Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol | Cute Graphic Memoir About Summer Camp (ARC Review)

Be Prepared
Vera Brosgol
Published on April 24th, 2018 by First Second
Memoir | Graphic Novel

Be Prepared is the perfect camp story for a lazy summer afternoon. A graphic memoir, the story follows Vera, a young girl who’s always felt out of place because her family is Russian-American and they aren’t super wealthy. Vera is sure that if she goes to Russian sleepaway camp, she’ll finally find a place where she belongs, but she soon finds that fitting in at camp isn’t as easy as she thought.

Graphic memoirs are always fun—nostalgia and humor are usually present, and Be Prepared is no different. If you’re a fan of Raina Telgemeier, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out. What’s fun about Be Prepared is that it’s set at a summer camp. Unlike most common summer camp stories, this book actually doesn’t paint a great picture of camp. Obviously, there are plenty of people who have a great time at camp, but I’ve always been afraid of sleepaway camp, so I was glad to find that my fears were not for naught!

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed was the green color scheme—it went perfectly with the outdoorsy vibe of the book. In fact, Vera Brosgol’s art in general was just fabulous. I also loved the photos of the letters that the author sent to her parents from camp as a child. They were super funny, and I thought it was a very clever touch.

All in all, Be Prepared is a beautifully drawn and humorous graphic novel that’s just waiting to be picked up on hot summer day and consumed with a cold glass of lemonade.

Photo credits: here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Will you be reading Be Prepared? Have you read anything else by Vera Brosgol? (I read Anya’s Ghost and really enjoyed it.) Let’s chat in the comments!

♥ Annie

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not in any way influence my opinion.