By Kirsten Miller
HarperCollins, 2024. 298 pages. Fiction
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 a mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books--none of which she's actually read. To replace the 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. 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 and start to challenge the book banners' misplaced fears.
This book was positively delightful! I listened to the incredible audio version (linked here), where the talents of the voice actors make the tiny town of Troy, Georgia come alive. This novel takes a very divisive topic and presents it in a way that allows room for conversation and nuance. The reader understands why Lula Dean does what she does, even if they don't agree with her actions. One of the most beautiful things about reading is the ability to grow empathy for those who are not like ourselves, and this book demands that its readers do just that.
If you like Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, you might also like:
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The Book Club for Troublesome Women
By Marie Bostwick
Harper Muse, 2025. 372 pages. Fiction
This charming novel explores the lives of housewives in 1963 suburban Virginia. Margaret, Viv, and Bitsy are living the American dream. However, "having it all" leaves them feeling guilty and wondering if there should be more to their lives than just domesticity. Enter Charlotte, their arty, fashionable, and eccentric new neighbor from New York City. These four women start a book club, with The Feminine Mystique as their first title, a controversial and groundbreaking book that inspires each of them to examine their own lives, illustrating why they each feel pressured, unhappy, and unfulfilled. Through their discussions of other books, they form an unbreakable bond and encourage one another not only to acknowledge their fears and dreams but also to seek change to make their longings a reality.
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Bookish People
By Susan Coll
HarperCollins, 2022. 327 pages. Fiction
This intensely wonderful novel is set in the immediate aftermath of the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, in which a counter-protester was killed. Readers meet the multigenerational staff at an independent Washington, DC, bookstore as they navigate personal and professional dilemmas. The bookstore's owner, Sophie Bernstein, has just been widowed; the loss, in combination with the country's political turmoil, is causing her to have a break with reality. Overworked and underappreciated events manager Clemi is an aspiring writer who's struggling to find her footing in life. Throw in a busy and understaffed store, several controversial author events, pets running amok, and an impending solar eclipse, and you have a story where dark and comedic plot lines converge.
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The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks
By Shauna Robinson
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022. 329 pages. Romance
Hapless but good-hearted Maggie arrives in Bell River to take over the local bookstore for her friend on maternity leave. It all sounds wonderfully exciting until she discovers the rules of the "Bell Society:" no contemporary novels, no books not available during hometown literary icon Edward Bell's lifetime, and no questioning the character of said author. As an outsider, Maggie lacks the unquestioning devotion to the town's beloved author, angering the Bell Society management. Versatile author Shauna Robinson relates Maggie's words evenly and calmly, bringing out her thought processes and motivations as she searches for a way to save the foundering bookshop. Maggie begins to secretly hold fun genre-themed events and starts an online presence that skyrockets the bookstore's profitability, but at what cost? Despite toxic Bell Society issues, Maggie finds herself making friends and falling in love with her adopted small town. An uplifting small-town romance with broader appeal.
LKA
If you like Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, you might also like:
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By Marie Bostwick
Harper Muse, 2025. 372 pages. Fiction
This charming novel explores the lives of housewives in 1963 suburban Virginia. Margaret, Viv, and Bitsy are living the American dream. However, "having it all" leaves them feeling guilty and wondering if there should be more to their lives than just domesticity. Enter Charlotte, their arty, fashionable, and eccentric new neighbor from New York City. These four women start a book club, with The Feminine Mystique as their first title, a controversial and groundbreaking book that inspires each of them to examine their own lives, illustrating why they each feel pressured, unhappy, and unfulfilled. Through their discussions of other books, they form an unbreakable bond and encourage one another not only to acknowledge their fears and dreams but also to seek change to make their longings a reality.
.jpg)
By Susan Coll
HarperCollins, 2022. 327 pages. Fiction
This intensely wonderful novel is set in the immediate aftermath of the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, in which a counter-protester was killed. Readers meet the multigenerational staff at an independent Washington, DC, bookstore as they navigate personal and professional dilemmas. The bookstore's owner, Sophie Bernstein, has just been widowed; the loss, in combination with the country's political turmoil, is causing her to have a break with reality. Overworked and underappreciated events manager Clemi is an aspiring writer who's struggling to find her footing in life. Throw in a busy and understaffed store, several controversial author events, pets running amok, and an impending solar eclipse, and you have a story where dark and comedic plot lines converge.
.jpg)
By Shauna Robinson
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022. 329 pages. Romance
Hapless but good-hearted Maggie arrives in Bell River to take over the local bookstore for her friend on maternity leave. It all sounds wonderfully exciting until she discovers the rules of the "Bell Society:" no contemporary novels, no books not available during hometown literary icon Edward Bell's lifetime, and no questioning the character of said author. As an outsider, Maggie lacks the unquestioning devotion to the town's beloved author, angering the Bell Society management. Versatile author Shauna Robinson relates Maggie's words evenly and calmly, bringing out her thought processes and motivations as she searches for a way to save the foundering bookshop. Maggie begins to secretly hold fun genre-themed events and starts an online presence that skyrockets the bookstore's profitability, but at what cost? Despite toxic Bell Society issues, Maggie finds herself making friends and falling in love with her adopted small town. An uplifting small-town romance with broader appeal.
LKA
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