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chalkletters's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Looking back from a distance of years since I last read it, I think I expected Looking for Alibrandi to be similar to Melina Marchetta’s other YA novel, Saving Francesca, and they certainly do have their similarities: they’re both about young Australian girls of around the same age, with a similar school experience, dealing with friends and family and boys. But the Australian family Josie lives in is very different from those depicted in Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son.
Josie’s Catholic Italian family are a lot stricter than the characters in Melina Marchetta’s other YA novels, and their origin story links much more heavily to Australia’s settler roots, which gives the novel a less modern feel. While never dipping directly into Nonna Katia’s perspective, Melina Marchatta does a good job painting the picture of what Australia was like for a newcomer two generations ago. The references to Josie’s grandfather cutting cane and the character of Marcus Sanford was strongly reminiscent of The Thorn Birds’ Luke O'Neill.
Despite Josie claiming friendship as one of the things life is all about, her friendships with girls her own age mostly aren’t as well-developed or as solid-feeling as in Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son. Lee, Sera and Anna are all distinct characters, but Josie’s relationships with them are a little shallowly drawn. They provide conflict in the plot as much as they provide comfort, if not more so. Excitingly, Josie’s animosity with Ivy is given more growth towards the end of the novel.
Some of the events in Looking for Alibrandi are truly traumatic, and yet the feelings don’t hit quite hard enough, at least on a second read. The relationships between Josie, John and Jacob are all there and feel realistic, but perhaps none of them are given quite enough time to shine. The standout subplots are definitely the ones centred on Josie’s family, rather than her friends.
I enjoyed revisiting Looking for Alibrandi. Even if the emotions didn’t affect me as much this time around, I was able to appreciate the historical aspects of the story that I hadn’t considered before.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Infertility, Drug use, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infidelity, and Child death
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