I don't know your method, so it is not possible for me to compare my method and yours' method and decide which is simpler.
Given integral: $$I = \int^{1}_{-1} \int^2_0 \sqrt{|{y-x^2}|} dx dy $$
Let $ f(x,y) = \sqrt{|y-x^2|} $
Here, you have to careful for the values inside $(|.|)$. It should be obvious that for $y \in (-1,0) $ ,$$f(x,y) = \sqrt{| -|y| -x^2 |} = \sqrt{| |y| + x^2 |} $$
And for $ y \in (0,1)$, there are two cases:
- Case 1: If $ x < \sqrt{y}$, for that $f(x,y) = \sqrt{y-x^2} $
- Case 2: If $ x \ge \sqrt{y}$, for that $f(x,y) = \sqrt{x^2 -y} $
So,$$I = \int^0_{-1} \int^2_0 \sqrt{ |y| + x^2} + \int^1_0 \int^{\sqrt{y}}_0 \sqrt{y-x^2} dx dy + \int^1_0 \int_{\sqrt{y}}^2 \sqrt{x^2-y} dx dy$$
As the first integral is insenstive to the values of variable $y$, integral $I$ can be written as $$ = \int^1_{0} \int^2_0 \sqrt{ y + x^2} + \int^1_0 \int^{\sqrt{y}}_0 \sqrt{y-x^2} dx dy + \int^1_0 \int_{\sqrt{y}}^2 \sqrt{x^2-y} dx dy$$
Now, all the integrals are of standard form, they can be solved easily, and I leave you that as an exercise.