If you look at this book and assume this is just another light comedy, you would be right – and wrong. This book is not just about banning books. Its about what happens if people are silent when they see something happening that is not right. It is about what hate can do to a person. It is about how easy it is to be taken in by hate. It is about how reading a book can open yourself up to learning about what another’s experience was. It creates empathy and understanding. Some of the most dangerous things that cannot be controlled by those that want you to be afraid of everyone, and obey them.
Beverly is on the school board in the town she grew up in. Her nemesis, Lulu, has been behind a push to remove books from the libraries that will “harm” the children of the town. Instead, she has created a lending library of “wholesome books” on her property. What she doesn’t know is that Beverly’s daughter has switched these books with the actual banned books, leaving only the dust cover of the original book. Hilarity ensues as people borrow books, not expecting to read what they get. Each book, however, does what they are supposed to do – to bring other’s experiences to you, so you can make your own decisions on life.
This is the reason that book bans exist. The purpose is to keep information from others, to keep “others” as the unknown enemy, less than human. It is through this, and those that stand by and let things happen without saying anything, that hate can grow. This hate changes people. As we meet the people of the town, we begin to see how this hate has crept in, unknowingly, and how it is confronted.
Well written, timely and still fun. Worth your time.
The Source 4 Books 