This was a quick, enjoyable read with an interesting theme! Becca’s family is heavily entrenched in the doomsday prepper ideology. They have their own plans for teenage Becca, which includes not only how she will live her life in the prepper community, but down to who she will marry. Becca wants to be a normal teenager and go to college. She’d love to runaway, but doesn’t want to leave her younger sister, Kate behind. This is an enlightening story about family and the entanglements of expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary e ARC! All opinions expressed are solely my own.

* Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I'll admit I've had a guilty pleasure of watching reality TV, but the weird ones. Like Hoarders, and my 600 Pound Life, and especially Doomsday Preppers. So, when I found a YA novel about a kid from a prepped family I was immediately intrigued. This was fun, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and really unique. This was definitely a different and interesting point of view. I overall really enjoyed this one.

A pacy and surprisingly emotional novel about a girl who lives in a small doomsday prepping community. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse inside the world of Prepping - I was fascinated with every detail. The main character's interactions with her parents are full of juicy tension, and the romantic element that surfaced and bloomed was sweet. Great read!

Becca is a third-generation doomsday prepper. She’s just turned 18 and is about to graduate high school. She dreams of going to college and becoming a physicist, but her parents want her to marry the knucklehead son of a fellow prepper family — and to make her life even more complicated, she has a little sister she doesn’t want to leave behind.

Becca’s parents in this book (particularly her mom) were beyond insane — running extremely dangerous survival drills, locking people in an underground bunker, severely neglecting the daily needs of their kids in favor of stockpiling more weapons and whatnot, arranging marriages within their community when the bride and groom-to-be are still in middle school — plus nonstop paranoia, distrust of outsiders, and zero love for anyone. These people full-on suck.

To that end, I would have liked to have maybe seen a bit more nuance in some of the characters - the mom is *so* unlikeable - and the prepper community is so over the top - that it made the outcome feel inevitable. I did like Becca’s relationship with her sister and how the relationship between Becca and Roy developed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for 14+

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Books Forward for the ARC.

This story was advertised as "thrilling and funny" but I think it missed the mark. It bounced between being too unbelievable and horrifying, realizing their likely are communities and families out there like this. I felt for Becca and Roy but it got repetitive, parents do something nuts, they complain, some weird chore/punishment, rinse, repeat.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Becca was a third generation doomsday prepper, who was determined to escape this life. She had a plan and all the pieces were falling into place, but after tragedy strikes, would she be able to leave her little sister behind?

This book was wild! That's the best way I can think to describe it. If I wasn't laughing, I was shaking my head in disbelief or trying to calm my racing heart. I found myself throughly entertained and engrossed in this story from beginning to end as I experienced Becca's life.

I am well aware that people actually live like this, but I never really took the time to learn too much about the doomsday lifestyle. Mangle did an incredible job bringing me into their world. I watched drills, learned about their daily routines, and had a lot of the hows and whys explained throughout the story. I felt fully immersed in this world, and I thanked my lucky stars that I was not raised by preppers.

It was somewhat surprising how gentle and loving Becca could be given her upbringing. She was not raised in a warm and fuzzy home, but I suppose her mixing with the outside world via public school gave her a peek at how the other half lived. She had a wonderful relationship with her younger sister, but a very complicated one with her parents. Her struggle, especially with the love she had for her father, was explored as Becca tried to come to terms with walking away from her family and her community.

Mangle deftly balance the heavy and the light in this story. There was tragedy, pitfalls, punishments, and dire straits, but it was infused with a bit of romance, fun moments, and humor. I appreciated how well she meshed all these elements together without diluting the story.

Prepped wasn't what expected. It was better! It was amusing and touching, while also being heartbreaking and appalling. I found Becca to be such a compelling character, and I was rooting so hard for her as she attempted to blaze her own trail and escape this life that was chosen for her. I think you will love rooting for her too.

#Prepped
What a great book! I didn't think that I would like this book, but the characters are wonderful. The story is well written and heart breaking at times. I am highly recommending this book to my young adults!

I was not prepared for how poignant, tense, and frustrating this novel was going to be! The kids in this community literally exist to keep the species going, and calling the parents “detached” would be an understatement.

Thankfully, this story is fictional. But, like any good piece of fiction, the emotions it brings up are very real.

