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Liberty Box edition 4 is themed “Back Ah Yard” packed with an exciting “Caribbean vibe” to it. It features  a number of great Caribbean themed items all of which I have never come across before making me even more thrilled to explore this box. One of the best things about  having a subscription box will always be the fact that  I see this whole box as an educative process where both items and the featured book helps in discovering products that you may otherwise have not had the opportunity to.

The contents of this month’s box include :

•    The book of the month -How to love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs

•    Stay Tallawah A4 Poster

•    Belly Full Likkle  Caribbean Cookbook

•    Love Rems Cocoa Kiss Body Butter

•    Reggae Groove Cut Crisp

The book of the month is a collection of short stories which highlights self-discovery, identity and Jamaican culture from characters who present their experience of what it is like to be Jamaican, both at home and away. Key themes that run throughout this book include belonging and identity in different settings.  The idea that a person’s identity remains determinant of their everyday experiences is embedded in the stories of the book.

Characters demonstrate the challenges that they encounter including sometimes having to convey and even defend their  own culture. The first story in the collection“Light-Skinned Girls and Kelly Rowland is my favourite out of the entire collection it is a good example of how a young Jamaican girl based in NYC tries to help her friend understand the complexities of being Black in America.

The book is not the kind of book that I  generally would read mainly because I do not tend to read short stories. However, that being said I took it on considering it as a challenge . On first impressions, I was totally drawn to the burst of colours of the book cover in someway I find the cover to be very fitting for the diverse culture and identity issues that the book covers. 

While I found the stories to be authentic. The whole book can feel disconnected so it is important to   keep a mental note of that for those who are not used to reading such books . I would definitely recommend this to short story lovers ,but also those who are in the process of experimenting and reading outside their usual preferences.

The box on the whole  has a great cultural theme, and I even tried my hands on some of the recipes from the Belly full cookbook. With Christmas approaching I encourage everyone to head over to the Liberty box website to purchase a box  for their loved ones. One box including the book and content cost £29.99 , but  remember that you can use the discount code TINA15 for a 15 % discount on your purchases. I am look forward to hearing peoples view on this book if they have read it or their experience of reading short story collections.