Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgol

[mrissa]

Review copy provided by First Second Books.

When I was a kid, I loved camp stories.

When I was a kid, I did not love camp.

The difference comes through very clearly in Vera Brosgol's Be Prepared: camp, like other hells, is other people.

Be Prepared is the story of a young Russian immigrant girl who feels out of place with her wealthier American friends and convinces her mother to send her to a Russian Orthodox scout camp for the summer, where she will--she feels--be among kids like herself and fit in and have the glorious joyful camp experience she has heard of from her friends. It is...about as much like that as you would expect. There are biting insects, stinky latrines, unfriendly older kids who are much more familiar with the camp experience, shifting expectations, well-meaning counselors...it's camp. It's camp, from the perspective of a two-cultures kid, and Brosgol makes it vivid and relatable.

Please consider using our link to buy Be Prepared from Amazon.

Comments

[lilysea]

Oooh! This looks interesting! ^_^

Thank you! ^_^

[jesse_the_k]

Outstanding! It's on my hold list now.