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Why Is Everybody Yelling?: Growing Up in My Immigrant Family
This graphic-novel debut is a 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 graphic-novel memoir explores the childhood burdens of memory and guilt, and Marisabina's struggles and successes in forming an identity entirely her own.
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 graphic-novel memoir explores the childhood burdens of memory and guilt, and Marisabina's struggles and successes in forming an identity entirely her own.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 26, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
January 13, 2022
I was fascinated by the first half as the author described being a devout Catholic in elementary school with a single mother, Sabina Russo, who had converted from Judaism. There is real energy in the scenes with the Sabina's sisters and mother who remain Jewish, chide Sabina for her conversion, and wonder at the little aspiring nun in their midst. Slowly, we are given the stories of how the members of the family survived the Holocaust and migrated to America to start their lives anew. We are also introduced to Sabina's half-brothers, one of whom is an artist who hangs with Allen Ginsberg and deals with mental health issues.
Unfortunately, the second half of the book sort of drops those threads and starts to become a more generic string of anecdotes about being a teenage girl growing up in 1960s. As the book is limited to the timeframe of 1957 to 1967, we only see Russo age from basically seven to seventeen. The ending with her going off to college at Mount Holyoke feels more arbitrary than an organic coming-of-age moment. And the next fifty years are reduced to an unsatisfying epilogue and end notes with short biographical sketches of what happened to the various family members before their deaths.
Unfortunately, the second half of the book sort of drops those threads and starts to become a more generic string of anecdotes about being a teenage girl growing up in 1960s. As the book is limited to the timeframe of 1957 to 1967, we only see Russo age from basically seven to seventeen. The ending with her going off to college at Mount Holyoke feels more arbitrary than an organic coming-of-age moment. And the next fifty years are reduced to an unsatisfying epilogue and end notes with short biographical sketches of what happened to the various family members before their deaths.
January 11, 2022
Graphic novel memoirs are some of my favorite ones to read. As far as graphic novels go this one was wordier at times, especially with all of the translations, but it was still interesting to read about her experiences growing up.
September 13, 2022
📚 Hello Book Friends! This graphic-novel memoir is filled with conflicts, self-discovery, and finding who you want to be. I enjoyed the illustrations and the chronological order of the story. I felt for Marisabina and hoped everything would get better for her throughout the story. This is a good read to understand the challenges that come with being a child of an immigrant family in the 50s’ and 60s’. Overall, it was a good read but was a bit repetitive.
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June 29, 2021
Thank you to Teen Ink and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In Why Is Everybody Yelling?, Marisabina Russo weaves a story of family, identity, and coming of age that feels both relatable and deeply personal. The book follows the young Marie from childhood in 1950’s New York to her teenage years, all the while navigating the clash of her Catholic upbringing with her Jewish heritage, her mother’s impossible standards, and the seemingly unforgivable error of having been born in America in a family of immigrants who have suffered through hardships constantly kept half-hidden from her. With an approachable style and light tone even as the book addresses what can be intense topics, Why Is Everybody Yelling? can be enjoyed by readers both young and old, and will be a hit with fans of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.
Achieving a coherent narrative in a memoir can be difficult, and Why Is Everybody Yelling? rises to meet the challenge. The author manages to pull together the strands of her childhood so that the reader can see how truly interconnected they are. The details of Marie’s childhood, especially the impact of her relatives’ experiences during World War II on her complicated and often strained family dynamic, provide a window into a life that feels truly unique and deserving of a memoir. Despite chronicling challenges most readers will never experience, the story still boils down to the essential struggles of growing up that all readers are familiar with: family expectations, winning the approval of someone important to us, finding goals that are truly one’s own. After such a personal exploration of her own experience grappling with these issues, however, the ending felt somewhat abrupt.
Readers may find the art of Why Is Everybody Yelling? somewhat more contentious. Russo is primarily an author of children’s book, and the art style in her memoir feels undeniably similar to what you might find in a picture book. While certainly clear and easy to follow, it is certainly not visually stunning, and I found the younger style somewhat at odds with the book’s material.
Her time spent writing for younger readers clearly has advantages, though, because Russo does a magnificent job capturing the logic of a child in the first section of the book. Her exasperation with her noisy family, matter-of-fact attitude about her appraisal of her stepfather changing on a dime, and absolute mortification about her dress not matching the other bridesmaids’ all feels authentic, and the author presents an excellent representation of the kinds of things that seem like pressing issues at that age. It was also interesting for the reader to see how her understanding of her world, and especially her family, shifted as she got older.
While the art is a little weak, Why Is Everybody Yelling? provides an interesting glimpse into the life of a young girl navigating her identity and explores the impact of World War II on one Jewish immigrant family without feeling like a heavy read.
In Why Is Everybody Yelling?, Marisabina Russo weaves a story of family, identity, and coming of age that feels both relatable and deeply personal. The book follows the young Marie from childhood in 1950’s New York to her teenage years, all the while navigating the clash of her Catholic upbringing with her Jewish heritage, her mother’s impossible standards, and the seemingly unforgivable error of having been born in America in a family of immigrants who have suffered through hardships constantly kept half-hidden from her. With an approachable style and light tone even as the book addresses what can be intense topics, Why Is Everybody Yelling? can be enjoyed by readers both young and old, and will be a hit with fans of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.
