Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

How it reads

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is contemporary fiction (community literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is heartwarming. It's kind, generous and emotionally satisfying. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a small town setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are class and society, friendship and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 298 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.