Cookie wants to be a nun. She’s been raised as a Catholic, but there’s just one problem: her family is actually Jewish. Straddling multiple worlds as she transitions from her beloved Catholic school to public school, Cookie learns that her immigrant family has been keeping secrets — her grandmother and aunts survived the Holocaust?! Her own mother received a medal for bravery during WWII AND converted to Catholicism during her time in Italy?! In this coming-of-age graphic memoir, the author details her struggle to make sense of her complicated family history, her relationship to the religion she loves vs. the one her family holds dear, and the many expectations placed on her to follow in her half-brothers’ footsteps. As Cookie and her family come to terms with the aftermath of WWII and its myriad effects, you will find humor, grace, and grit in the author’s telling of her life experiences set in New York, 1957 to 1967.
I loved reminiscing about my own life along with Cookie, growing up in the suburbs of New York surrounded by a large, Italian, Catholic, opinionated family. I remember struggling similarly to find my own place while still making room for my family history and all the joys and burdens that accompany it.
Why is Everybody Yelling?: Growing Up in My Immigrant Family by Marisabina Russo
Jennie’s Picks
7th-8th Grade
Tags: Comics, Family Life, Mental Illness, Humor
I loved reminiscing about my own life along with Cookie, growing up in the suburbs of New York surrounded by a large, Italian, Catholic, opinionated family. I remember struggling similarly to find my own place while still making room for my family history and all the joys and burdens that accompany it.
Why is Everybody Yelling?: Growing Up in My Immigrant Family by Marisabina Russo
Jennie’s Picks
7th-8th Grade
Tags: Comics, Family Life, Mental Illness, Humor
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