daniella does it all

🌿 July Reflection: Looking for Alaska

When I started Looking for Alaska, I didn’t know how much it would make me feel like a teenager again — not in the romantic, prom-night kind of way, but in the real way. The messy, confusing, aching way.

At just 17% in, I could already see why people wanted this book banned. And finishing it only confirmed it.

It’s a story about grief. About first love and first loss. About trying to figure out who you are when you feel like you’re already breaking. The parts that get challenged — the language, the drinking, the infamous scene — weren’t there to shock. They were there to show how clumsy and disconnected teens can be while trying to feel something, anything, in a world that doesn’t always make space for them.

As a mom, it hit me differently. I thought about my kids, and how one day they’ll carry their own griefs and mistakes. And I don’t want those moments to feel shameful or unspeakable. I want them to know stories exist that say, You’re not broken. You’re just human.

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💬 Why It Matters as a Banned Book

Books like this get pulled from classrooms because adults feel uncomfortable. But discomfort doesn’t mean danger — it often means growth.

When we ban books that feel too real, we teach kids that their feelings are too much, that their mistakes should be hidden, that grief is something to go through quietly. And that silence can be more damaging than the story itself.

Reading this as a parent reminded me that my kids will need space to ask hard questions and process messy truths. Stories like Looking for Alaska give us a safe way to start those conversations.

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✨ Quote That Stayed With Me

That line sat heavy with me. Forgiveness — for others, for ourselves — might be the hardest thing we ever practice. But it’s also the only way to heal, and I want my kids to know that too.

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📖 Up Next: August’s Pick

For August, we’re going deeper — with a book that’s been challenged for decades:

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

This one has been banned for “explicit content” and “graphic depictions” — but what it really shows us is the violence of racism, the pain of internalized beauty standards, and the trauma of being a young Black girl in a world that refuses to see her.

It won’t be an easy read. But that’s exactly why it belongs here.

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📥 Join the Banned Book Challenge

One book a month. Six months.

You don’t need a stack of free time. You just need the courage to read what they don’t want us to.

🎧 Grab the free challenge tracker + the full reading list here.

Tag me @danielladoesitall if you’re reading along — I want to know your takeaways.

Because when we read these stories, we keep them alive. And when we share them, we make sure they can’t be erased.

xo