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sashana's review against another edition
4.0
Clarification: 4.5 stars
Oh what a tangled web she weaves! And no, I’m not referring to Shakespeare or even deception for that matter. I’m talking about Melina Marchetta and her wonderful way of weaving a story with such breathtaking and dynamic relationships. It’s almost as if I can feel the emotions that her characters are going through; which leads me to believe that I’m either an empath or Marchetta is just that good. I’m going for the latter.
I’m not going to waste time (yours or mine) by giving you a plot summary. Frankly, you can read the synopsis, other reviews, or better yet, the actual book. Instead I’ll focus on sharing a few of the many things that made me love this novel.
1. My love for this book would not be complete without Josephine Alibrandi. She has such a warm heart and forgiving nature. I loved the way she welcomed her father into her life without resentment. I love that she has values and a strong sense of family.
2. Australia has been dubbed one of the friendliest countries in the world. However Marchetta has given the rest of us a glimpse of the real Australia. And while I am sure it is a country filled with smiles, rainbows, and butterflies I’ve learned that these are not its defining traits. It is a country filled with a rich history, diversity, prejudice, and some very kick ass slang. I mean, who walks around saying words like wog? And wagged? The Australians that’s who! And while most of the slang in this book went over my head it didn’t take away from the enjoyment factor (it added to it).
3. Can I just say how refreshing it was to read about ‘real’ Italians? Because it was! I am a little misled about their culture because of shows like the Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious (which I admit are my guilty pleasures). But these were far from the Gorilla Juiceheads we watch on MTV. Marcehetta showed us the gossipy neighbors, the outdated yet strong traditions, the fiery tempered and passionate Italians that are often overshadowed by their vulgar MTV counterparts.
One has to wonder what Australia is in hiding ‘down under’. Because Melina Marchetta is certainly a hidden gem.
Oh what a tangled web she weaves! And no, I’m not referring to Shakespeare or even deception for that matter. I’m talking about Melina Marchetta and her wonderful way of weaving a story with such breathtaking and dynamic relationships. It’s almost as if I can feel the emotions that her characters are going through; which leads me to believe that I’m either an empath or Marchetta is just that good. I’m going for the latter.
I’m not going to waste time (yours or mine) by giving you a plot summary. Frankly, you can read the synopsis, other reviews, or better yet, the actual book. Instead I’ll focus on sharing a few of the many things that made me love this novel.
1. My love for this book would not be complete without Josephine Alibrandi. She has such a warm heart and forgiving nature. I loved the way she welcomed her father into her life without resentment. I love that she has values and a strong sense of family.
2. Australia has been dubbed one of the friendliest countries in the world. However Marchetta has given the rest of us a glimpse of the real Australia. And while I am sure it is a country filled with smiles, rainbows, and butterflies I’ve learned that these are not its defining traits. It is a country filled with a rich history, diversity, prejudice, and some very kick ass slang. I mean, who walks around saying words like wog? And wagged? The Australians that’s who! And while most of the slang in this book went over my head it didn’t take away from the enjoyment factor (it added to it).
3. Can I just say how refreshing it was to read about ‘real’ Italians? Because it was! I am a little misled about their culture because of shows like the Jersey Shore and Jerseylicious (which I admit are my guilty pleasures). But these were far from the Gorilla Juiceheads we watch on MTV. Marcehetta showed us the gossipy neighbors, the outdated yet strong traditions, the fiery tempered and passionate Italians that are often overshadowed by their vulgar MTV counterparts.
One has to wonder what Australia is in hiding ‘down under’. Because Melina Marchetta is certainly a hidden gem.
caito21's review against another edition
4.0
I actually cried. That's never happened to me before. Crazy stuff.
hanhanpalmie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a charming coming of age tale, set against a backdrop of 90s Australia. It isn’t my favourite Melina Marchetta (that remains Saving Francesca which I will never stop rereading), but it certainly features many of the hallmarks of her writing that I love so much.
I found the main character Josie to be selfish, impetuous, dramatic and obnoxious, but loveable despite it all in a way that I hope maybe we all were at her age. I grew up in Australia about 15 years after Josie did so, and found it remarkable how much this country, and its cultural dynamics, have shifted in that time. And I, some 30 years after the book was first written, found it remarkable how Melina Marchetta’s artistry is such that I could still relate to a teenage girl trying to find her way.
