There are several YA subscription boxes out there these days, but when Quarterly wrote to us and offered us a chance to review a "literary YA" version, filled with bookish goodies and, of course, curated books, I jumped at the chance to check it out. Quarterly joined the fray in July 2016 with their take on book mail!
Here's what they say about their service:
HOW THE LITERARY YOUNG ADULT BOX WORKS
The ultimate behind-the-scenes experience for book lovers
Each quarter features a new author and new themes
The author hand-picks 3 or more books
The author includes handwritten notes and exclusive content
Discover something new to read every 3 months!
Overview
Quarterly offers one subscription plan at $50 per quarter (That's $200/year, if you're not into doing math this afternoon). Each box has at least three books, bringing the "cost" of each book to about $16 (less, if you account for the bookish swag and author content).
Quarterly just announced that author S.J. Kincaid will be curating the next box, and it will feature her newest book, The Diabolic.
July 2016 Quarterly Box
The July 2016 box was curated by Beth Revis.
It's full of awesome bookish goodies, including an annotated copy of Beth's latest book, A World Without You--how cool is that?! I love this look into what goes on "behind the scenes" when an author is writing a book.
Beth's 5-page letter ties these seemingly unrelated books and goodies together (What does a photo holder and Emily Dickinson notecard have to do with anything, I wondered when I opened the box), making the selections seem very thoughtful and well-considered. I'm intrigued about their upcoming themes!
The Verdict
This is one of the pricier subscription services if you go by price-per-box, but the bonus of getting, say, an annotated book, like Beth Revis provided, balances out the cost. The carefully selected "accessories" are a nice treat, too. If you prefer YA that skews less Y and more A (or you know a teen who likes YA but feels like they "should" be reading "adult" books, you'll surely appreciate these selections. To check out Quarterly and subscribe, visit them here.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a free box from Quarterly's Literary YA division in exchange for an honest review.