Be Prepared

Be Prepared
Vera Brosgol
First Second, 2018 258 pages
Grades 4-7
Graphic Novel

Vera struggles to fit in with her classmates. Her single parent family has less money, lives in an apartment and is very Russian. While attending services at her Russian Orthodox church, Vera learns about a Russian summer camp for kids and she begs to go, hoping that this will be her chance to finally make friends with whom she has things in common. Finally, Mom agrees and drops Vera and her little brother off, only camp isn't what Vera expected. She is placed in a tent with two older girls who are already friends and leave her out, there is no running water only a pump and a lake for bathing, and potty business must be done in an outhouse. Harder still are all of the outdoor activities that do not come easily to Vera and, though she can speak Russian, reading and writing it proves to be a chore. Her brother seems to be enjoying himself and ignores her, making Vera feel even more alone. As the summer progresses Vera makes many blunders trying to fit in and for a while things get even worse. After a camp out even further in the woods and a chance encounter with a moose Vera finds some confidence and inner-courage. She begins to relax a bit and draw on her strengths. An unexpected turn of events leads her to a friend and, later, she has the opportunity to save the day. Camp turns out ending much better than it started, though she's not so sure about next year. A surprise ending tells the readers that Vera's challenges aren't over yet, but at least now she has some tools to figure them out.

Award winning cartoonist and Caldecott honorist, Brosgol has penned a semi-autobiographical novel based on her two summers spent at a Russian summer camp in her youth. Realistic graphic novels are a very hot genre right now and Be Prepared will have a willing readership and instant fan-base.The story is heartfelt and readers will identify with Vera and her dorky inability to fit in. She tries too hard, which predictably backfires, and then figures it out, which will hopefully educate the reader in not making the same mistakes. The underdogs of the book succeed, which will be satisfying to the target audience. The mean girls suffer for a while, than work it out in the eleventh hour, showing them to be human and undeserving of any permanent punishment. The cartoons are expertly drawn, scan well, and help to convey the plot. They are printed in black, white, and army green, adding to the feel of the woods. I work in a Russian community and am always looking for books that reflect the experiences of young Russian Americans. My community is primarily Jewish, while Vera is Christian and the camp is Russian Orthodox. Still, I think my patrons will relate to a lot of Vera's experiences and be happy to see a character of their own ethnicity by an author/cartoonist with a similar cultural upbringing. Enjoyable, relatable, and emotional, older elementary school girls will eat this title up.