The heroine here is Becca Adlaine, whose parents run the aforementioned prepper community. She is a high school senior, and has every intention of leaving as soon as she can… but, she also has a younger sister. A lot of the story focuses on this relationship, and Becca worrying about whether she can leave her sister behind or try to save her.

There are also logistical issues with running away – like how to get away, how to make money to live on, etc.

The Adlaines picked out Becca’s future husband for her already – a boy in her grade named Roy Kang. His family is newer to the community, and they are Korean American, so this will diversify the gene pool. Becca is less than enthused, for obvious reasons. It also irks her that Roy seems to go along with all the training drills and such with no complaints. While she may not like Roy romantically, she is comfortable with him – he’s one of the only people who understands her upbringing, and they have a long history of shared experiences.

All that changes when Roy reveals that he doesn’t believe in this prepper stuff, either. He just goes along to get along with his parents. Now, with two of them, there’s a better chance that they can make a plan that will work.

Becca (and Roy) have a few other allies: one is another student in their grade, Sydney, who is not a part of the prepper community. Another is one of Becca’s teachers, Mrs. Garcia. While these two characters do not know all of what Becca is going through, she confides bits and parts to them as needed, and they both protect her secrets and help when they can.

The book is being released on February 23rd, 2021. I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy through the Books Forward program and NetGalley.

I need to read more survivalist stories because not only is it intriguing for me, but I find the conflict between preparation and life fascinating. The ways it tries to prepare for all outcomes, to teach skills we might need, and, in some aspects, the fears it stokes. The ways we see danger and risk in daily situations, fear in the 'simple' things. Where Prepped excels is creating this atmosphere of tension and suspense, in a way I was not expecting from the synopsis. Mangle not only delivers a story which will leave your heart pumping, but also featuring Becca - a character who should never have to be in the position she is in now.

Becca loves her sister basically more than anything in the world. Not going to lie, this sister relationship tore at the insides of my heart. The ways that, as children, we absorb so much around us. How her little sister so badly wants love, stability, and her family. And how these universal desires end up being twisted in vise grips and homes that should always feel safe. What ended up tightening the grasp on my heart are the ways you can compare Becca and her sister. Becca's tender and emotional desires for parents who took her out for ice cream, who didn't test them until they were prepared with sharp edges and spears.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

When I added this to my Goodreads shelves, I realized I didn't really know how to categorize it. Yes, it's realistic fiction, but it is also about the reality of being a doomsday prepper, which doesn't really fit with all of my other "realistic fiction" stories. But I didn't want to add a "fanatics" shelf, so here we are.

This was a funny, moving story that had moments of brilliance. Unfortunately, it also had some issues that kept me from giving it 5 full stars. There was a lack of character development (I felt like we just SHOWED UP to these people's lives and never really took a beat to get to know them) AND there were some things that I just couldn't quite believe (scene with the Dad towards the end, I'm looking at you). Nonetheless, I would say this is a strong first purchase, especially if you have a large collection serving YA readers.

The cover of this book is what initially caught my eye. It looks like the cover of an old instruction training manual. The bright orange colour will certainly make it stand out on a book store shelf.

This book is about preppers, but not in an actual catastrophic situation. This is a group of people who believe the end is coming and they are preparing for any and every eventuality. Their motto is "Always be ready for the worst day of your life". The leader of the prepping community that all live in the same small neighbourhood is George Aldaine. The group is a mixture of families and adults. The adults concoct all different disaster scenarios, they then set them up and practice dealing and overcoming these situations. It is during one of these set up problems that we are introduced to the main character Becca, who is the eldest daughter of George Aldaine. Katie or Katie Cat as Becca calls her younger sister is just ten years old. Karen Aldaine is their mother and works as a nurse, so she brings her knowledge for the first aid parts of the prepping activities.

The book is centred around Becca Aldaine and Roy Kang, the boy her parents have chosen to be her future husband. They have chosen Roy as the choice is rather limited within their community, or “cult” as outsiders see it. Becca is viewed as odd because she doesn’t have the freedoms or thing the other kids at school have. In her own community she is considered odd for going to normal school, as some of the prepping community insist on home schooling their children. A match between Roy and Becca will also keep a good, diverse genetic pool. Becca and Roy have very little to do with decision, though Roy seems keen on Becca. Becca just accepts this marriage will happen, though wonders which Bunker they will live in once married. These preppers are so prepared they have a set of bunkers for their communities.
Some of the preppers are more hardcore than others. Becca and Roy are the youngest children to be allowed to take part in the act out disaster scenarios. Some of the other families want the age to be lowered to allow their younger children to take part.

