Be Prepared, by Vera Brosgul

I’m not sure where I learned about ‘Be Prepared‘ by Vera Brosgul, but it sat on my to-be-read list for the big kid for a while. Eventually, I requested the library to buy it and they obliged. 

The other day I got a chance to sit and read during the day and managed to knock the whole book over. I really wanted to keep reading, and in under an hour, I was done.

It was a fun, heart-warming, ‘make you reflect’ kind of book. The comic-book style of this book is not normally my favourite because you have to not just read the words but look at each of the pictures to pick up the subtle nuances of the story that the author wants you to get. But seeing as the story was so captivating and the pictures really very easy to ‘read’, I didn’t mind.

The story itself is based on the personal experiences of the author, Vera Brosgul and is told from her perspective as a 9-year-old Russian girl. Vera lives in America with her mother, brother, and sister, and is trying to find her place, first among her American peers and then among her own compatriots. She faces rejection, feeling left out, fears of camping, being away from mum and the scary new world of teenagers.

The big boy here also read it and really liked it. I’m not sure if he got the references to periods, but he didn’t seem phased by it.

This book is very similar in style and tone to ‘El Deafo‘. It suits a more mature primary schooler, one ready to read approach topics like loneliness, puberty, and bullying.