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Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015

Liz Cadman
ByLiz CadmanMar 20, 2015 | 11 comments

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Box

Uppercase is a YA book subscription box from Lisa Parkin. Each month Uppercase sends you a new YA book, a related accessory, and exclusive content from the author of the chosen book. I love a good YA book, so I wanted to try this subscription out!

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process postto learn more about how we review boxes).

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Items

The subscription is shipped in priority mail envelope, and inside it is packaged together in a thin canvas sleeve.

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Book + Letter

The Subscription Box: Uppercase

The Cost: $29 (If you want them to pick a book based on your tastes the cost is $35 each month)

The Products: “When you sign up for Uppercase, every month you’ll receive:

  • 1 exciting new YA book
  • 1 book accessory (funky items like bookmarks, posters, jewelry, totes, etc)
  • A personal explanation of the choice + other similar titles
  • Discount codes for popular book buying websites
  • Exclusive content from the author of that month’s book”

Ships to: US and Canada (extra shipping costs for Canadian subscribers).

Check out all my reviews of Uppercase!

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Letter

The subscription comes with a hand written letter explaining why the book was selected for this month.

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Red Queen

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - Retail Value $17.99 (On Amazon for $11.42)

Here is the synopsis of the book from Amazon:

Graceling meets The Selection in debut novelist Victoria Aveyard's sweeping tale of seventeen-year-old Mare, a common girl whose once-latent magical power draws her into the dangerous intrigue of the king's palace. Will her power save her or condemn her?

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood—those with common, Red blood serve the Silver- blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard—a growing Red rebellion—even as her heart tugs her in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

I've heard good things about this book - and I actually bought it a few days ago at Costco! (My husband and I just discovered that Costco books are competitively priced with Amazon and went a little book shopping crazy).

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Book Plate

 

This box also came with a signed bookplate for the book, and a coupon code to use at Ink & Dolly.

Uppercase YA Book Subscription Box Review – March 2015 Candle

Paddywax Library Tin Candle in Oscar Wilde - Value $8

This library themed candle is fitting for the box, and a fun extra. It is made with soy wax and I absolutely love the scent!

Verdict: The retail value of this box is about $26. (It's about $20 if you count the Amazon price of the book). I wouldn't recommend this box (or most book subscriptions) if you are looking for the retail value to be competitive with Amazon pricing. I do recommend this box though if you value the thoughtful curation and the bonus extras like the signed bookplate, and the exclusive content from the author just for subscribers.

I recently finished the selection from the February box (I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios) and I really enjoyed it. So far I am finding the value in the curation of this box. Of course this month I would have loved to receive a book I hadn't just purchased, but I'll share this with a friend!

What do you think of Uppercase Box?

Liz Cadman
Liz Cadman
Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

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11 comments

Julie

Aww man! This is going to be my first box from Uppercase and I already have this book! ha… The book was VERY good though, so if this is a sign of things to come, I am sure I will be very pleased!

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Demure

I highly recommend Edgar Allen Poe from the Paddywax Library

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Melissa

This sub sounds fantastic. And the help with choosing books would be so welcome!

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Cristal

It looks like the price of this subscription has been reduced to $23 for the regular and $29 for the expert pick.

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Liz Cadman

I always try to include the shipping costs in the review so you know the full price – that’s why there’s a difference. Hope that makes sense!

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Cristal

It does Liz, thanks. I didn’t know shipping and handling wasn’t included in the $23 and $29 prices. Thanks for letting me know.

Cristal

I mean $23 for the expert pick and $29 for the personalized pick.

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Sneaky Burrito

Oh, my, that description with the colors sounds like a big rip-off of Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Substituting Silver for Gold, but the rest is SO similar.

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Heathery

I think there are definitely differences. I loveloveLOVE Red Rising, so I put it on a pretty high pedestal, but I’m definitely interested in this book too. Or maybe it’s just the cool crown cover because I’m shallow and judge books by their covers haha.

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Sneaky Burrito

In fairness to the author, she was probably working on this book before Red Rising was released (which was only last year). And there may not be the whole “Hunger Games” feel to this book that there was in the second half of Red Rising, I don’t know. But I also think I could make a pretty long list of similarities, just based on the synopsis.

Allison

I thought the exact same thing as I was reading the synopsis! Even the main character’s name is reminiscent (one letter difference!) of the MC in Red Rising: Red Queen’s MC’s last name is Barrow and Red Rising’s MC’s first name is Darrow.

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