It is 1942, Eddie, a widower is forced to face his mother and persuade her to take care of his two sons for a year while he travels to his new defense job to earn money for his family. There in Yonkers we meet Aunt Bella, who seems to be absent minded, but still has a good heart. Also Uncle Louie, a small time gangster, and Aunt Gert, who was forced as a child to hold her breath while she slept which caused her to forget to stop talking when she was breathing in. Grandma Kurnitz is made of steel, born out of a resolve to survive and live through the pain of survival.

The main characters of the read were Jay, Arty, Uncle Louie, Eddie, Aunt Bella, Aunt Gert, and Grandma Kur

nitz. Jay, is Eddie's son and Arties older brother. He is in him early teens and wants to help out his father all he can, being the naive kid he is, he thinks he can leave Yonkers and go out and start his own life and make money to help out his father. Arty is Jay's younger brother and has more of a sense of humor than Jay does. He's got a fire to him that most kids his age don't have, his sarcasm through out the book was very funny at some times. Like Jay their Uncle Louie also intimidates him. Uncle Louie is a small time gangster with bigger projects on his mind. In his mind he is none other than Humphrey Bogart. He is in trouble with some bad company and decides to hide out for awhile at his mother's house. While there he teaches Jay and Artie what he thi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Aunt Bella, Extra Credit, Uncle Louie, Jay Artie, Jay Eddie's, Aunt Aunt, Aunt Gert, Grandma Kurnitz, Humphrey Bogart, Jay He's, uncle louie, aunt bella, uncle louie gangster, louie gangster, stop talking, help father, aunt gert, grandma kurnitz, jay artie, definitely comedy, absent minded,
Approximate Word count = 518
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)