Cry for Me, Argentina: Stories From My Messed-Up Life

by Tamara Yajia

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY VULTURE AND NPR

“Fascinating.” —Taika Waititi

Now in paperback, a hilarious, moving memoir by Argentine American comedian Tamara Yajia, “one of the funniest people I know” (Cecily Strong).

Tamara Yajia entered the world on a wave of absurdity, born into a family no one would call normal, from her grandfather, the salami-obsessed poppers salesman, to her mother, the OnlyFans model. Not only will her family try anything once, like moving to the United States and opening a food stand named Sexy Chicken; they'll try anything multiple times, like moving back to Argentina, then back to the United States.

The road doesn't get easier for a twelve-year-old Argentinian Jew trying to make it big in Orange County. But through grit, hustle, and a series of harebrained schemes like joining a girl band, and performing her own one-woman show, Cumming of Age, Tam has made it through, and she's ready to spill some shit--figuratively and literally.

Tamara Yajia's debut memoir is the messy, blazing story of a young Argentine trying to survive while holding on to her confidence, ambition, and sense of humor.

“Tamara Yajia’s book is everything you could want from a memoir--the juiciest details, unforgettable characters, all sensually dancing on that delicate tightrope of hilarious and vulnerable. I wholeheartedly give it five out of five child stars.” —Aparna Nancherla

Genres: Memoir, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Humor, Jewish, Biography, Biography Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2025

About the author

Tamara Yajia is an Argentine writer, musician, and ex child star. Tamara has written for ClickHole, Funny or Die, and several TV series, including Acapulco, This Fool, and the upcoming Netflix series Strip Law.

Reviews

[Jennie Reads Plenty · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐⭐

I picked this up for the Goodreads Hispanic Heritage challenge because it was short, available on Libby, and sounded interesting. Her life was definitely wild, and I could relate to growing up around plenty of chaos myself, but I kept waiting for the funny parts to really hit.

A lot of it felt more like shock value than humor. Some of the stories were so over-the-top that I started wondering how much was remembered exactly as it happened and how much may have been embellished.

I think I’m just not the right audience for this one at this point in my life. Instead of finding it hilarious, I mostly found it exhausting and annoying, and after a while it felt like one outrageous story after another without much holding it together.

[Anna Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, Tamara’s story—exactly the way she tells it—was the antidote to whatever black and white thinking I’ve absorbed through the algorithm. She lights a path toward self acceptance that begins with “loving what is” and touches on some heavy subjects without leaning on cliché social dynamics or political virtue signaling. Her story is incredibly disarming. This book is a delight.

From the relatable moments like touching-tongues to the Miranda July-esque whimsy of sucking elbows, I was grateful to spend some time in Yajia’s world. Looking forward to more writing from this hilarious author.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bizarre entertaining memoir. Once I got into it I flew through it — I even laughed out loud.

Yajia describes her parents and all her grandparents with loving — yet unsparing— detail, and her own flaws and quirks are also on full display.

This life story is unusual, unbelievable and yet rings true.

[Aaron Bergman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s as funny as it heartfelt. You’re easily gonna laugh but there are so many hidden emotional gems in here that really sneak up on you. Tamara really knows how to make a memoir feel both very real but also laugh about some pretty serious issues. It really feels like you’re just sitting and having wine w her while she tells you stories. Plus her life is just wild.

[Kreete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Veider, naljakas, rõve, uskumatu. Ma pole kindel, kas ma soovitaksin seda teistele, aga kui närvikava on tugev ja pead lugu mustast huumorist, siis miks mitte. Algul ma ikka naersin kõva häälega, aga mida edasi, seda rohkem pidin ma raamatu hetkeks kõrvale panema, et loetut seedida. Ma ei suuda uskuda, milline lapse- ja nooruspõlv on ühel inimesel olnud. Millised vanemad, milline suhtumine, millised kogemused ja läbielamised. Natuke hakkas kõhe.

[avery · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

it’s hard rating a memoir so low, but i just really did not connect with this girl at all.

[Marcie Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

𝗜 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗗-𝗨𝗣. 𝗜 𝗚𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗜𝗥. 😩

This was supposed to be funny, but unfortunately, I barely laughed. It’s a collection of silly anecdotes about an interesting life, but there are no real jokes or punchlines, and the humour felt juvenile more than anything else.

Interesting life? Sure.
Funny book? Not for me.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went into this memoir blind, I didn't know anything about the author but she tells her family's immigrant story moving from Argentina to California and back again (and again) in such a laugh out loud way. She share's her family's history, what it was like growing up always feeling like she didn't belong, mental health struggles among the women in her family and more. Great on audio narrated by the author herself and highly recommended!

[Renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of Tamara Yajia before (although it turns out I've watched some shows she's written for) and I checked out this audiobook on a whim because 1) I liked the title 2) it was relatively short and 3) it was available. And it was very funny and delightful! Her family is SO odd and funny. But also I teared up at some moments. I enjoyed her reading of the audiobook too--I think her voice definitely enhanced the humor.

[Quinn's Quippy Quotes · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.

I almost gave up on this but then I got to the talent show part and I couldn’t stop laughing. This is equal parts crud and hilarious. It’s wacky to say the least. I’m glad that I stick with it but it took at least 40% to get into it.

[Nicole Hancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I appreciated the parts around immigration. The rest was not for me. Too much creepy sexual stuff involving minors and family members, including but not limited to sucking the elbow of a dead grandmother. Just, no. Not funny to me and gave me the ick.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed so much reading this. Like, out loud in public, laughing at a book. This book is genuinely hilarious, incredibly touching, a wild, bizarre ride that had me surprised at every turn in her life. I never knew what was going to happen. Her life was insane. And fascinating. Definitely worth the read. Wish it had listened to the audiobook.

[Carissa 🦇 · Rating 3 out of 5]

worth a read! engaging story and the author has a very clear entertaining voice throughout. it’s interesting to contrast her story of “failure” with a few of the other child star memoirs that have came out recently.

[Beks Dixon · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

So... my rating is for the writing style of the book rather than anything else. Yajia's writing is fast-paced and she does a great job of capturing snapshots of her life, whilst also giving an overview of her experiences.

That being said, the content of this book was just not for me. There were a lot of anecdotes that are basically just about her experiences of being sexualised (and sexually abused) as a minor - both as a child and as a teenager - but the repercussions of this are never really explored later on in life. I guess with an autobiography, it is completely up to the author as to which parts of their story they tell, but the tone in which they were written was just jarring for me.

I also don't think that people have any responsibility to be likeable in a memoir, but I struggled to find any redeeming qualities in any of her family members.

[Acantha · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

A strangely touching, amusing and downright bizarre book.

It's always a little strange to me, reading a memoir and getting a peek into someone's mind, their life, some of the most personal and tragic moments in their life. I don't know what is stranger to me - reading a memoir of a person I'm a fan of and all the parasocial strangeness that brings, or reading one of someone I don't know, where it feels even more of an intrusion.

This is the later, I've never heard of Tamara before, but reading this I felt both close and very alien to her. Her childhood is like nothing I've heard of before and if this was fiction, it would be considered too unbelivable.

It's a pretty short read but it will pull you in and keep you turning the page. Entertaining, gross, funny, this is a book unlike any I've read before.

[Alyssa · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

i really enjoy reading memoirs - celebrity or not. something i often struggle with is reading a memoir where it feels like the writer doesn't really want to dig deep into themselves. no one HAS to write a memoir, so if you don't want to talk about your life...you don't have to write the book? this book is a perfect example of this - there are some silly anecdotes but Yajia doesn't want to really dig into herself or do any self-reflection. the result is a book that just feels like a collection of random memories but doesn't make me feel like i have gotten to know her or seen how her experiences have made her into who she is.

