Be Prepared

The final portion of Be Prepared demonstrates the culmination of Vera’s growth as a character, combatting The Challenges of Adolescence and finding her voice and niche among her peers. Throughout the graphic novel, Vera urgently wanted to be friends with her bunkmates, the Sashas, as well as the other older girls in her camp, often at the expense of other relationships. Periodically, the narrative offered a glimpse of the younger girls, including one that was always in tears. Readers learn that this is the girl who lost her pet guinea pig at the start of camp. Vera finds her guinea pig and safely returns it to the girl, whose name is Kira, which jumpstarts an immediate friendship. Initially, Vera shows reluctance to be close to Kira, likely out of fear that she will be made fun of for befriending a younger camper. However, she notices that Kira has been drawing the local wildlife to create a camp “field guide.” As a fellow artist, Vera is impressed. She continues to think about Kira after returning to the older girls’ camp and is unable to focus on studying for the Third Rank test. Instead, she returns to Kira’s tent and gives her a drawing of the moose that she encountered in the woods. She shares this experience with Kira, who is the only person she tells about the moose. This signifies that, unlike her previous attempts to befriend and fit in with the Sashas, Vera’s bond with Kira is genuine and framed around a shared interest.

At the same time, the bond between the Sashas, which was once what Vera aspired to, is now fraught with tension. The tension centers on blonde Sasha’s mysterious coming and going from the girls’ camp, which makes dark-haired Sasha suspicious and somewhat jealous. Vera eventually learns that the reason for blonde Sasha’s behavior is that she has been going to meet up with Alexei from the boys’ camp. The graphic novel introduces the idea that a key aspect of coming of age is the pursuit of romantic relationships, which can create challenges for other friendships and relationships. The Sashas’ friendship is tested by hormones and summer romance, leading to a climactic moment where blonde Sasha’s period-stained underwear is flown on the flagpole. She accuses Sasha of committing the act because she is the only one who knew. A physical representation of maturity and coming of age is used as a point of shame and embarrassment, nearly leading to a physical altercation and the dissolution of the Sashas’ long standing friendship. Eventually, however, just before they leave for the summer, the two girls make amends and share a knowing and genuine smile with Vera as she exits their tent for the last time. This conflict demonstrates that growing will force relationships to change and evolve, but strong bonds and friendships will outlast any challenges.

In contrast to the Sashas, Vera and Kira do not feel drawn to the boys at camp, with Kira remarking that the boys’ tent at her camp always “smells like pee.” They both look at Alexei with disdain after he walks past them in the woods and he makes fun of them, failing to understand what the other girls find attractive about him. Without making assumptions about either girls’ sexuality, these moments may suggest that while Vera and Kira are starting to think more about boys and romance, they have not entered the point in their coming-of-age journey when romance and crushes are most significant. Their frustration toward the boys and their gross characteristics motivate Vera to steal their flag during the final flag war. With Kira’s help, she trains and prepares, eventually learning the path to the boys’ camp by heart. This allows her to enter the camp undetected and to easily and quickly return with the flag in hand.

Vera’s success in the flag war brings her renewed acceptance from her peers, though it’s important to note that she could not have completed this task without the help and support of her younger friend, Kira. This realization illustrates that friendships and interpersonal connections are a necessary aspect of personal growth. At the same time, having the rest of the girls view her as the “hero,” shows Vera that fitting in with the group wasn’t truly what she wanted. Ultimately, Vera learns that The Significance of Culture and Heritage to Identity, while important and a key aspect of her sense of self, is not a feature that will necessarily define her friendships. Vera learns to make a genuine connection with Kira over their love for animals and art, suggesting that her concerns that culture entirely defines her identity, or that she is incapable of being “normal,” actually mean she just hadn’t been connecting with the friends she is most compatible with. Additionally, Vera’s experience with The Power of Confidence and Self-Discovery toward the end of the novel greatly helped her social anxiety and allowed her to connect without her former hyper-vigilance in low stakes situations.

Toward the end of the narrative, when the rest of her peers are taking their Third Rank exams, Vera opts not to take the test. Instead, she goes to spend the day with Kira. The panels that depict their time together do not have any dialogue or narration, choosing instead to emphasize the quiet intimacy of their friendship. Rather than seeking acceptance from the group at large, Vera learns to appreciate meaningful, individual relationships.