In Be Prepared, all Vera wants to do is fit in—but that’s not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera’s single mother can’t afford that sort of luxury, but there’s one summer camp in her price range—Russian summer camp.

Vera is sure she’s found the one place she can fit in, but camp is far from what she imagined. And nothing could prepare her for all the “cool girl” drama, endless Russian history lessons, and outhouses straight out of nightmares!

I enjoyed this cute representation of how someone can feel like they’ve finally found the place where they are going to fit in, only to find out that they don’t really and that making friends is about more than being similar to people. This is the first title I’ve read by Vera Brosgol and I really enjoyed not only her art style but her story telling in general. She perfectly captures so many facets of what girls (and children in general) experience in their pre-teen ages – especially when they feel like they can’t fit in with anyone. I did really enjoy the experiences shown at camp and all the emotions Vera went through.

Happy reading!