[Amancay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so torn about how I feel, after experiencing this audiobook journey through another human’s life.

Well written & read, she is clearly an entertainer at heart. My Argentine heart was left lacking in the more Argentina specific content… or perhaps a heavily BsAs perspective is highly different than the rest of the country.

Then you factor in the very explicit & at times vulgar culture of her family, and I was more often left scandalized & uncomfortable, throughout the journey. But I was always attentive & ready for the stories 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea what I just read. But I'm not mad. Her memoir is unapologetically raunchy and unfiltered as she tells the story of her family moving back and forth from the US to Argentina. I'm not sure I've ever read anything quite like her story. Not sure many exist.

Consumed via audio. Her tone and humor made for some real laugh out loud moments.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 I heard the author on a podcast and listened to this on audio. Her story of her crazy childhood in Argentina and the US is at times funny and sad. There's a lot of raunchy humor. All in all, it was mostly entertaining but not sure I could really recommend it.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super easy to breeze through. Yajia’s writing is so whacky you get lost in it. Very very honest, sometimes pretty gross, sometimes very beautiful and full of love. Ultimately about acceptance, self acceptance, embracing change.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat entertaining, mostly annoying.

[Amanda · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

Chose this for one of the Good Reads challenges because it was short, available on audible, seemed interesting and I generally like memoirs.

It’s very meh. Outlandish stories, vulgarity for shock value, not a ton of introspection…and I rolled my eyes so hard when she said her and SELENA GOMEZ are “just two child stars…” that is a ridiculous comparison.

[Olivia Trocki · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is like if 14yo severely unwell me wrote a book and became the adult I thought I wanted to be before I met my therapist. That’s to say I was entertained but moderately horrified. Also this book was chock full of weird ch*ld f*tishization so minus a star for that 🫥

[Olivia Troilo · Rating 3 out of 5]

very average book, but the author’s life is extraordinary.

[Leah Jagger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who is this girl???? I have never heard of her! I have apparently seen the show Acapulco, which she wrote for though! What a horrible brat and a crazy promiscuous and tumultuous young life she led. Did not enjoy her story.

[Francesca Margaret Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

So funny. I want to be her friend

[Richard L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded down.

Maybe rounding up would have been more appropriate. But this book reads (much) longer than its page count.

Sort of funny, sort of exhausting. Each chapter covers a key or pivotal time in the author's life. After a while, it begins to feel like one slightly unhinged / batshit event after another, but to what end is difficult to discern.

Beyond question, the author has led an interesting life. Their family's path to the U.S. is a testament to the resilience of people in the face of tumult.

Yet this book was distressingly easy to put down and leave for days if not weeks at a time. This reading experience is necessarily reflected in the rating.

[Sigrid A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really know what to make of this book. It is hyped as a hilarious memoir, but I did not find it particularly funny. The narration by the author is very animated, and she does recount humorous stories about her family. But the way that she was sexualized from a very young age just didn't sit well for me, and it seemed more tragic than anyone else - like, who was looking out for this young girl? Nevertheless, the author is very resilient, and the anecdotes about her life in Argentina and in the Jewish community are interesting.

Thanks to Libro.fm and the publisher for the advance listening copy.

[Sofia · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's not that many books about Jewish Argentinians, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found this book. I think that I maybe liked it more because a lot of the cultural context felt familiar to me in a way that it rarely does. The author has had a rough life, but manages to find the humor in it. However, I think that this could have explored some deeper concepts but it stayed pretty surface level.

[julian ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

unabashedly vulgar, scatological, petulant, and heartfelt. this is not a memoir for people looking to be intellectually stimulated, you aren’t going to learn more about the world by the time it’s over, but it leaves you with an immense warmth and a nostalgia for a life you never lived. definitely worth checking out and it’s one of those memoirs that you can go into blindly because it is primarily about childhood and adolescence.