I found the main character Josie to be selfish, impetuous, dramatic and obnoxious, but loveable despite it all in a way that I hope maybe we all were at her age. I grew up in Australia about 15 years after Josie did so, and found it remarkable how much this country, and its cultural dynamics, have shifted in that time. And I, some 30 years after the book was first written, found it remarkable how Melina Marchetta’s artistry is such that I could still relate to a teenage girl trying to find her way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
theoissocool's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
neekah's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book when I was younger, so I decided to reread it. It's still great, even if I find Josie a little more clueless than I did when I first read it (because I'm oh-so-much wiser now).
reachant's review against another edition
4.0
What a delightful book. A fabulously told coming of age.
cheyenneisreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I'll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in-between. I’ll run to be emancipated. If my society will let me.”
This novel is about as old as I am, and yet it feels timeless. I read this in high school, but loved it, and the film, prior to that. This is a coming of age story about finding your identity and developing your core beliefs and values. A classic Australian staple. I will always recommend this one.
This novel is about as old as I am, and yet it feels timeless. I read this in high school, but loved it, and the film, prior to that. This is a coming of age story about finding your identity and developing your core beliefs and values. A classic Australian staple. I will always recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
kirbyhunt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
4.0
I am on a Melina Marchetta kick lately (I'm working my way up to On the Jellicoe Road) and the lady has not managed to disappoint me yet. However, when I first started reading Looking for Alibrandi, I wasn't sure about it. I actually wasn't sure about it until maybe the last 25% of the book. It's a very character driven story and it kind of jumps around to all of the different things in Josie's life (school, family, boys, friends) and I found it a tad disjointed at times.
Looking for Alibrandi was written in 1992 so it's by far the earliest of Marchetta's books. However, many of the things I loved about Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son are present. Josie, the novel's heroine is actually kind of a rougher version of Francesca. Josie is in the equivalent of her senior year of high school and her and her friends are all worried about passing the high school certificate test and what they'll do next. Josie attends a very fancy, wealthy private Catholic school on scholarship so she often feels like she doesn't fit in not only because her family is solidly working class, but also because she's an "ethnic" of Italian ancestry (she's a second generation Australian). She's very much trying to find her place in life since she doesn't feel like it's fair that she has to be either Italian or Australian.
The story is told from Josie's perspective and that did make the story a bit biased (not in a bad way) because we see everyone and learn about everyone from Josie's point of view. Josie is the typical teenager in the sense that she's kind of self-absorbed and a bit dramatic, but because the story is through Josie's eyes that doesn't necessarily come through.She is however constantly being told by the other characters--her family, her boyfriend--that she's selfish and spoiled. To me she's just being a normal teenager, but I also wouldn't be shocked if some people were bothered by her behavior at times.
The whole Italian-Australian thing is one of the most interesting parts of Marchetta's books. Having grown up in the United States in an Italian-American family I never really gave it much thought. I suppose the US is more of a melting pot and I am about 10 years younger than Josie, but even in Marchetta's later books, with characters my age or younger, it still seems to be a big issue. Like Saving Francesca much of this story deals with Josie's family. Her mother is a single mom who got pregnant as a teenager and was ostracized by her community and her family. After Josie's grandfather passed away her grandmother forgave her mother and, even though her grandmother is big on the guilt, her grandmother, mother, and her are very close, even though they argue quite a bit.
Josie spends a lot of time with her grandmother, her conservative community doesn't think it's ok for her to be home by herself after school or do things like date non-Italians. At first I had a difficult time with Josie's grandmother. She's very old-fashioned and judgmental and she treats Josie and her mother very unfairly. But, as the story went on, we, Josie included, learn more about her grandmother and I really came to appreciate her. At first her stories about Italy and her early life in Australia seemed boring and pointless, but they actually came to be my favorite part of the story. Since it's a character driven story I often struggled with what the book was really about and, in the end, I think it was about three generations of strong, feisty, interesting Alibrandi women.
The story is also about another member of Josie's family, her father Michael. Josie has known her father's name since she was younger (her mother didn't tell anyone else his identity), but she's never met him. Shortly after her mother got pregnant her father's family moved to Brisbane (Josie lives in Sydney) and he left thinking that Josie's mother was getting an abortion. Michael, a lawyer, returns to Sydney at the beginning of the book for work and is welcomed back into the fold of the Italian community not realizing he has a daughter. Josie and Michael's relationship gets off to a bit of a rough start. She's always wondered about her father, but actually meeting him is something different. Over the course of the story they build a relationship and it was so lovely and sweet and funny. Besides Josie's relationship with her grandmother her relationship with her father was probably my favorite of the book.