Achieving a coherent narrative in a memoir can be difficult, and Why Is Everybody Yelling? rises to meet the challenge. The author manages to pull together the strands of her childhood so that the reader can see how truly interconnected they are. The details of Marie’s childhood, especially the impact of her relatives’ experiences during World War II on her complicated and often strained family dynamic, provide a window into a life that feels truly unique and deserving of a memoir. Despite chronicling challenges most readers will never experience, the story still boils down to the essential struggles of growing up that all readers are familiar with: family expectations, winning the approval of someone important to us, finding goals that are truly one’s own. After such a personal exploration of her own experience grappling with these issues, however, the ending felt somewhat abrupt.
Readers may find the art of Why Is Everybody Yelling? somewhat more contentious. Russo is primarily an author of children’s book, and the art style in her memoir feels undeniably similar to what you might find in a picture book. While certainly clear and easy to follow, it is certainly not visually stunning, and I found the younger style somewhat at odds with the book’s material.
Her time spent writing for younger readers clearly has advantages, though, because Russo does a magnificent job capturing the logic of a child in the first section of the book. Her exasperation with her noisy family, matter-of-fact attitude about her appraisal of her stepfather changing on a dime, and absolute mortification about her dress not matching the other bridesmaids’ all feels authentic, and the author presents an excellent representation of the kinds of things that seem like pressing issues at that age. It was also interesting for the reader to see how her understanding of her world, and especially her family, shifted as she got older.
While the art is a little weak, Why Is Everybody Yelling? provides an interesting glimpse into the life of a young girl navigating her identity and explores the impact of World War II on one Jewish immigrant family without feeling like a heavy read.
April 15, 2022
A graphic novel memoir about growing up with a mother, and aunts, that were Holocaust survivors. The tension between her Jewish heritage and her Catholic faith added an interesting layer. Ultimately there was too much focus on uninteresting details. For example, the chapter about going to summer camp - how did this progress the story? There was nothing particularly interesting shared, in fact it was the most basic anecdote - I was homesick and then made friends and didn't want to leave.
It felt like the author was focused on including all their tentpole childhood memories over telling the details and stories that made a good narrative. Often there was no reflection or tie in to the overall theme. For example, the assassination of JFK, yes this is certainly something that happened and it would be memorable - but how did it affect the author? What was the point of including it?
It felt like the author was focused on including all their tentpole childhood memories over telling the details and stories that made a good narrative. Often there was no reflection or tie in to the overall theme. For example, the assassination of JFK, yes this is certainly something that happened and it would be memorable - but how did it affect the author? What was the point of including it?
read-comix
November 4, 2022This graphic memoir is about 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.
Marie’s mother, Sabina, converted from Judaism and was raising Marie Catholic, and Marie at one point even wanted to become a nun. Sabina's sisters and mother, who remain Jewish, chide Sabina for her conversion. Throughout the book, we learn everyone’s story of how they survived the Holocaust and migrated to America to start their lives anew.
I loved that we got to travel abroad with Marie and Sabina. They went to Paris to visit Marie’s brother, Switzerland to meet Marie’s father, and Italy where her mother met her father. There is a lot of historical context one would expect with growing up in the 50’s and 60’s also.
Marie has to figure out where she fits in, all on her own. Her father is very distant, and hardly contributes. Her brothers were much older, and had their own struggles, too. Friendships were difficult to maintain because of her mothers strict rules. It made me so sad that her mother made her feel so ‘less than’ for being born after the Holocaust and being born in America. I enjoyed the perspective, as it was one I hadn’t read about before.
Marie’s mother, Sabina, converted from Judaism and was raising Marie Catholic, and Marie at one point even wanted to become a nun. Sabina's sisters and mother, who remain Jewish, chide Sabina for her conversion. Throughout the book, we learn everyone’s story of how they survived the Holocaust and migrated to America to start their lives anew.
I loved that we got to travel abroad with Marie and Sabina. They went to Paris to visit Marie’s brother, Switzerland to meet Marie’s father, and Italy where her mother met her father. There is a lot of historical context one would expect with growing up in the 50’s and 60’s also.
Marie has to figure out where she fits in, all on her own. Her father is very distant, and hardly contributes. Her brothers were much older, and had their own struggles, too. Friendships were difficult to maintain because of her mothers strict rules. It made me so sad that her mother made her feel so ‘less than’ for being born after the Holocaust and being born in America. I enjoyed the perspective, as it was one I hadn’t read about before.
April 28, 2025
First half super fascinating. Second half sped up and not as engaging.
December 16, 2023
I am in awe of the number of languages this family speaks. The way they moved through different countries, marriages, religions, and languages and their resulting patchwork life is just so American. People who are worried about all the refugees arriving in the US have forgotten that we have as always had waves of immigrants coming here. It’s what makes us America.
August 19, 2024
Very good middle grade graphic novel memoir. Her life story is very interesting, but honestly I wish her drawings were a bit more detailed. Very text heavy and the illustrations didn't add as much as I would have liked. But still very much worth the read.
October 5, 2021
Marisabina is helpfully called Cookie throughout this graphic memoir.
She is growing up in Queens, the youngest of three, and her two older half-brothers are quite a bit older–in college when she’s in first grade. The book goes all the way up through her getting into college, which I wasn’t expecting at all. Her life is pretty complicated–she’s never met her father who lives in Austria. Her brothers were born in Italy. Her mother is German but descended from Poles. WWII is the precipitating event for everything. Her extended family–grandparents and aunts as well as her mother, her mother’s first husband, and her two brothers were all trying to escape the Nazis, with varying success. They mostly did (or did eventually) but of course there are repercussions as well as the few who didn’t.
Anyway, Cookie’s mother converted to Catholicism in Italy, and at the beginning of the book Cookie is attending Catholic school and wants to be a nun. Her very Jewish family is confused by this throughout the book. She switches to public school and has trouble making friends, but eventually does (with her mother’s help.) It’s interesting seeing her mother and her aunts not get along–I can’t think of a children’s book where the relationships between adult siblings were portrayed as true sibling relationships with all their own difficulties. Her oldest brother is having mental health problems after he was kicked out of Harvard and he then moves to Paris to be an artist. Her mother remarries, her grandmother dies, and basically life is a loud, awkward, Jewish-Catholic New York City existence through the height of the Baby Boom youth years. There are a couple of fun Forrest Gump moments when her middle brother, who is an entomologist working for Idlewild Airport, meets the Beatles and doesn’t seem to know who they are. And also her oldest brother is in a movie with Andy Warhol and later makes a movie with the Velvet Underground.
Cookie goes through her own fairly normal adolescence with friendship issues, not knowing what to do about boys she likes, being intimidated at school by cool kids, and deciding what she wants to be when she grows up.
This is a dense book with an awful lot of material. Spanning this age range makes it rather unusual. But I think that teens would like it–particularly learning about what it really was like growing up in the shadow of WWII, instead of just hearing about the war, and any mention of the 1950s and 60s being rather sanitized. In this book her aunts have tattoos on their forearms and people do die and while Cookie gets through it all eventually, things never fall into place easily. I actually think adults, who have more historical context for the era, might enjoy it even more.
She is growing up in Queens, the youngest of three, and her two older half-brothers are quite a bit older–in college when she’s in first grade. The book goes all the way up through her getting into college, which I wasn’t expecting at all. Her life is pretty complicated–she’s never met her father who lives in Austria. Her brothers were born in Italy. Her mother is German but descended from Poles. WWII is the precipitating event for everything. Her extended family–grandparents and aunts as well as her mother, her mother’s first husband, and her two brothers were all trying to escape the Nazis, with varying success. They mostly did (or did eventually) but of course there are repercussions as well as the few who didn’t.
Anyway, Cookie’s mother converted to Catholicism in Italy, and at the beginning of the book Cookie is attending Catholic school and wants to be a nun. Her very Jewish family is confused by this throughout the book. She switches to public school and has trouble making friends, but eventually does (with her mother’s help.) It’s interesting seeing her mother and her aunts not get along–I can’t think of a children’s book where the relationships between adult siblings were portrayed as true sibling relationships with all their own difficulties. Her oldest brother is having mental health problems after he was kicked out of Harvard and he then moves to Paris to be an artist. Her mother remarries, her grandmother dies, and basically life is a loud, awkward, Jewish-Catholic New York City existence through the height of the Baby Boom youth years. There are a couple of fun Forrest Gump moments when her middle brother, who is an entomologist working for Idlewild Airport, meets the Beatles and doesn’t seem to know who they are. And also her oldest brother is in a movie with Andy Warhol and later makes a movie with the Velvet Underground.
Cookie goes through her own fairly normal adolescence with friendship issues, not knowing what to do about boys she likes, being intimidated at school by cool kids, and deciding what she wants to be when she grows up.
This is a dense book with an awful lot of material. Spanning this age range makes it rather unusual. But I think that teens would like it–particularly learning about what it really was like growing up in the shadow of WWII, instead of just hearing about the war, and any mention of the 1950s and 60s being rather sanitized. In this book her aunts have tattoos on their forearms and people do die and while Cookie gets through it all eventually, things never fall into place easily. I actually think adults, who have more historical context for the era, might enjoy it even more.
December 29, 2021
I am quite fond of graphic novel memoirs. I find it a very enjoyable pairing of format and content. Marisabina Russo shares her complicated family life growing up as a first generation American in her family of Holocaust survivors. Marisabina has an absent Italian father and is a devoted Catholic. Though her mother converted to Catholicism when living in Italy, she becomes concerned about Marisabina's obsessive desire to become a nun (or saint) and pulls her out of parochial school to attend public school. Marisabina tries to reconcile her Jewish blood with her Catholic faith while also trying to live up to the heroic stories of her mother and older half-brothers with the Resistance during the War. In episodes from grade two to heading off to Mount Holyoke College, Marisabina distills her tale through the eyes of her younger self, with a text epilogue that wraps things up with a slightly older perspective and understanding. Full of family stories and finding out how to fit in and express her own identity, this could be a great jumping off point for thinking about the stories of one's own family.
Book Pairings:
George Takei's They Call Us Enemy for a personal/family memoir with a different experience of WWII.
El Deafo by Cece Bell for another middle school graphic novel memoir.
Book Pairings:
George Takei's They Call Us Enemy for a personal/family memoir with a different experience of WWII.
El Deafo by Cece Bell for another middle school graphic novel memoir.
February 22, 2022
"Why is Everybody Yelling" is a wonderful memoir about growing up in an immigrant family - but not the type of immigrant family most people think about. Marisabina is the daughter of a divorced, Jewish Holocaust survivor, being raised in the Catholic Church in the 1950s. This beautifully told memoir follows the author through her childhood and into adulthood, as she learns about her mother's past and her father's fate, as her mother dates and remarries, and all the things that make up life from being a young child through college, while dealing with social change, religion, family history, and so much more.
This is a wonderful graphic novel for those interested in memoirs, post-Holocaust survival, blended families, the 50s and 60s, being raised Catholic while born Jewish, dealing with family culture that you don't feel like you understand or fit into - it's just an overall wonderful autobiography appropriate for middle school and older students, and enjoyable for any age. It would be a great book to read together or aloud.
This is a wonderful graphic novel for those interested in memoirs, post-Holocaust survival, blended families, the 50s and 60s, being raised Catholic while born Jewish, dealing with family culture that you don't feel like you understand or fit into - it's just an overall wonderful autobiography appropriate for middle school and older students, and enjoyable for any age. It would be a great book to read together or aloud.
June 3, 2021
The line that sums this book up the best comes near the end of the book: "out Jewish blood and Catholic souls." Our narrator, Cookie is "the lucky one" of her family: born in the US, after the Holocaust, not having to deal with the issues of the past. But she has new ones: dealing with being Catholic in her converted-to-Catholicism-mother's Jewish family. Not really ever knowing her father and yet, still trying to gain his love. Having to live in the shadow of two loving, but much older half-brothers, with baggage of their own. And of course, her mother who seems to love her greatly, but who is also greatly over protective. Trying to find yourself was never more interesting or odd to read about. Delightful illustrations that capture the spirit of the text.
October 28, 2022
Public library copy
This graphic novel memoir, by the author of House of Sports (2002), tells the fascinating story of growing up in the 1950s and 60s with a mother and extended family who were greatly affected by the Holocaust during WWII. Ms. Russo's mother managed to survive with her two young sons by being hidden by nuns in Italy, but her husband did not survive. Since she converted to Catholicism, her daughter is being sent to a Catholic school, where she has completely bought in to the ritual of the Catholic church and wants to be a nun. This is alarming to her mother, who eventually sends her to public school. A host of aunts and other relatives are decidedly Jewish, so it's an interesting mix of cultures. Russo's older brothers are struggling a bit, especially Piero, who drops out of Harvard to pursue a career in the arts, with mixed success, since he struggles with mental health issues. Russo's father is in Europe and rarely has any contact with her, although she and her mother do travel to visit. Her mother remarries, which is a difficult transition, and while her life seems, on the surface, to be a typical teen one during that time period, it is really a fragile veneer layered over her troubled family past. There are flashbacks to experiences different family members had during the war; if I had reviewed this when it came out, I might have drawn parallels to the now beleagured Maus (Russo is three years younger than Spiegleman), but now I wouldn't want anyone to think I was putting this forward as a "happier rendition of the Holocaust".
Strengths: There was something very evocative about the art style, and the changes in colors between the brightly colored 1950s and 60s and the beige and gray of the war years was very effective. This was a fascinating look at what life could be like for children of Holocaust survivors, and there aren't a lot of books that cover this topic. Russo has a good eye for what interests young readers, and the story gives enough historical background to get readers who aren't as familiar with mid century history up to speed. While this covers Russo's life up to college, she does give us a bittersweet overview of what happened to the relatives mentioned in the memoir. Very interesting and moving.
Weaknesses: The format feels more like an adult graphic novel, with smaller print and pictures, which may deter some readers who can't move beyond Raina Telgemeier's style. (And they are out there, unfortunately. Even picking up Copeland's fantastic Cub is a struggle for some of my readers.)
What I really think: I feel like I need to reread House of Sports, which I've always loved for some reason. I was fascinated by Russo's interest in becoming a nun, and the story had so many intriguing components, including the information about her brother Piero. I will purchase a copy.
This graphic novel memoir, by the author of House of Sports (2002), tells the fascinating story of growing up in the 1950s and 60s with a mother and extended family who were greatly affected by the Holocaust during WWII. Ms. Russo's mother managed to survive with her two young sons by being hidden by nuns in Italy, but her husband did not survive. Since she converted to Catholicism, her daughter is being sent to a Catholic school, where she has completely bought in to the ritual of the Catholic church and wants to be a nun. This is alarming to her mother, who eventually sends her to public school. A host of aunts and other relatives are decidedly Jewish, so it's an interesting mix of cultures. Russo's older brothers are struggling a bit, especially Piero, who drops out of Harvard to pursue a career in the arts, with mixed success, since he struggles with mental health issues. Russo's father is in Europe and rarely has any contact with her, although she and her mother do travel to visit. Her mother remarries, which is a difficult transition, and while her life seems, on the surface, to be a typical teen one during that time period, it is really a fragile veneer layered over her troubled family past. There are flashbacks to experiences different family members had during the war; if I had reviewed this when it came out, I might have drawn parallels to the now beleagured Maus (Russo is three years younger than Spiegleman), but now I wouldn't want anyone to think I was putting this forward as a "happier rendition of the Holocaust".
Strengths: There was something very evocative about the art style, and the changes in colors between the brightly colored 1950s and 60s and the beige and gray of the war years was very effective. This was a fascinating look at what life could be like for children of Holocaust survivors, and there aren't a lot of books that cover this topic. Russo has a good eye for what interests young readers, and the story gives enough historical background to get readers who aren't as familiar with mid century history up to speed. While this covers Russo's life up to college, she does give us a bittersweet overview of what happened to the relatives mentioned in the memoir. Very interesting and moving.
Weaknesses: The format feels more like an adult graphic novel, with smaller print and pictures, which may deter some readers who can't move beyond Raina Telgemeier's style. (And they are out there, unfortunately. Even picking up Copeland's fantastic Cub is a struggle for some of my readers.)
What I really think: I feel like I need to reread House of Sports, which I've always loved for some reason. I was fascinated by Russo's interest in becoming a nun, and the story had so many intriguing components, including the information about her brother Piero. I will purchase a copy.
March 14, 2022
An interesting account of a family's life in the 50s-60s, following the American-born youngest daughter of a World War 2 survivor as she tries to figure out where she fits in her family (herself a Catholic, while her mother's family is Jewish Holocaust survivors; herself growing up in the US during peacetime, while her much older brothers lived through the war) and in America (as the daughter of a single mom, and an immigrant on top of that; as a Catholic when that was considered weird in mostly-Protestant America; as the child of a family of Holocaust survivors). The story doesn't concentrate on the Holocaust itself, but on a young child's perspective of the family that survived it, not understanding everything they're talking or arguing about, facing family pressure to be grateful and take advantage of the opportunities they never had, and then in her teens wanting to fit in with the 'normal' kids and figure out what she wants to do with her life. It touches on mental illness from the outside - one of her brothers spent some time in a psychiatric hospital when she was little, and lived impulsively throughout her childhood - and complicated family relationships, with her mother being hard on everyone because being soft won't help them, and her Jewish family being hard on her mother for converting, for their different war experiences, and for her life choices.
The one problem is there isn't a clear ending. The story goes through key events and eras of the author's childhood, then just stops when she's on her way to college. Though there is an epilogue outlining what happened to key characters, it would have been nice to see a bit of how she experienced finally being out on her own away from her family after wanting that for so long.
May interest readers who enjoy stories of complicated family dynamics and/or of ordinary people going through major historical events.
The one problem is there isn't a clear ending. The story goes through key events and eras of the author's childhood, then just stops when she's on her way to college. Though there is an epilogue outlining what happened to key characters, it would have been nice to see a bit of how she experienced finally being out on her own away from her family after wanting that for so long.
May interest readers who enjoy stories of complicated family dynamics and/or of ordinary people going through major historical events.
July 23, 2022
This summer I have thrown myself into the world of graphic novels, especially nonfiction works that bring history & biography into an accessible format for students who usually shy away from those genres. Why Is Everybody Yelling? by Marisabina Russo is a unique immigrant/coming-of-age/Holocaust story told from the perspective of “the lucky one,” Cookie, the daughter born in America after the war. Russo explores the family dynamics of being the only family member who did not experience the war as well as the unique situation of being a Catholic Jew as she grows up in 1950s-60s New York.
Yet does anyone ever feel “lucky” moving through adolescence, adapting to new schools, coming head-to-head with strong parent expectations & discovering our desires diverge from that of our mother/biological family? Russo shows her own quiet conflict with her strong-willed mother, a new step-father, friendships, boys, and the struggle to find her own passions and her own voice. I loved the artwork and the way the memoir flowed. The book is divided into chapters which make it more accessible to struggling readers - both plotwise and thematically. I am adding this to my 7th grade nonfiction independent reading list along with Catherine’s War, Illegal, Honor Girl, El Deafo, They Called Us Enemy, Guantanamo Voices, Persepolis, March, Maus, and Dancing at the Pity Party- all great graphic works that explore real world issues of identity, immigration, disability, prejudice, self care, civic responsibility, and finding your inner strength. Reviewers, please let me know what else I should be reading!
Thanks for this great book, Marisabina Russo.
Yet does anyone ever feel “lucky” moving through adolescence, adapting to new schools, coming head-to-head with strong parent expectations & discovering our desires diverge from that of our mother/biological family? Russo shows her own quiet conflict with her strong-willed mother, a new step-father, friendships, boys, and the struggle to find her own passions and her own voice. I loved the artwork and the way the memoir flowed. The book is divided into chapters which make it more accessible to struggling readers - both plotwise and thematically. I am adding this to my 7th grade nonfiction independent reading list along with Catherine’s War, Illegal, Honor Girl, El Deafo, They Called Us Enemy, Guantanamo Voices, Persepolis, March, Maus, and Dancing at the Pity Party- all great graphic works that explore real world issues of identity, immigration, disability, prejudice, self care, civic responsibility, and finding your inner strength. Reviewers, please let me know what else I should be reading!
Thanks for this great book, Marisabina Russo.
November 25, 2022
Marisabina comes from an interesting background. Her mother was Jewish, but converted to Catholicism in Italy, then had a rather fraught and dangerous experience during WWII with her two sons. Her first husband died during the war, and the marriage with Marisabina's father didn't last; he lives in Switzerland and is not particularly interested in his daughter. Marisabina is growing up Catholic, but with everyone else in her extended family being Jewish, which can be a confusing mix. She loves her much-older brothers, but sees them rarely as they mostly don't live nearby. She has lots of tension with her controlling mother, which is at the center of this graphic memoir.
I'm not a huge fan of memoirs to begin with, mostly because I think I just prefer the standard story format with a plot that leads to a resolution of some kind. Memoirs are just that--the moments in someone else's life, which can be really interesting, or not so much, and a lot of the tension doesn't seem to lead anywhere. Which I guess is like life--you muddle through. But I'm afraid I didn't find this all that interesting, except for the stories of what happened in the war, which Marisabina wasn't around for (and which was always a frustration for her, not having had that experience that everyone else had). The art style didn't really appeal to me either, but at least it was easy to read and understand. I'm not sure of the audience for this, since she grows from something like age six to seventeen. Kids who like historical memoirs will probably like it better than I did.
I'm not a huge fan of memoirs to begin with, mostly because I think I just prefer the standard story format with a plot that leads to a resolution of some kind. Memoirs are just that--the moments in someone else's life, which can be really interesting, or not so much, and a lot of the tension doesn't seem to lead anywhere. Which I guess is like life--you muddle through. But I'm afraid I didn't find this all that interesting, except for the stories of what happened in the war, which Marisabina wasn't around for (and which was always a frustration for her, not having had that experience that everyone else had). The art style didn't really appeal to me either, but at least it was easy to read and understand. I'm not sure of the audience for this, since she grows from something like age six to seventeen. Kids who like historical memoirs will probably like it better than I did.
December 23, 2021
This is a fascinating graphic memoir for young teens and up, telling the story of the author's childhood in Queens NY in the late fifties and early sixties as she learns more about her immigrant Jewish family's experiences in World War II (mother shot during the Resistance, aunt and grandmother in concentration camps, etc.) and comes to terms with her "fermisht tummel" (mixed-up commotion) life of a Catholic upbringing with Jewish roots. She is also of course, growing up and into herself, trying to make friends under her mother's strict upbringing, admiring her older half-brothers' independence and figuring out what she wants to do with her life. The early years of her childhood when she desperately wants to become a nun provide some really charming and funny scenes. The illustrations are sweet, very tiny and detailed, with lots of text panels, and done in color for the main story and shades of gray for the flashback stories. The early parts of the story would be fine for younger readers, but they will not be as interested in (or as prepared for) the adolescent years of Marisabina's life; the book covers ten years and ends with Marisabina going away to college. I was actually surprised to see that long of a span covered in just one volume. Good book for young artists interested in the graphic memoir format. I appreciated the appendix that has photos of all of the family members and gives summaries of how the rest of their lives went.
January 31, 2022
On the one hand, it seems like Cookie's (Marisabina, who does not want to be called Marie) life story is going to be typical: changing schools and making friends; getting weird presents from relatives she never sees; going to her first sleep away camp. But we also get the Cookie who grows up attending Catholic schools and dreams of being a nun, even as meals with extended family include stories of fleeing Nazis told partly in Yiddish. The child who travels Europe with her mother. The much younger half-sister of brothers who are fascinating opposites: the one who graduates from Cornell (?) and becomes an entomologist with a respectable career mostly in the federal government; and the one who was a child film star in Italy, then a wandering artiste and philanderer who made movies with Warhol. The story of this Eastern European immigrant family traces the familiar steps of increasingly less tiny city apartments until some of the sisters make it to the suburbs, even as the several-times-married mother holding down various secretarial jobs seems at odds with the usual narrative. All of this comes together to make an immersive memoir rich in colorful pictures (great clothes!), Cookie's private thoughts, narrative, and realistic conversations. The story ends with her being dropped off at Mount Holyoke, but it takes a text epilogue for her to describe, briefly, becoming an illustrator.
April 27, 2022
Why Is Everybody Yelling? Is an autobiography laid out in a graphic novel format. In this book you find out about the authors childhood growing up in New York City. The daughter of an immigrant who escaped Europe following World War II, Marisabina was raised Catholic but her mother was born Jewish. Unfamiliar with her European father, Marisabina grows up looking up to her much older half brothers. This story plays out during the 1950s and 60s, and talks about major events at the time.
