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

 

I'm a huge fan of Kirsten Miller. The Change was a favorite novel of mine from a few years ago, and I've been eagerly anticipating her second novel, which will be available in the U.S. on June 18th. Big thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it ahead of publication. I don't think I could have waited another month to read it!

I'll preface this review by saying this novel doesn't pull any punches, and if you have a particular set of beliefs or opinions, it's probably not the book for you. Or may it is the book for you, but you won't feel comfortable reading it. 

The small town of Troy, Georgia is steeped in Southern tradition and the kind of place where manners are everything and you can still be annoyed by your high school nemesis thirty years after cheerleader camp. People are long on memory and short on minding their own business. Especially when it comes to books. 

Lula Dean is a busybody, nosy, orange-haired person who likes to stick herself into things that aren't her business. A kid's prank of putting a naughty cake cookbook in the public library starts the flames of book banning, with Lula Dean leading the way. In short order she's organized a citizen's group, pulled hundreds of books out of the public and school libraries, and has set up a little library outside her home that only has "appropriate" books she has curated for the townsfolk. Books that have a slant towards racism, whiteness, and putting women in their place. 

Someone decides to swap out those books with books that were pulled from the public library--keeping the covers from Lula's books, but swapping out the books. So it appears that her books are in the little library, but people who decide to take one get a big surprise when they start reading. But that big surprise sets in motion so many life changing events for some of the townspeople that it's clear change is afoot and boy, is it coming fast!

Of course Lula has no idea what's happened to her little book library, which kept me snickering through the story. I loved getting to know the people of Troy. Some of their stories were funny, others were troublesome, but all of them were changed for the better by a book they read-a book that was banned. 

It's an all out war in little Troy, GA as national news arrives, marriages crumble, friendships are strained, and beliefs long held dear are tested. Kirsten Miller's writing is biting, funny, witty, and also very pointed. 

I loved this novel. We must protect books, authors, librarians, booksellers, and anyone who advocates for those who are seen as "less than". I know this is fiction, but oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if this battle played out with a happy ending in our real lives. 

Rating: 6/6 for a novel that addresses all the things that are happening in our country--all the dark, weird, misinformed things. Loved the characters, the humor, the points made, and the evolution of some of the characters from ignorant to informed. 

Available on June 18th in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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

The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean

DNA.  Genes.  What makes us human.  Well, we aren't very different from chimpanzees; only a few genes separate us on the big scale.  It's all very interesting, and a bit hard to follow in the nitty gritty scientific bits, but overall, this was a very enjoyable scientific book for anyone who is interested in genes and the story of humans.

Sam Kean has some pretty good stories in the chapters to demonstrate the wild and wacky ways of nature and the complexity of DNA.  If you're like me, and use the terms DNA and genes interchangeably, well...they are two different things.  Genes are in DNA, and they are inherited from our parents. They determine traits we will receive from each parent.  DNA is basically the giant cloud that holds all the genes.  I could go into chromosomes, but I won't.  Some parts of the DNA/gene science explanations went right over my head.  What I loved were the stories Kean told.

Like the story of Paganini, often lauded as the best violin player ever known to man.  He was pretty brilliant, and could play like no other.  The reason for this was because of his crazy uber-flexible fingers and hands.  He could play parts of the violin that no one else could.  What no one realized was that he suffered from what is now known at Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  People who have this syndrome can't make collagen, which makes their joints hyper-flexible.  It also causes skin to thin and become very sensitive; bowel issues, vision impairment, and a host of other problems.  People thought Paganini sold his soul to the devil in order to play so magnificently.  

Did you know that the liver of a polar bear is toxic to humans?  You may think, "Why would I ever have to worry about this?" and that's a fair question.  But, early explorers of the Arctic Circle found themselves chosing between starvation or feasting on polar bears (who were also feasting on the men).  After eating the liver of a polar bear, an expedition became violently ill; vomiting, dizziness, sensitivity to sunlight, and the most spectacular of all, sloughing off of skin.  It seems the polar bear's liver stores an enormous amount of vitamin A, and through thousands of years of evolution, the polar bear has adapted to eating seals (who produce a lot of vitamin A in order to continually replenish skin cells to stay warm) without becoming ill themselves.  After all, seals were the only food source polar bears had, way up North.  It was either adapt or be starved out of existence.  Pretty cool!

There are loads more stories in The Violinist's Thumb on odd genes and why they do what they do.  I had a hard time at first getting through the scientific bits, but soon became deeply interested in reading all of the stories about people and animals who are living proof that we continue to change, yet stay the same, on a cellular level.  

This is a great book for any high schooler or collegiate who is showing interest in science, biology, or even archaeology and forensics.  There are so many new fields of study popping up because of the interest in genetics that most anyone will find this book fascinating.  

Rating:  7/10 for a scientific book that explains science for the masses, along with pretty cool stories that show our genetic quirks in action.  

Available in paperback, e-book, and audio.

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The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean