Why Is Everybody Yelling?: Growing Up in My Immigrant Family - Hardcover

Russo, Marisabina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374303835 ISBN 13: 9780374303839

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2021

Synopsis

“A wonderful book about figuring out who we are and who we want to be when we grow up. It’s also about being an American―especially a first-generation American.” ―Roz Chast

This graphic-novel debut from an acclaimed picture book creator is a powerfully moving memoir of the author's experiences with family, religion, and coming of age in the aftermath of World War II, and the childhood struggles and family secrets that shaped her.

It’s 1950s New York, and Marisabina Russo is being raised Catholic and attending a Catholic school that she loves―but when she finds out that she’s Jewish by blood, and that her family members are Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, her childhood is thrown into turmoil. To make matters more complicated, her father is out of the picture, her mother is ambitious and demanding, and her older half-brothers have troubles, too. Following the author’s young life into the tumultuous, liberating 1960s, this heartfelt, unexpectedly humorous, and meticulously illustrated graphic-novel memoir explores the childhood burdens of memory and guilt, and Marisabina’s struggle and success in forming an identity entirely her own.

About this title

About the Author

Marisabina Russo is the acclaimed author and illustrator of numerous books for young people including two picture books based on her family’s wartime experiences, Always Remember Me and I Will Come Back for You. Why Is Everybody Yelling? is her first graphic novel. She lives in Westchester, New York.

Reviews

Gr 7 Up-Russo, known to her family and friends as Cookie, tells the story of growing up in her immigrant family (her mother was German, her father Italian). The graphic memoir spans 1957 to 1967. Cookie's mind races with confusion when she realizes that despite her Catholic upbringing, her family is Jewish. When she expresses her dreams to become a nun, her mother pulls her out of Catholic school, and she must adjust to life in public school. As she grows older, her mother puts pressure on her to succeed academically like her half brothers. Russo sheds light on how family dynamics were tested and changed because of World War II. Cookie knows that her mother and her fiancé were part of the Resistance, but she discovers that her aunt and her grandmother were sent to concentration camps. She also learns more about her Italian father, who lives in Geneva. Russo uses a similar style as in her 2011 picture book I Will Come Back for You; readers unfamiliar with her style may consider the illustrations flat compared to other young adult graphic memoirs. Themes range from the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder to the yearning for parental acceptance; many readers will find the book relatable. Depictions of neglect, mental illness, and financial burden create a heavy tone, but Cookie's innocent and quirky nature provides some comic relief. VERDICT A solid graphic memoir on the impact of World War II on families years later.-Angie Jameson, Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374303835
• ISBN 13: 9780374303839
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240