History ComicBook / BePrepared

The graphic novel was released on April 24th, 2018. Has nothing to do with a [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 lion or a king]].

* AdoringThePests: Vera starts feeding wild chipmunks outside her tent, considering them cute. For this she ends up getting bitten badly on one finger and fears she has rabies.
* AlwaysNeedWhatYouGaveUp: Vera throws away her Russian camp songbook before she gets to camp, unsure of why she needs it. Cue her first night at the campfire, where she doesn't have her book to sing along and has to mouth the words.

* BaitAndSwitch: A very mild one. Vera, after she's stuck at summer camp two more weeks, decides she's going to study for the Third Rank badge test with the belief that the badge will prove she "conquered" camp. This is followed by a long montage of her cramming. [[spoiler:Until she finds fellow camper Kira's lost guinea pig, and makes friends with her. She instead then trains to win the last game of CaptureTheFlag--and skips taking the test altogether, instead taking some apples and eating them with Kira by the river.]]

** The first song at camp, "Be Prepared", [[TitleDrop drops the title of the book]] though it's all sang in Russian. It's a song about how scouts, as Russian expats, should be ready to defend Russia. ([[{{Irony}} Vera is not prepared]] as she doesn't have her songbook to sing along, having thrown it away.)

* LeaveMeAlone: Vera yells that she doesn't need anyone at her camp counselor Natasha after being shunned by the older kids. She spends a good part of camp on her own, which is harder when the theme is camaraderie. [[spoiler:She eventually does make a friend, showing this was just a boast after feeling friendless yet again.]]

** The first song at camp, "Be Prepared", drops the title of the book. It's a song about how scouts, as Russian expats, should be ready to defend Russia. ([[{{Irony}} Vera is not prepared]] as she doesn't have her songbook to sing along, having thrown it away.)

* UnderwearFlag: Blonde-Sasha's underwear get run up the flagpole at camp--while she's on her period, [[PeriodShaming so they have stains]]. [[Brunette-Sasha is implied to have done it in revenge after Blonde-Sasha is found making out with Alexei and she learns about it, and the two fight until the last day of camp over it, when they make up off screen while Vera's packing.]]

** The first song at camp, "Be Prepared", drops the title of the book. It's a song about how scouts, as Russian expats, should be ready to defend Russia.

* BaitAndSwitch: A very mild one. Vera, after she's stuck at summer camp two more weeks, decides she's going to study for the Third Rank badge test, the belief that with the badge will prove she "conquered" camp. This is followed by a long montage of her cramming. [[Spoiler:Until she finds fellow camper Kira's lost guinea pig, and instead then trains to win the last game of CaptureTheFlag--and skips taking the test altogether, instead taking some apples and eating them with Kira by the river.

* BigFun: Grusha, the counselor for the new boys at camp (the ''volchata'', or wolf cubs), is a big fuzzy man who approaches Phillip, gives him a cookie, and says the other boys are off catching frogs and he should come along before there's no good ones left. It works, and Phillip runs off happily with him.

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: Vera plans to have her ninth birthday party in August (after everyone gets back from camp), and wants it to be like her friend Sarah’s slumber party complete with the things she thinks make a successful party: stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, brand name soda, good gift bags, and a Carvel ice cream cake. But her single divorced mother can’t afford those things. She substitutes with regular pizza, kvass (a Russian rye bread carbonated beverage) and a medovik torte (a layered honey cake)--all very Russian, and several of it discounted gifts from members of their church. Vera is unhappy at things being so "Russian" and tries to make the best of it, but her very American friends [[CultureClash are visibly uncomfortable with the cultural differences]] and staying overnight in her small apartment, where they all have to stay in the room she shares with her younger brother (who is sleeping in the bedroom with their mother and younger sister Masha.) The girls call their parents in the middle of the night to go home; Vera is very hurt and blames herself, saying she can't fit in with the American kids.

* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Four of these happen over the course of the comic as a result of ''napadenya''/CaptureTheFlag.

** Vera is made to feel left out twice at Sarah's birthday party: first when she doesn't have an [[BlandNameProduct American Doll]] to play with the other girls, and again when they're in their themed sleeping bags in a circle together while she lays over to the side under a patched blanket.

* LostPetGrievance: One of the girls at camp slightly younger than Vera, Kira, lost her pet guinea pig Malchik after bringing him (and running off when she was told she'd [[NoAnimalsAllowed have to send him home with her parents]] and losing him in the woods). She spends her time at camp crying. [[spoiler:Vera finds the lost pet with a week or so left and returns it to Kira, and they become friends.]]

** Vera does the pooping variety after going to the "Hollywood" (outdoor toilet)--and while doing her business looks up to see the ceiling ''covered'' in [[SpidersAreScary spiders, with one coming down towards her]]. She takes off running and finishes outside behind a tree, doing that for the rest of camp as much as possible (when she can't attend the toilet at the nearby lake where they do full hair washing).

* NervousWreck: Vera's counselor Natasha when she's first met. She has a frazzled look on her face and [[EstablishingCharacterMoment barely notices Vera when she arrives and reluctantly helps her carry things away]], then drops Vera's bag on the ground and says she has to go find another camper who ran off when she was told she had to [[NoAnimalsAllowed send her pet guinea pig back with her parents]]. She's in contrast to Phil's more enthusiastic counselor Grusha. She calms down later--he first day was the more stressful day.

* ShoutOut: The start of the book has Vera go to the birthday party of her friend Sarah Hoffman, who is well off enough to have an ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' doll (which are called "[[BlandNameProduct American Doll]]"). Most of her birthday presents are various items from the collection for her doll, "Complicity". Later her and the other girls are playing with their dolls together--minus Vera, who doesn't have a doll and [[LonelyAmongPeople feels left out]]. She tries to claim she has one, but makes up having one that doesn't exist. Sarah hands her an [[TakeThat old Barbie]] to play with, which Vera is not pleased to have.

* StrugglingSingleMother: Vera's mother is a single parent raising three children after her husband divorced her. Given the age of the youngest child, it doesn't appear to have been very long ago. The family is poor and lives in a two-bedroom apartment above someone else's place, and Vera can't afford the many nice things her American classmates can.
* SummerCampy: Vera's hopes for a summer camp experience like her friends are dashed when she arrives. The camp is a ''lot'' more rustic than she hoped, complete with outdoor toilets, camping in actual tents, no running water (bathing, including hair washing, is done in a lake fully dressed every other day while morning wash-up is done in the river) and lots of wilderness.
* TitleDrop: The first song sung at the camp is "Be Prepared"--a song about Russians being prepared to support Russia.

* UnderwearFlag: Blonde-Sasha's underwear get run up the flagpole at camp--while she's on her period, [[PeriodShaming so they have stains]]. [[Brunette-Sasha is implied to have done it, after Blonde-Sasha is found making out with Alexei and she learns about it, and the two fight until the last day of camp over it, when they make up off screen while Vera's packing.]]
* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: Both Phil and Vera agree they do ''not'' need to go to camp again next year. [[spoiler:They won't, because they're moving to England.]]

* TheNineties: The book is set during the late 90s, implied to be in the latter half of the decade.
* AdoringThePests: Vera starts feeding wild chipmunks outside her tent, considering them cute. For this she ends up getting bitten badly on one finger.

** After hearing about a Russian-culture summer camp and wanting to attend camp like the other kids she goes to school with, Vera ''begs'' her mother to let her go, citing that the church will pay half of what it costs. She starts to regret it very soon and wants to go home.

* BigFun: Grusha, the counselor for the new boys at camp (the ''volchata'', or wolf cubs), is a big fuzzy man who approaches Phillip, gives him a cookie, and says the other boys are off catching frogs and he should come along before there's no good ones left. and It works, and Phillip runs off happily.

** The first song at camp, "Be Prepared", drops the title of the book. It's a song about how scouts should be ready to defend Russia.

* BlankStare: Vera's response to hearing her mother got a new job--[[spoiler:in London]].

* CultureClash: Happens at Vera's ninth birthday. Rather than having all the "trappings" of an American birthday, her mother gets a Russian style cake, serves kvass, and unstuffed pizza from a local pizza shop. The girls are visibly discomforted from the start because of things--including that her apartment is small, including her bedroom--and end up leaving early, not even taking their gift bags. Vera decides the problem was that her party was both too poor and too Russian, and she can't fit in with the American kids.
* DisappearedDad: Vera's father divorced her mother a few years ago. He doesn’t contact them or send money, and she hasn't seen him in several years.
* DontTryThisAtHome: Vera gets bit by a chipmunk and doesn't tell anyone, terrified that she has rabies. Later, Kira tells her that it's actually ''very'' unlikely since rodents don't usually carry rabies, and the bite didn't break the skin--but Vera should still tell the nurse, just in case. Vera says she will, but doesn't. This has a footnote from adult Vera who stresses this was a ''very'' dumb thing to do and that if you get bit by a wild animal, seek medical attention you should see a doctor and not another kid.

* HopeSpot: The intended two weeks at camp pass and Vera is looking forward to heading home, especially because she's just been bitten by a wild chipmunk and the older girls won't speak to her anymore after she both lost them their SecretSnackStash and lost CaptureTheFlag. However, her mother informs her that she's got an interview for a job that might work out, and it requires her to be out of town for a few days--and since she can't afford a babysitter for her and her brother, she needs to have them stay at camp two more weeks, which is the cheaper option. Cue "[[BigNo NO!]]" from Vera.
* {{Irony}}: Vera wants to go to summer camp, while her brother Phillip just wants to stay home. When they get there, Vera has a miserable time while Phillip takes to it immediately. [[spoiler:Near the end, [[ItGotBetter thing improve for Vera]], and Phillip admits that one of the boys, Anton, was pretty nasty to him too.]]
* KarmicJackpot: Gregor, one of the quieter older boys at camp, is made fun of by everyone for losing his shoe to a sinkhole during their twelve-mile hike and then getting stung by wasps--with one in the middle of his forehead, getting him the EmbarrassingNickname Tit-head. However, his asthma means he's the only one exempt from the CoolAndUnusualPunishment Vera gives the boys after she wins at CaptureTheFlag--checking the depths of all the outdoor toilets. (In her author's notes, the real Vera admits this is [[LifeEmbellished one aspect that she embellished for the narrative]]; the real Gregor never got any justice. She notes that fiction is considerably more fair than real life.)

* LostPetGrievance: One of the girls at camp slightly younger than Vera, Kira, lost her pet guinea pig Malchik after bringing him (and running off when she was told she'd [[NoAnimalsAllowed have to send him home with her parents]]). She spends her time at camp crying. [[spoiler:Vera finds the lost pet and returns it to Kira, and they become friends.]]

** Vera, when she goes to speak to her brother, fins him peeing outside with the other boys.

* SecretSnackStash: The other girls camping with Vera have forbidden candy in their tent and initially share it with Vera. However, once she gets them caught it gets confiscated and everyone's tents get searched since there's no candy or sweets allowed at camp.

* SliceOfLife: The comic focuses on Vera's time at ORRA, a Russian-focused summer camp.

* StrugglingSingleMother: Vera's mother is a single parent raising three children after her husband divorced her. Given the age of the youngest child, it doesn't appear to have been very long ago.
* SummerCampy: Vera's hopes for a summer camp experience like her friends are dashed when she arrives. The camp is a ''lot'' more rustic than she hoped, complete with outdoor toilets, camping in actual tents, no running water (bathing, including hair washing, is done in the river) and lots of wilderness.

* TranslationConvention: The camp heavily pushes for everyone to speak Russian as much as possible at camp. This is written in English and [[TranslationPunctuation marked with <single brackets>]] around Russian speech.
* UnderwearFlag: Blonde-Sasha's underwear get run up the flagpole at camp--while she's on her period, [[PeriodShaming so they have stains]]. [[Brunette-Sasha is implied to have done it, after Blonde-Sasha is found making out with Alexei and she learns about it, and the two fight until the last day of camp over it, when they make up offscreen while Vera's packing.]]

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Vera makes friends with plenty of the older girls at the camp by showing off her artistic skills and drawing the boys they like and them. Natasha tells Vera she shouldn't make friends in such a manner--specifically, that friends you "buy" aren't as good as friends made for free. True to Natasha's word, when Vera accidentally reveals the contraband secret candy stash in her tent by eating some of the Skittles she gave away, her "[[FalseFriend friends]]" the older girls, including her tent mates, all turn their backs on her and start to bully her mercilessly for getting them in trouble.

Every year, Vera and her brother Phillip have always been the only kids in their neighbourhood to never go to camp for the summer. After a disastrous ninth birthday party where she doesn't fit in with her more American friends, Vera gets word about the Organization of Russian Razvedchiki in America (''ORRA'' in Russian for short and likely based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Organization_of_Russian_Scouts_(Scouts-in-Exile) The National Organization of Russian Scouts]]), a Russian-culture scouting summer camp. Vera begs her mother to send her there, both so she can be with people of her own culture and so she can go to camp like American kids do. Her mother agrees and pays to send her there for two weeks--along with her brother Phillip (much to his chagrin).

* BigFun: Grusha, the counselor for the new boys at camp (the volchata, or wolf cubs), is a big fuzzy man who approaches Phillip, gives him a cookie, and says the other boys are off catching frogs and he should come along before there's no good ones left. and It works, and Phillip runs off happily.

** The third time the boys win, the girls are made to wash the boys' dirty laundry at the creek.

* DontTryThisAtHome: Vera gets bit by a chipmunk and doesn't tell anyone, terrified that she has rabies. Later, Kira tells her that it's actually ''very'' unlikely, since chipmunks don't usually carry rabies, and the bite didn't break the skin--but Vera should still tell the nurse, just in case. Vera doesn't do that, prompting an author's note from adult Vera, who stresses to her readers that this was a ''very'' dumb thing to do, she got lucky, and no one should follow her example. If you get bit by a wild animal, seek medical attention!

* HopeSpot: The intended two weeks at camp pass and Vera is looking forward to heading home. However, her mother informs her that she got the job she'd been studying for and it requires her to be out of town for a few days--and since she can't afford a babysitter, she decides to have them stay at camp two more weeks.

* KarmicJackpot: Gregor, one of the few nice older boys at camp, is made fun of by everyone for losing his shoe to a sinkhole and then getting stung by wasps. However, his asthma means he's the only one exempt from the CoolAndUnusualPunishment Vera gives the boys at the end of checking the toilets. (In her author's notes, the real Vera admits this is one aspect that she embellished for the narrative; the real Gregor never got justice. She notes that fiction is considerably more fair than real life.)
* LifeEmbellished: While most of the story is based on Vera Brosgol's real life, some things are simplified or jazzed up for a good story's sake. For example, the story is actually based on ''two'' miserable summers Vera spent at ORRA, and while she did wander off in the woods at night by herself and hear a moose, she never actually saw it. She admits the part where she got bit by a chipmunk and made the ''not'' very smart choice to not tell an adult about it was true, though.
* LonelyAmongPeople: Vera is made to feel left out twice at Sarah's birthday party: first when she doesn't have an [[BlandNameProduct American Doll]] to play with the other girls, and again when they're in their themed sleeping bags in a circle together while she lays over to the side under a patched blanket.

* NervousWreck: Vera's counselor Natasha. She has a frazzled look on her face and [[EstablishingCharacterMoment barely notices Vera when she arrives and reluctantly helps her carry things away]], then drops Vera's bag on the ground and says she has to go find another camper who ran off when she was told she had to [[NoAnimalsAllowed send her pet guinea pig back with her parents]]. She's in contrast to Phil's more enthusiastic counselor Grusha.

%% * BigWhat: [[spoiler:Vera's response to hearing her mother got a new job... in London.]]

''Be Prepared'' is a SliceOfLife ComicBook by Creator/VeraBrosgol. It's a fictionalized account of what happened to Brosgol when she went to summer camp as a child.

Every year, Vera and her brother Phillip have always been the only kids in their neighbourhood to never go to camp for the summer. After a disastrous ninth birthday party, Vera gets word about the Organization of Russian Razvedchiki in America (or [=ORRA=] for short), a Russian summer camp. Already enthusiastic about the idea, Vera begs her mother to send her there. Her mother agrees and pays to send her there for two weeks along with her brother (much to his chagrin).

Soon after she arrives, however, she discovers that [[SummerCampy the camp isn't quite as much fun as she had expected]]. The bathroom is disgusting, the other kids are older than her and quite nasty to boot, and church--Russian Orthodox--is held outside, rain or shine. Now all Vera wants is to be back home.

The graphic novel was released on April 24th, 2018.

* {{Autobiography}}: Details author Vera Brosgol's miserable time at an all-Russian summer camp.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: After hearing about a Russian camp, Vera ''begged'' her mother to let her go. She soon came to regret it.
%%* BigFun: Grusha, one of the counselors, sets himself up as this to Phillip.

