Although I understand why "Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey" was banned in Galt schools, I do not think the decision was justified. 

In the novel, 15-year-old Tish writes about her life for a journal assignment she receives in her English class.  If Tish does not want her teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey , to read a specific entry, she is given the option to mark the passage with "Do not read this."  Tish makes most of her entries private, and her teacher respects her choices.

The contents of her entries are apparently what stirred the Galt controversy.  For instance:

Tish's problems mostly revolve around her divorced parents.  She lives with her mother and 8-year-old brother, Matt.   Although her father used to live with them, Tish describes him as being abusive and uninvolved in her life.  When he returns, he wreaks havoc on her family.  When he leaves again, this time for good, the situation worsens even further.

Tish also faces sexual harassment at her part-time job at a local fast food restaurant, when the assistant manager, Bud, asks her on a date and she refuses.  Bud tries to cut back Tish's work hours, but she complains to her manager.  When her manager quits, Bud fires her.

One of Tish's friends shoplifts at the mall.  Although Tish does not condone her friend's actions, she too shoplifts, but does so only to provide food for her family.  This does not make shoplifting acceptable and Tish acknowledges this in her journal.

Tish also is in the process of grieving the death of her grandmother, who once acted as her primary caretaker.  Without her grandmother's support, Tish's thoughts turn increasingly negative.  At one point, Tish thinks about borrowing a gun to "scare her parents into talking to each other."  Other than this comment, Tish makes no overtly violent statements, nor does she ever act violently.

In the meantime, Tish's mother decides to travel to another state in search of Tish's father.  She leaves Tish and her brother for more than two months, during which time Tish acts as both parent and child, taking care of herself and her brother with her own money. 

At the close of the novel, Tish writes a note in her journal to her English teacher and asks for help.  Mrs. Dunphrey arranges for Tish and her brother to be placed in the care of their long-lost paternal grandparents, and they are eventually reunited with their mother. 

Tish's problems seem extreme because she faces so many of them at the same time, but in actuality, each of her woes is realistic and could affect any teenager.  Young readers have the opportunity to learn a lot from Tish - when life becomes hard, she perseveres.  She handles her problems with a relative amount of grace and does eventually seek adult help.  Other girls might attempt to make their problems disappear by indulging in self-destructive behaviors, but Tish never does.

Her actions might serve as a model for teenagers in situations similar to hers - but only if these teens are given the opportunity to read the book.

 

 

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