This story is about the life experiences of a Jewish immigrant, and how religion was handled following World War II. I found the stories about her family extremely fascinating, and wish I knew more about how her Aunt and Mother survived the war. Her brothers led interesting lives as well, one struggling to find himself, another smart and set to succeed. I will say I found myself more fascinated by the lives of her family and less by the story of her childhood. She spends a lot of time talking about her religious experience and how she was raised Catholic but her Jewish family refused to accept that. An interesting story overall, but I believe the most fascinating part was the side stories mentioned about her family.
This story is about the life experiences of a Jewish immigrant, and how religion was handled following World War II. I found the stories about her family extremely fascinating, and wish I knew more about how her Aunt and Mother survived the war. Her brothers led interesting lives as well, one struggling to find himself, another smart and set to succeed. I will say I found myself more fascinated by the lives of her family and less by the story of her childhood. She spends a lot of time talking about her religious experience and how she was raised Catholic but her Jewish family refused to accept that. An interesting story overall, but I believe the most fascinating part was the side stories mentioned about her family.
February 1, 2022
In this graphic memoir, Marisabina Russo tells her childhood through a series of vignettes about growing up as a first generation American. Marisabina navigates her adolescence as the much younger half-sibling to her brothers - one a studious young adult & the other a former child star and struggling artist. Of her mother's children, she's the only one who didn't live through WWII. She's constantly confused being her Jewish heritage and her Catholic schooling. She's frustrated with her mother's controlling hypervigilance, and her inability to wake up for work and take care of herself. Marisabina moves through life as an slightly too mature, constantly observing child. Overall, the memoir was an interesting look into Marisabina's life.
Four stars, because the pacing and lettering of the graphic memoir is not well-suited for the intended and advertised audience (9-12 years old). Content is suitable for ages 9+, but I don't see many middle graders or elementary students being interested in this dense (yet enjoyable) memoir. I would recommend to more serious high school readers and adults.
Four stars, because the pacing and lettering of the graphic memoir is not well-suited for the intended and advertised audience (9-12 years old). Content is suitable for ages 9+, but I don't see many middle graders or elementary students being interested in this dense (yet enjoyable) memoir. I would recommend to more serious high school readers and adults.
February 27, 2022
A fantastic coming-of-age story.
I am a big fan of graphic-memoir in general. This one is now one of my very favorite! It spans the years during which Marisabina grows from early childhood to just entering college. I felt like I was meeting someone I would have loved as a friend. Someone with a “complicated” family, who tried to please her loved ones but also who wanted to think for herself and make her own choices; someone who struggled with the conventions of our world, who struggled with contradictory feelings, and found comfort in art. It is a story about many things: the holocaust seen through relatives’ memories; a flamboyant, opinionated, and overbearing mother; a quiet girl growing up in a world of religion, family bickering, friends, school; and the many questions and doubts one faces during this period of life. Yet it flows effortlessly and we get a wonderful feeling of being right there, with Marisabina and her unusual family. The art is delightful. So very unique and, for me, a breath of fresh air. I like more conventional graphic novel art a lot, but I love it even more when something is different and very readable at the same time, like this one is.
I am a big fan of graphic-memoir in general. This one is now one of my very favorite! It spans the years during which Marisabina grows from early childhood to just entering college. I felt like I was meeting someone I would have loved as a friend. Someone with a “complicated” family, who tried to please her loved ones but also who wanted to think for herself and make her own choices; someone who struggled with the conventions of our world, who struggled with contradictory feelings, and found comfort in art. It is a story about many things: the holocaust seen through relatives’ memories; a flamboyant, opinionated, and overbearing mother; a quiet girl growing up in a world of religion, family bickering, friends, school; and the many questions and doubts one faces during this period of life. Yet it flows effortlessly and we get a wonderful feeling of being right there, with Marisabina and her unusual family. The art is delightful. So very unique and, for me, a breath of fresh air. I like more conventional graphic novel art a lot, but I love it even more when something is different and very readable at the same time, like this one is.
May 30, 2023
This graphic memoir made a lot of interesting points about not only being the child of immigrants, but the child of parents who have been through extreme trauma that you haven't experienced. While I thought that many sections of the book had a lot to say on these subjects narratively, there were some sections that didn't seem necessary or related. I saw one review that specifically mentioned the chapter on summer camp as being one of these parts. Many of the anecdotes with her friends, especially in the latter half of the book, also didn't seem to serve a larger purpose, and it was mildly confusing to keep all of them straight. I didn't necessarily hate these sections, they just didn't tie into the rest of the story very well.
Nonetheless, it's stories like these that are important to tell. We often read narratives that take place during events like the Holocaust, but we don't always get a chance to hear about the true aftermath of said events, not only for the actual survivors, but for their children. In that respect, I found this memoir to be fairly unique.
Nonetheless, it's stories like these that are important to tell. We often read narratives that take place during events like the Holocaust, but we don't always get a chance to hear about the true aftermath of said events, not only for the actual survivors, but for their children. In that respect, I found this memoir to be fairly unique.
October 21, 2023
3.5
Marisabina (also called Cookie) grew up in the late '50s and '60s with her Jewish-converted-to-Catholic-divorced mother. Little Cookie's family started in Europe in the early twentieth century, but the disruptions of World War II scattered them all over. Her mother moved to Italy when Germany no longer allowed her Jewish husband to study medicine, at least one of her aunts and her grandmother survived the concentration camps, and they lost many others. But those who are left live in New York now, and it's a chaotic family dynamic that Cookie grows up in.
Some of the religious parts remind me of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, but this is less about Cookie's physical changes and more about her navigating her family, religion, and future goals.
A nice afterward includes photos of the family and more information about Cookie's life.
Marisabina (also called Cookie) grew up in the late '50s and '60s with her Jewish-converted-to-Catholic-divorced mother. Little Cookie's family started in Europe in the early twentieth century, but the disruptions of World War II scattered them all over. Her mother moved to Italy when Germany no longer allowed her Jewish husband to study medicine, at least one of her aunts and her grandmother survived the concentration camps, and they lost many others. But those who are left live in New York now, and it's a chaotic family dynamic that Cookie grows up in.
Some of the religious parts remind me of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, but this is less about Cookie's physical changes and more about her navigating her family, religion, and future goals.
A nice afterward includes photos of the family and more information about Cookie's life.
March 7, 2024
A non-fiction graphic novel structure. The story of Marisabina Russo growing up with a LOUD family. She was very interested in religion as a child, but her mother did not encourage any of her interests. She had two older half brothers and they were part of the survivors of the Holocaust, but their father was not. Her mother, aunts and grandmother have strong opinions and often speak to each other as if "yelling." She does not have a relationship with her father, until they take a trip and she meets him and his new wife in an awkward setting.
-I am not sure who I would recommend this book to, as it is unique perspective to make a connection to. It may help readers see a window into being raised in a city with a family that has lived through a lot and is trying to rely on each other.
Recommended: Grades 6+
Topics: non-fiction memoir/autobiography, family, relationships, religion, Holocaust survivor
-I am not sure who I would recommend this book to, as it is unique perspective to make a connection to. It may help readers see a window into being raised in a city with a family that has lived through a lot and is trying to rely on each other.
Recommended: Grades 6+
Topics: non-fiction memoir/autobiography, family, relationships, religion, Holocaust survivor
October 15, 2025
I'm always looking to expand my repertoire of graphic novel memoirs, because I think the genre and the medium just fit each other so well. That being said, this one took me forever to get through. For one thing, I don't think it should be shelved in juvenile fiction, which is where it's at in my library. Maybe YA fiction, but even then, I think this holds the most amount of interest for adults, despite it being about the author's childhood. For another thing, it's extremely text heavy, covers a lot of dense topics, and has many characters to keep track of, which I found confusing and cumbersome. The story itself is pretty interesting, although the ending felt quite rushed. I appreciate this for the passion project that I know it must have been --to illustrate hundreds of sequences from your own, at times painful, childhood, is a sincere accomplishment. For some reason, it just didn't resonate with me as much as other similar graphic memoirs.
December 15, 2024
It seems to me that there are quite a few graphic memoirs that deal with stories of immigration, and I have actually enjoyed quite a few of them. What makes this one different is that it is actually from a somewhat different generation, from a woman whose family members lived through World War II. She grows up in the United States with a mother who converted from Judaism to Catholicism and aunts and a grandmother did not convert, some of whom survived concentration camps. Her estranged father still lives in Italy, but is a generally distant figure in her life. It is a story about growing up and also about coming to terms with the "vermischt tummel" of her family. I enjoyed the book and also appreciated the photos and story at the end, which gave a sense of what happened before and after the events covered by the memoir itself.
January 14, 2022
In this graphic novel, author, Marisabina Russo, reflects on her experience growing up as a first-generation American to Jewish parents who fled Europe after World War II. Marie is surrounded by her mother’s sisters and mother - all concentration camp survivors. Although Marie’s mother was never sent to a concentration camp, she had a heroic and traumatic war experience of her own (which she is proud to share with everyone). Russo uses gorgeous art (I absolutely love her style - so many colors and a fantastic font) and engaging storytelling to paint a picture of how her families’ experiences shaped her coming of age.
May 4, 2022
More than anything else, this book manages to highlight that families are complicated, and that childhood is filled with odd little nooks and crannies and happenings. Add in a family that's dealing with major trauma (surviving WWII and the Holocaust), and those complications are likely to show up in spades with bells on.
I appreciated the author's honesty in her telling of her life, even the hurtful parts. I also loved the art and the color pallet - they added to the sense of the time period. If she should ever decide to write a follow-up about her young adult years, I would definitely read it.
I appreciated the author's honesty in her telling of her life, even the hurtful parts. I also loved the art and the color pallet - they added to the sense of the time period. If she should ever decide to write a follow-up about her young adult years, I would definitely read it.
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