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: Vera plans to have her ninth birthday party in August (after everyone gets back from camp) be like her friend Sarah’s slumber party complete with the things she thinks make a successful party: stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, brand name soda, good gift bags, and a Carvel ice cream cake. But her single divorced mother can’t afford those things. She substitutes with regular pizza, kvass (a Russian rye bread carbonated beverage) and a medovik torte (a layered honey cake)--all very Russian, and several of it discounted gifts from members of their church. Vera is unhappy at things being so "Russian" and tries to make the best of it, but her very American friends [[CultureClash are visibly uncomfortable with the cultural differences]] and staying overnight in her small and old apartment. The girls call their parents in the middle of the night to go home, and Vera is very hurt.
* BigWhat: [[spoiler:Vera's response to hearing her mother got a new job... in London.]]
* CaptureTheFlag: The camp holds plenty of these games between the boys and girls, and whichever side wins gets to decide a punishment for the losing side.
* CommonalityConnection: Invoked. Vera wants to go to [=ORRA=] because she thinks it'll be easier to make friends with and relate to other Russian-American kids. In reality, it's nowhere near that simple.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Plenty of these happen over the course of the comic as a result of the above-mentioned game.
** The boys side win the first time, and make the girls eat their dinner with their hands tied behind their backs.
** The second time the boys beat the girls, the girls are made to serve the boys their dinner like maids.
** The third time the boys won, the girls are made to wash the boys' dirty laundry at the creek.
** The girls win the final game, and Vera makes all of the boys check the depth of every "Hollywood" (the euphemism for the outdoor toilets) with a stick and record the measurement.

* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The last scene has Vera's mother revealing she got a new job--and the family is moving to London. Cue a BigWhat from Vera. Roll credits!]]

* {{Irony}}: Vera wants to go to summer camp, while her brother Phillip just wants to stay home. When they get there, Vera has a miserable time while Phillip takes to it immediately. [[spoiler:Near the end, [[ItGotBetter thing improve for Vera]], and Phillip admits that the boys were pretty nasty to him too.]]

* LifeEmbellished: The story is classic "creative nonfiction"; most of it is based on Vera Brosgol's real life, but some things are simplified or jazzed up for a good story's sake. For example, the story is actually based on ''two'' miserable summers Vera spent at [=ORRA=], and while she did wander off in the woods at night by herself and hear a moose, she never actually saw it. She admits the part where she got bit by a chipmunk and made the ''not'' very smart choice to not tell an adult about it was true, though.

* SecretSnackStash: The other girls camping with Vera have forbidden candy in their tent and initially share it with Vera. However, once she gets them caught for it it gets confiscated.
* SliceOfLife: The comic focuses on Vera's time at [=ORRA=], a Russian-focused summer camp.

* SummerCampy: Vera's hopes for a summer camp experience like her friends are dashed when she arrives. The camp is a ''lot'' more rustic than she hoped, complete with outdoor toilets, camping in actual tents, and lots of wilderness.
* TitleDrop: The first song sung at the camp is "Be Prepared".
* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: Both Phil and Vera agree, they do ''not'' need to go to camp again next year.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: At first, Vera makes friends with plenty of the older girls at the camp by showing off her artistic skills. Of course, Natasha tells Vera she shouldn't make friends in such a manner. True to Natasha's word, when Vera accidentally reveals the secret candy stash in her tent, her "[[FalseFriend friends]]" turn their backs on her and start to bully her mercilessly for getting them in trouble.

[[quoteright:281:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/be_prepared.jpg]]

Every year, Vera and her brother Phillip have always been the only kids in their neighbourhood to never go to camp for the summer. Well, after a disastrous ninth birthday party, Vera got word of the Organization of Russian Razvedchiki in America (or [=ORRA=] for short), a Russian Summer camp. Already enthusiastic about the idea, Vera begs her mother to send her there. Her mother agrees, and pays to send her there for two weeks with her brother (much to his chagrin).

Soon after she arrives, however, she discovers that the camp isn't quite as much fun as she had expected. The bathroom is disgusting, the other kids are older than her, and quite nasty to boot, and the church is held outside rain or shine. Now all Vera wants is to be back home.

The comic was released on April 24th, 2018.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: After hearing about a Russian camp, Vera [=BEGGED=] her mother to let her go. She soon came to regret it.

** Phillip shouts one when his mother agrees with Vera to send them to camp.

* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: Vera plans to have her ninth birthday party be like her friend Sarah’s slumber party complete with stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, soda and Carvel ice cream cake. But her mother can’t afford those and substitutes with regular pizza, Kvass (a Russian version of root beer) and Medvok Torte. Vera is unhappy and tries to make the best of it, but her friends are visibly uncomfortable with the changes and the small and old apartment. It results in the girls leaving early and Vera being hurt.

