As eternal teenagers, we here at FYA relish any opportunity to STICK IT TO THE MAN (although I’m pretty sure that using that phrase instantly identifies me as a grandma). More importantly, we believe in the freedom to read, and we embrace that freedom every time we walk down the YA aisles and face persecution from actual teenagers and/or bookstore employees just because we happen to look like pervs adults.
Consequently, we are overflowing with spazz about BANNED BOOKS WEEK, which starts today! Holla! And we’re gonna celebrate it all week long, cos when it comes to parties, we subscribe to the school of thought known as BALLS TO THE WALL.
Every day, we’ll be reviewing censored books with our special BBW grading system, and we invite you to join in on the scandalous fun by choosing a banned book, picking it up at yr local library and reading along with us! And you won’t just be reading, OH NAY. This is FYA, y’all, so OF COURSE we invented a drinking game to compliment the wicked literary action. Because nothing says FIGHT THE POWER like getting drunk with a book and then yelling along to rage against the machine in yr bedroom. Not that any of us has done that before.
The Official FYA Banned Book Drinking Game
We recommend playing the game with a book-inspired cocktail just to make it extra literary.
Take a drink:
- for each instance of: “sexual gratuity, violence, immoral conduct, obscene language or discussion about sex, religion or violence.”
- after you read one of those instances and think, “Really? This book got banned for THAT?”
- if the page containing the “objectionable” material has been dog-eared or marked up in any way.
Take a shot:
- inversely equivalent to the book’s spot on the Top 10 Banned List for that year (ex: if the book is #1, congrats, that’s ten shots!).
- if you live in a city/town where a book has been banned (double it if the actual book you’re reading has been banned somewhere in yr state).
Chug:
- when you think, “Screw the banners, this book RULES THE SCHOOL.”
Pro-tip: If you yell “IN YR FACE, CENSOR!” every time you drink, it makes you feel like a super badass rebel.