Becca is a good, hard working student at school and one of her teachers helps her fill in a form to apply for a scholarship. The only thing worrying Becca is who will protect her sister Katie from the harsher prepper practices. Becca thinks she alone in her need to leave this life behind, but Roy confesses he is tired of all the trials and drills they have to take part in. Becca and Roy work out a plan and though she doesn’t want to leave Katie behind, she knows she cannot legally take her with them, so she sets about making a plan to bring the unusual practices and lifestyle of the preppers to the attention of social service. Becca even lines someone up who will step in to care for her sister Katie until she is old enough to make up her own mind about what to do in life.

My favourite character was Becca, she goes along with the scenarios her parents set up for her to be part of despite many of them being very dangerous and making her feel pain as well as embarrassment. Becca has been forced to be grown up so soon, she takes care of her sister and basically does the majority of the chores and house running whilst her mum goes to work, then comes home and slumps into bed. I adored how caring Becca was, so protective of her younger sister, sheltering her from the harsh realities of the prepping community. Even when she has an escape plan in place for herself, she still holds back until she has something in place for her sister.

The characters that irritated me a lot were George and Karen Aldaine, they seem oblivious to their eldest daughters, discomfort and at times even her existence. They had no qualms at piling more household duties on her, not allowing her to do her homework. There is one incident where Becca has to spend the night in her family bunker. It’s not a one off, occurrence either as she has a system in place for her sister to drop her school work and supplies out of her bedroom window so she can at least do her homework. To do her homework in the bunker, Becca has to use a cycle to build up enough energy to power the light in the bunker so she can do her homework! When the family is struck by a tragic accident, Karen Aldaine sinks deeper and deeper into the prepping way of life whilst working her job at the hospital and piling even more work on the shoulders of her elder daughter. Karen keeps important information from Becca and deprives her of a last goodbye.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book were that the insight into the world of fanatical doomsday preppers and their children. Interesting, pulls on the heart strings, so believable.

Summing up I really enjoyed reading this book, it felt different, a refreshing idea and view point on a prepping community, as well as being a coming-of-age story too. The book was really interesting and had great attention to detail about the prepping lifestyle and the bunkers featured in the story too. I know this book is aimed at the teen age group but I have to say as an adult I really did appreciate and enjoy this well written story.

This is a story about preparing.

I really enjoyed this book! The cult like mentality was well rendered, and the characters were interesting. I loved the protagonist! She was bold & hardened, but still loving. I also loved the dynamic between the main character & her dog- everyone needs a puppy, even a doomsday prepper hoping to turn normal college student.

Thank you Netgalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for this e-ARC!

I loved every heartbreaking, terrifying, wonderful sentence of this book. Don't even bother reading the reviews. Just go get yourself a copy immediately.

The story centers on a skeptical teen raised in a doomsday prepper community (read: cult) who want to plan her escape. Everything that can stand in her way does, and her only ally is the boy she's supposed to marry per her parents' wishes.

This book ripped out my heart and stitched the pieces back together. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy.

Becca Is a member of a doomsday cult but because her mom is employed, she goes to school. Her community has decided she will marry Roy who also attends school. Becca hates everything the doomsdayers represent but she hesitate to escape because she fears for her younger sister’s safety if she leaves. Mangle does an excellent job of describing what life in such a cult might like together with how Becca and Roy as ostracized by most of their classmates. A teacher takes interest in Becca and encourages her to apply to college. Prepped is the story of how Becca and Roy deal with the conflict between staying within the cult and escaping.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and believable. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen until the last page. Mangle incorporates romance, humor, and pathos. I highly recommend it.

Prepped - Bethany Mangle

A story about growing up unconventionally and taking your life into your own hands.

Prepped by Bethany Mangle is about seventeen years old Becca who has grown up in a doomsday preppers community. Her life has been filled with survival drills, community tasks, inventory, and bunker maintenance. She has lived her entire life preparing for the end of the world or a possible attack on their community. Only trouble is, Becca isn’t buying into any of it and she dreams of turning eighteen and making her escape.