** The boys side won the first time, and made the girls eat their dinner with their hands tied behind their backs.
** The second time the boys beat the girls, the girls had to serve the boys their dinner like maids.
** The third time the boys won, the girls had to wash the boys' dirty laundry at the creek.
** The girls won the final game, and Vera makes all of the boys check the depth of every Hollywood with a stick and record the measurement.
* DisappearedDad: Vera, Phillip and Masha’s father left the family a few years ago. He doesn’t contact them or send money.
* DontTryThisAtHome: Vera gets bit by a chipmunk and doesn't tell anyone, terrified that she has rabies. Later, Kira tells her that it's actually ''very'' unlikely, since chipmunks don't usually carry rabies, and the bite didn't break the skin--but Vera should still tell the nurse, just in case. Vera doesn't do that, prompting an author's note from adult Vera, who stresses to her readers that this was a ''very'' dumb thing to do, she got lucky, and no one should follow her example. If you get bit by a wild animal, seek medical attention, readers!
* GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:The last scene has Vera's mother revealing she got a new job, and the family is moving to London. Cue a BigWhat from Vera. Roll credits!]]
* HopeSpot: When the intended two weeks at camp have passed, Vera is looking forward to heading home. However, her mother informed her that she got the job she'd been studying for, and it would require her to be out of town for a few days. And since she can't afford a babysitter, she decided to have them stay at camp two more weeks.
* {{Irony}}: Vera wanted to go to Summer Camp, while her brother Phillip just wanted to stay home. When they got there, however, Vera had a miserable time, while Phillip took to it immediately. [[spoiler:Near the end, ItGotBetter for Vera, and Phillip admitted that the kids he spent his time at camp with were pretty nasty to him.]]
* KarmicJackpot: Gregor, one of the few nice older boys at camp, is made fun of by everyone for losing his shoe to a sinkhole and then getting stung by wasps. However, his asthma means he's the only one exempt from the CoolAndUnusualPunishment Vera gives the boys at the end. In her author's notes, the real Vera admits this is one aspect that she embellished for the narrative; the real Gregor never got justice. She notes that fiction is considerably more fair than real life.

* SliceOfLife: The comic focuses on Vera's time at [=ORRA=].
* ShoutOut: The start of the book has Vera go to the birthday party of her friend Sarah Hoffman, who is well off enough to have an ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' doll (which are called "[[BlandNameProduct American Doll]]"). Most of her birthday presents are various items from the collection for her doll, "Complicity". Later her and the other girls are playing with their dolls together--minus Vera, who doesn't have a doll and [[LonelyAmongPeople feels left out]]. She tries to claim she has one, but makes up one that doesn't exist.

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: [[spoiler:Both Phil and Vera agree, they do ''not'' need to go to camp again next year.]]
* WithFriendsLikeThese: At first, Vera makes friends with plenty of kids at the camp by showing off her artistic skills. Of course, Natasha tells Vera she shouldn't make friends in such a manner. True to Natasha's word, when Vera accidentally reveals the secret candy stash in her tent, her "[[FalseFriend friends]]" turn their backs on her and start to bully her mercilessly.

* TheNineties: The book is set during the late 90’s, implied to be in the latter half of the decade.

[[quoteright:282:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/be_prepared.jpg]]

''Be Prepared'' is a SliceOfLife ComicBook by Vera Brosgol. It's a fictionalized account of what happened to Brosgol when she went to summer camp as a child.

* BigFun: Grusha, one of the counselors, sets himself up as this to Phillip.

* BigNo: Phillip shouts one when his mother agrees with Vera to send them to camp.

''Be Prepared'' is a SliceOfLife ComicBook by Vera Brosgol.

Every year, Vera and her brother Phillip have always been the only kids in their neighbourhood to never go to camp for the summer. Well, after a disastrous ninth birthday party, Vera got word of Organization of Russian Razvedchiki in America (or [=ORRA=] for short), a Russian Summer camp. Already enthusiastic about the idea, Vera begs her mother to send her there. Her mother agrees, and pays to send her there for two weeks with her brother (much to his chagrin).

Be Prepared is a SliceOfLife ComicBook by Vera Brosgol.

* TropeyComeHome: When Vera first comes to camp, she sees a girl who's crying over her guinea pig running away. Later on, Vera finds said guinea pig being accosted by a bunch of chipmunks and returns it to her. The two become friends as a result.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: At first, Vera makes friends with plenty of kids at the camp by showing off her artistic skills. Of course, Natasha tells Vera she shouldn't make friends in such a manner. True to Natasha's word, when Vera accidentally reveals the secret candy stash in her tent, her "[[FauxFriend friends]]" turn their backs on her and start to bully her mercilessly.

** The boys side won the first week, and made the girls eat their dinner with their hands tied behind their backs.

* CruelAndUnusualPunishment: The camp holds plenty of CaptureTheFlag games between the boys and girls, and whichever side wins gets to decide a punishment for the losing side.