarious summer listen 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.

What Lula doesn’t know is that a local troublemaker has stolen her wholesome books, removed their dust jackets, and restocked Lula’s library with banned books: literary classics, gay romances, Black history, witchy spell books, Judy Blume novels, and more. 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. That's when the showdown that’s been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town...and change it forever.

©2024 Kirsten Miller (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

Small town attitudes

Loved the tie-ins by chapter to books that are challenged/banned. A great read for bibliophiles.

A must read for all Americans

Definitely captures the heart of those for and against book bans as well as the underlying reasons for those who would try and hide our shared American history—all the good and bad mix together to make a town grow stronger and more tolerant of each other.

Relevant for our times

Fascinating little book that hits the nail on the head not only about what is happening in my conservative TX community but also in this great nation.

Everyone Should Read This!!!

If this doesn’t hit home, I don’t know what will. I live in Florida, so the topic of burning books is very relevant. I believe everyone who doesn’t understand how big of problem this should read this. It explains why this is such an important topic and right we shouldn’t have taken away.
I loved hearing all the stories and how an entire town was effected. It was inspiring.

A Must-Read with a GREAT narrator

This book needs to be read by everyone! And the narrator was amazing. I enjoyed reading it both in book format and listening to it on audible.

Kirsten Miller tells a vivid story that raises a lot of questions and made me think about the books I’d want in a “little library”.

I spent most of my time analyzing the story and relating it to the current climate in America. Although this book takes place in a small southern town, it helps show that the problems and issues talked about in this book aren’t specific to one region; we have a problem in America as a whole if we don’t read about uncomfortable histories and explore things outside of ourselves. Knowledge is power!

Thought provoking and funny

I really enjoyed the performance of this book. The characters are well developed. The subject matter is something we all need to think about, ask ourselves the tough questions. It reminds us to be open minded and compassionate and that knowledge is power.

everyone should read

loved this book. Everyone should read it. The subject matter needs to be heard.

Recommending to everyone!

beautiful and thoughtful dive into themes that divide people and how love (and books) bring them together.

I Loved this Book

A very entertaining book that includes sensitive and controversial issues handled lightly with a lot of humor.

Fantastic story and performance

This was one of my favorite books and performances to date. The story is perfect for the times we’re living in and the performance was really outstanding. 5/5 stars!