Just before Becca’s eighteen birthday, all her plans come crashing down around her when her father is hospitalized and will likely die. She is faced with the decision of pursuing her plan and leaving her little sister alone with their cold-hearted and detached mother or sacrificing her future for her sister. There is tons of internal conflict as Becca wrestles with the decision of securing her own future and protecting her sisters. To top it off, her community assigned finance is a totally doomsday dork.

As the dynamic in the community changes with a new leader taking over, Becca is forced to make some drastic decisions. She begins to find unlikely allies both at school and in her community and starts to form a new plan. Secrets are revealed and Becca is pushed to the point of no return.

This book comes to me from the Best Book Forwards team and I loved it. It is a YA read but it is absolutely for everyone. Becca’s story is inspiring and heartbreaking, it speaks to the true strength of the human spirit. It’s about being brave enough to go against your family and community to fight for what you believe is right. It is about claiming your future for your own and clearing your own path forward.

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Mini-Review:

☞ Becca has grown up in a doomsday preppers community all her life, with her father the leader of the group.

☞ She hates everything about her community and has been preparing for her eighteenth birthday for most of her life when she can make her escape.

☞ Just before her 18th birthday, Becca’s plans get derailed when her father is hospitalized and likely to die. She doesn’t want to leave her sister alone with their cold and detached mother.

☞ There is tons of internal conflict as Becca wrestles with the decision of securing her own future and protecting her sisters.

☞ She begins to form unlikely allies and starts to see a path to the future she has always dreamed about.

☞ Becca’s story is inspiring and heartbreaking. It speaks to the true strength of the human spirit.

☞ It’s about being brave enough to go against your family and community to fight for what you believe is right.

This book was more interesting than I expected and I was pretty into the storyline. I could NOT get invested in the characters, however. Just when I would be getting attached, the personality of the character would abruptly change. At one point, the sweet, trusting, innocent litttle sister turned into a full-fledged doomsday prepper herself. Just about every other character had a similar personality replacement as well. That and other things (the main character’s dad died without her knowing for weeks...? And she barely even reacted...?) made it a solid three stars for me.

Woah. When faced with a modern doomsday book, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but chasing Becca and Roy across absurd challenges, family hardships, peer bullying, and the hope of the future sent my head spinning. There was just the right amount of thrill dropped in plot events, and the consistent root for the good of Becca’s future tied well with the pain of betrayals linked throughout the story. I can see many kids being intrigued by this plot. Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley!

I really enjoyed this book! The premise was not something I had read before, so I was immediately sucked in. I also loved the tone and humorous writing style. Like some parts were dark, but it was also very funny. Overall, a joyful read. I finished this in less than 24 hours, which just goes to show how great it was. I loved the unexpected relationship with Roy and that almost special moment they had in the bunker that didn't happen was *chef's kiss*. I really love Bethany Mangle's writing style and the storytelling choices that were made. I'm looking forward to reading more of her in the future!

4.5/5 stars.

I save 5 stars for those truly spectacular, modern classics. This wasn't quite of that caliber, but it was a joyful, fun read that I would recommend to anyone nevertheless.

Bethany Mangle gives a new take on the young adult novel, with romance, humor, and irony in tow. I would recommend Prepped for a wide range of readers and gladly share it with students in my own classroom. It's well-written and Mangle's story particularly sparks in dialogue that stands off the page and works authentically.

3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 4)

Becca comes from a family of doomsday preppers. She has been trained on how to survive in all kinds of crazy situations that could lead to the end of the world. They've even arranged her marriage to Roy, a fellow prepper who loves being a part of the community. Becca is secretly planning on fleeing and going to college as soon as possible. However, an accident occurs that pushes the preppers further into their crazy beliefs, including Becca's younger sister. Becca is left questioning if her freedom is worth it if she leaves her sister behind to be brainwashed.

This book had such a unique concept! A community of doomsday preppers is not something that appears in YA books often, so it was nice to read something different for a change! Becca and Roy were interesting characters who I really felt sorry for. Unfortunately, some parts of the book just fell flat for me and the ending seemed rushed and brief.

YA readers looking for something new might like this book! It's definitely a unique story!

( I would not recommend letting younger YA readers read this due to language and slight sexual content.)