Be Prepared

Already love Vera’s work? Don’t miss her first novel Return to Sender!

"Beautifully drawn, brutally funny, brilliantly honest. Vera is such a good cartoonist I almost can’t stand it.” —Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile

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!

BUY THE BOOK

Published Apr 24, 2018

256 pages

Average rating: 7.5

6 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

JaneRose0514
May 02, 2025
8/10 stars
Camp life is the central theme here. The big plus is that readers also learn a bit about Russia and Russian culture. Vera does finally make friends but the road is rocky. The camp kids were quite unkind at times. A gripping and hilarious middle-grade summer camp memoir from the author of Anya's Ghost. 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.

I like it. The graphic was amazing as also the character Vera. I've never had a camp before but I hope someday, I'm going to go to a camp. Her campmates are mean to her but not really mean and not all. She found a friend and they are close together:)

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.