Calling all book fanatics! If you’re a fan of YA novels and you’re searching for a fun monthly subscription box with a literary twist, look no further than Uppercase.
(Warning: This post will include spoilers for March’s box. If you don’t want to be spoiled, avert your eyes!)
About Uppercase
Launched in August 2014, Uppercase is a monthly subscription box that’s curated specifically for young adult book lovers. Each month, subscribers receive a brand-new YA novel, the signature of said YA novel’s author, and some exclusive bookish swag!
Uppercase’s book of the month is personally curated by Lisa Parkin, Uppercase’s founder. Parkin reads hundreds of YA novel ARCs every year and chooses only the best of the best to be included in the boxes. How can you know you can trust her taste? She’s been blogging at Read.Breathe.Relax for about four and a half years and her recommendations are trusted by the hundreds of thousands of readers who follow her. Not only that, but she has been a well-known YA book reviewer for the Huffington Post for the past five years!
The great thing about Uppercase subscription boxes is that there are actually two subscription tiers: The Expert box and the Book Exclusive box. In the Expert box (which is $23 a month), you’ll receive:
- A brand new, hardcover YA novel
- The signature of the YA novel’s author (whether it be on the book itself or a bookplate)
- One to two high-quality bookish items that are exclusive to Uppercase subscribers
- Exclusive content to enhance your reading experience
- A personal hand-written note
The Book Exclusive plan ($17 a month) is the same as the Expert plan except that Book Exclusive boxes don’t include the bookish items. In other words, the box is just book exclusive. This is a great option if you’re looking to discover some of the best new books but don’t have the budget to justify the extras.
Interested in seeing some of the previous Uppercase subscription boxes? Check out their past boxes on their website!
March Uppercase subscription box review
Confession: When I first received my March Uppercase package, it took me a minute to realize exactly what it was! Unlike other subscription boxes, Uppercase doesn’t ship their items in stylized boxes. Instead, my Uppercase package arrived in a mailing envelope. But inside was a cute canvas drawstring bag that held all of my mystery items. The canvas bag adds a really nice touch, one that I think I prefer over an actual box! It just makes the package look so much more charming.
Okay, so I love reading YA novels. There’s just something about a well-crafted book that makes me remember why I love reading so much. But I always run into the problem of never being able to tell which YA novels are ones that I can’t miss. Goodreads reviews only get me so far (and that’s if I know what books to search for).
That being said, one of the things I love most about the Uppercase subscription box service is the fact that I can trust that the book I’m getting is one that I really need to be reading. While browsing the Uppercase website, I noticed that a previous box included Wolf By Wolf, my favorite book of 2015 (and at the top of my list of all time), so I knew ahead of time that I could trust Uppercase’s taste in books.
But Uppercase really won my trust when I opened my cute Uppercase canvas bag and saw the gorgeous cover (and title) of March’s book selection staring back at me. Though I’d never heard of Alwyn Hamilton’s Rebel of the Sands before seeing it in my Uppercase package, I was immediately intrigued. I’m a big fan of female-led stories as well as action adventures and Rebel of the Sands‘ synopsis promises both of these things.
If you hadn’t previously heard of this novel either, the setting is in an Aladdin-like desert nation where mortals rule but mythical creatures still roam free. The story centers around Amani Al’Hiza, a poor orphan girl whose dreams of leaving her small town are made reality after meeting a mysterious fugitive. From the looks of it, it’s action-packed with a bit of romance thrown in. I can’t wait to start reading it!
Accompanying Rebel of the Sands was a signed bookplate (which is basically a signed decorative label that I intend to stick to the inside cover of my copy), and a fun decal. I really appreciate the time the author spent signing bookplates for all of the Uppercase boxes and throwing in the cute decals. It’s the little details like these that really make Uppercase boxes special.
I also love the bookmark that was included with the book. In fact, it’s less of a bookmark and more of a cool reading guide in that it has page numbers with corresponding code next to them. These codes lead to videos, polls, and questions that correspond with the moments on those specific pages and make the reading experience even more immersive. I’ve never done anything like this while reading before and can’t wait to try it out.
If I were an Uppercase Book Exclusive subscriber, I would definitely be happy and satisfied with not only the book selection but also the little book-related odds and ends included. That would definitely be a solid box in and of itself. However, I didn’t receive the Book Exclusive package. I received an Expert box, which means I also got two additional reading-related goodies!
The first goody caught my eye right away. That could be because it was wrapped up in a cute purple organza bag or because I saw right away that it was a pair of quotation mark earrings. I’ve actually been wanting to get myself a pair of quotation mark earrings for a while now, but could never find ones that I liked (or that didn’t come in a cheap pack of earrings). The JewelSugar-designed 18k gold pair that Uppercase has gifted me though? Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I’m probably going to wear them everywhere.
The second bookish item was a round magnet that says “READ MORE” in colorful letters. Any reminder of my wish to read more than I already do is okay in my book. Sometimes I find myself just sitting and staring into space when I could be reading. This magnet will be a great reminder for me. Plus, it’s so stylish! It’s definitely going to get some prime real estate on my refrigerator.
All in all, I’m more than happy with my March Uppercase subscription box. While I love the bookish items, I’m more excited about my new YA novel (which shows that Uppercase is definitely doing something right). If you’re looking for a subscription box to indulge your YA novel obsession, definitely check out Uppercase. You’ll be glad you did!
Enter to win an April Uppercase subscription box!
We’ve teamed up with Uppercase to give two lucky winners the chance to experience Uppercase subscription boxes in real life! Two lucky winners will each receive one April Uppercase box. The giveaway runs until Tuesday, March 29th at 11:59 PM EST and is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents. Good luck!
Full disclosure: I received a free March Uppercase subscription box in exchange for my review on the site.
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