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

by Marisabina Russo

Overview

“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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374390655
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	10/26/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	791,182
File size:	90 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

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.

Table of Contents

1 God's Grace (1957) 1

2 Language Barrier (1957) 13

3 Piccolo Pucci (1957) 23

4 Sans Souci (1957) 35

5 Real-Life Christmas (1957) 47

6 Command Performance (1958) 59

7 The Man in the Gray Suit (1958) 71

8 Roman Holiday (1958) 83

9 Oma's Miracle (1958) 91

10 Two New Friends (1958-59) 99

11 A Room of My Own (1958-59) 107

12 My Worst Enemy (1959) 115

13 Camp (1960) 125

14 A Haircut like JacKie's (1960) 135

15 Junior Bridesmaid (1961-62) 145

16 Bernadette (1962-63) 155

17 Life Goes On (1963-64) 165

18 Never Stand Next to the Pretty Girls (1964-65) 173

19 The Lucky One (1965) 185

20 And That's the Way It Is (1965) 191

21 Maybe Dating Isn't All it's Cracked Up to Be (1966) 199

22 Surprise Party (1966-67) 207

23 Life Story (1967) 215

Epilogue 223

Family Photos 227

Acknowledgments 232

Editorial Reviews

2023 TAYSHAS Reading List Selection

“Why Is Everybody Yelling? is a marvel. It is so compelling, I couldn’t put it down. It is a humorous, surprising, thoughtful look at identity, family, religion—life.” —Kevin Henkes

“An unvarnished look at one complicated, opinionated, and personality-filled family.” —The Horn Book, starred review

“Ably conveyed through the many frames that capture heated, hurtful exchanges, delivered with practiced nonchalance at family gatherings, by adults who will not, or cannot, abandon their dysfunctional communication. As readers observe Russo’s ten-year journey to young adulthood, they may admire her love for her querulous mother, but they’ll be mighty glad to see her finally move out and on.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“The meticulous, detailed art is a highlight, striking the perfect tone for the quirky character of the world it portrays and rewarding repeated readings to catch every detail . . . Affectionately celebrates Jewish American experiences.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Relatable . . . A solid graphic memoir on the impact of World War II on families years later.” —School Library Journal

“Unflinching . . . Teachers, friends and Russo’s half-brothers are portrayed brilliantly, both in the meticulously rendered expressive illustrations, the authentic dialogue and the deeply moving internal thoughts. Embracing her Jewish identity is one outcome of Russo’s tumultuous journey through childhood and adolescence, but this life story is about forging an identity woven from many different threads . . . remarkable and uplifting.” —Association of Jewish Libraries

From the Publisher

10/01/2021

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, OH

School Library Journal

2021-09-01
This memoir introduces Russo as the quiet daughter of an absent Catholic father and a Jewish mother who survived wartime atrocities and converted to Catholicism.

Raised in an opinionated, Yiddish-speaking 1950s matriarchy, Russo is enticed by the teachings of her parochial school. So enticed, in fact, that she has decided to become a nun. Horrified, her mother informs Russo she is now attending public school. The episodic story leisurely follows Russo’s life in New York City as she discovers a love of visual art, endures emotional shake-ups and family dramas, and, piece by piece, begins to put together what her family endured during World War II. Notably, clichés of intergenerational trauma are sidestepped: Holocaust and wartime survivors aren’t walking tragedies but fully human, everyday people with foibles as well as pain. Russo grows up both admiring and resenting her relatives—in particular, her courageous, frustrating, mercurial mother—but finds through them lessons she integrates into her sense of self at the intersection of multiple worlds: Jewish and Catholic, fully American and part of an immigrant culture. While the book meanders, and Russo sometimes becomes lost among the more vibrant personalities around her, the meticulous, detailed art is a highlight, striking the perfect tone for the quirky character of the world it portrays and rewarding repeated readings to catch every detail. Main characters are Ashkenazi.

Affectionately celebrates Jewish American experiences. (epilogue, photo gallery) (Graphic memoir. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews