Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol: Review
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
Summary "Be Prepared" is about a young girl named Vera. She never really fits in with the other girls in her grade. She never has elaborately planned birthday parties like her classmates, she can't afford to go to summer camp with the rest of the girls, nor does she own an American Girl doll. She's always felt a bit left out of the group and she thinks maybe it's because she isn't as rich as the other girls or the fact that she's Russian. Like most children, Vera just wants to fit in and to be a part of something. She thinks that she'll never really fit in until she hears about Orra, a summer camp for Russian children. Finally! She thinks, A place where I can fit in! She prepares her belongings weeks before they're supposed to arrive, and she constantly awaits the day she can finally leave for summer camp, just like the other kids. But the camp experience doesn't go the way Vera expected it to... "Be Prepared" is the story of a young girl's journey through summer camp while trying to get the popular girls to notice her, but she might just find something more important than popularity, like long-lasting friendships. Review (Spoilers ahead! Proceed with caution...) The plot of this book moved fairly quickly, despite how slowly time seemed to pass for Vera, and I was completely invested in this book from the beginning. A lot had happened within the pages of this book, despite it being only 244 pages long. Vera's character is well developed throughout the graphic novel and her camp counselor, Natalie's character is also well developed. Natalie stayed calm, even when she was being yelled at by Vera when Vera's day wasn't particularly good. I really liked how patient Natalie was. I also appreciated that when Vera tried making friends with Sasha and Sasha by using her artistic talent, Natalie warned Vera and said, "Something I figured out is, friends you buy aren't as good as the friends you get for free." I just think that we need to take a moment to appreciate Natalie's character. At the end of the book, Vera Brosgol mentions that "Be Prepared" was based off of true events, but character names were changed for privacy and some characters were added in for the purpose of storytelling. I think that's a part of why the story was so well developed, along with Brosgol's careful crafting of a tale about learning the meaning of true friendship and realizing that, as Natalie phrased it, "The friends you buy aren't as good as the friends you get for free." None of the story elements, dialogue or action, felt out of place within the story, and I felt sympathy for Vera during the book when she wanted to go home because people were being mean to her and ignoring her. I found this book to be very enjoyable and I felt the emotions that Vera felt throughout the story. A part of me was hoping that Vera would make a friend during the last week of the summer camp and when she found Kira's guinea pig and returned it, I immediately found hope and wished that they would become friends. I enjoyed the fact that Vera learned that she didn't have to change herself in order to have people like her and I think that the author did a very good job in 'showing not telling' that lesson. At this point, Vera didn't care that Kira was younger than her or that they looked odd to the other kids in camp. She was happy and she had found a friend, and that was enough for her. I think that this book presents the reader with a myriad of powerful messages. One person could say that the moral was that friendship is always more powerful and important than popularity and another person could tell you that the message is to be yourself, no matter what others think, and both would be correct. I think that's one of the important things that this book shows, that growing up does not only teach you one lesson, growing up and experiencing new things comes with finding out so many new things and realizing many things. I think that many children are able to sympathize with Vera and her experiences at camp and her time at home because like Vera, most kids just want somewhere to fit in. For most children, Vera is relatable. Maybe there are shy children or children who are different from most, and they want to be a part of something so they try their hardest to make space for themselves within a certain group of people. There is a lot that children can learn from the experiences of the main character in this graphic novel. Maybe some children will realize that they don't have to force themselves into a certain place and that they're perfect as the person they are. This book is definitely on my "Yearly Graphic Novel Reread" list and I will recommend it to as many people as I am able to, as many people that will listen. Overall, the plot was well written, the characters were well developed, and the author portrayed many important themes throughout the story and I give "Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol 4/5 stars.