Tag: banned books

REVIEW: Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

REVIEW: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Lula Dean is on a crusade to rid the town libraries of “pornography.” It doesn’t matter that the erotic cookbook was put on a shelf as a prank. Lula has found her calling.

Beverly Underwood has been Lula Dean’s long-time nemesis. And as the head of the school board, Beverly has a front row seat as Lula and her “Concerned Parents Committee” attack the various school and public libraries with their “righteous” intensions. And the townsfolks are ready to watch the “filth” burn. Beverly is blindsided by the whole thing. But her college-aged daughter, Lindsay, is inspired to action.

In the dark of night, Lindsay swaps out the prim books in Lula’s Little Free Library for the banned titles confiscated from Lula’s crusade, setting them inside the jackets of Lula’s “approved” titles.

And then people in the town start reading those banned books – without Lula noticing.

Review

What a brilliant story! Once the premise is set up, most of the chapters focus on one person and one book from Lula’s library – and how reading that book changes something for them. It’s a series of fascinating short stories from a variety of perspectives.

Positioned around those vignettes is the larger story of Lula, Beverly, and the town. It’s stunning – like watching something get woven together. In the end as the threads are finally pulled taut, you see the whole picture come together in a way that is nothing short of brilliant. It’s a creative structure that elevates an excellent story to a whole other level. (I feel the same way about The Candymakers for kids.)

This is thought-provoking – and funny. But it’s also grim at times. I was captivated by the folks in this town and the way books influenced families and kids and siblings and spouses. The ending is supremely satisfying – including an epilogue from 2034 that was more than I even hoped for.

This will definitely be one of the top reads for me in 2024!

(Language, some sexual content. TW: racism, homophobia, rape, gun violence, suicide, white supremacy/Christian nationalism)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ – Outstanding!

REVIEW: Suggested Reading by David Connis

REVIEW: Suggested Reading by David Connis

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Clara Evans has always been something of a reading fanatic. As a kid, she could only read books AT the library. Money was super tight, and her parents wanted no risk of overdue fees. When Clara found an abandoned library card, she used it to secretly check books out – and she never earned a fine!

Books were what got Clara admitted to her fancy school, Lupton Academy. They’re also what prompted her to start a nonprofit that runs Tiny Little Libraries around town and gets grants for school libraries in need. In fact, Clara’s night-before-school-starts tradition is called the “Evans Highlighter All-Nighter” which involves her staying up all night to read. And this year – before her last high school first-day-of-school – she stays up to read a new book from her favorite author. And it’s amazing.

Clara’s tired, but walking on  a post-book high when she gets to the school library for her volunteer shift. That’s when she discovers the school is puling 50 books from the library collection. And they’ve done it before. Students didn’t notice, thinking the books were just checked out when they couldn’t find them on the shelves. But now Clara is aware. And she’s ready to do something about it!

Review

This was fascinating! There have been a few other banned books/start-a-secret-library-in-your-locker sort of stories in the last couple years (Ban This Book, Property of the Rebel Librarian), but this stands in a category by itself. Part of the reason is that this is YA rather than middle grade. With the older audience, the author can explore some more mature content, reasoning and emotions. The other reason is how the protagonist is challenged and changed by this journey. At one point she feels like books – in some ways her most faithful companions through life – have betrayed her or failed her. She also wrestles with significant risk for her protest. All of these pieces made for a fantastic reading experience for me.

This would be a tremendous book for class reading or for book groups. You have all of the book related material, but you also have other teen issues like underage drinking, sexual identity, depression and suicide for discussion.

While the ending didn’t punch all the buttons I was looking for, I was pleased with how everything wrapped up for Clara and her friends. Be sure to check this one out! (Language, LGBTQ+, Trigger Warning: suicide)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½