There's also a romance in the book. Josie has been in love with John Barton, the son of a wealthy politician, for many years. They see each other at debating tournaments or other functions their schools have together, but Josie feels inferior because John's family is so rich and cultured. He's also best friends with her archenemy at her school, Poison Ivy. Jacob Coote, the other guy in Josie's life, is from a more similar background to Josie, he's Australian, but his family is working class and he wants to be a mechanic once he finishes school. At first I was worried it would turn into a love triangle, but it didn't. Josie starts dating Jacob and John stays a friend. I wouldn't recommend this book as a great romance, but Josie's relationship with Jacob had its moments, even if it was often pushed to the background. There's a side story with John Barton that didn't quite fit with the story to me, especially because you could go 50 or 75 or maybe even 100 pages and not hear anything about him.
Bottom Line: I didn't love Looking for Alibrandi the way I've loved some of Marchetta's other books, but, once I eventually settled into it I came to appreciate it as a character-driven story about three generations of interesting, opinionated, and slightly wacky women. Being a fan of Marchetta's other books it was also nice to see the groundwork that was laid in this early book for her later work.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Looking for Alibrandi was written in 1992 so it's by far the earliest of Marchetta's books. However, many of the things I loved about Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son are present. Josie, the novel's heroine is actually kind of a rougher version of Francesca. Josie is in the equivalent of her senior year of high school and her and her friends are all worried about passing the high school certificate test and what they'll do next. Josie attends a very fancy, wealthy private Catholic school on scholarship so she often feels like she doesn't fit in not only because her family is solidly working class, but also because she's an "ethnic" of Italian ancestry (she's a second generation Australian). She's very much trying to find her place in life since she doesn't feel like it's fair that she has to be either Italian or Australian.
The story is told from Josie's perspective and that did make the story a bit biased (not in a bad way) because we see everyone and learn about everyone from Josie's point of view. Josie is the typical teenager in the sense that she's kind of self-absorbed and a bit dramatic, but because the story is through Josie's eyes that doesn't necessarily come through.She is however constantly being told by the other characters--her family, her boyfriend--that she's selfish and spoiled. To me she's just being a normal teenager, but I also wouldn't be shocked if some people were bothered by her behavior at times.
The whole Italian-Australian thing is one of the most interesting parts of Marchetta's books. Having grown up in the United States in an Italian-American family I never really gave it much thought. I suppose the US is more of a melting pot and I am about 10 years younger than Josie, but even in Marchetta's later books, with characters my age or younger, it still seems to be a big issue. Like Saving Francesca much of this story deals with Josie's family. Her mother is a single mom who got pregnant as a teenager and was ostracized by her community and her family. After Josie's grandfather passed away her grandmother forgave her mother and, even though her grandmother is big on the guilt, her grandmother, mother, and her are very close, even though they argue quite a bit.
Josie spends a lot of time with her grandmother, her conservative community doesn't think it's ok for her to be home by herself after school or do things like date non-Italians. At first I had a difficult time with Josie's grandmother. She's very old-fashioned and judgmental and she treats Josie and her mother very unfairly. But, as the story went on, we, Josie included, learn more about her grandmother and I really came to appreciate her. At first her stories about Italy and her early life in Australia seemed boring and pointless, but they actually came to be my favorite part of the story. Since it's a character driven story I often struggled with what the book was really about and, in the end, I think it was about three generations of strong, feisty, interesting Alibrandi women.
The story is also about another member of Josie's family, her father Michael. Josie has known her father's name since she was younger (her mother didn't tell anyone else his identity), but she's never met him. Shortly after her mother got pregnant her father's family moved to Brisbane (Josie lives in Sydney) and he left thinking that Josie's mother was getting an abortion. Michael, a lawyer, returns to Sydney at the beginning of the book for work and is welcomed back into the fold of the Italian community not realizing he has a daughter. Josie and Michael's relationship gets off to a bit of a rough start. She's always wondered about her father, but actually meeting him is something different. Over the course of the story they build a relationship and it was so lovely and sweet and funny. Besides Josie's relationship with her grandmother her relationship with her father was probably my favorite of the book.
There's also a romance in the book. Josie has been in love with John Barton, the son of a wealthy politician, for many years. They see each other at debating tournaments or other functions their schools have together, but Josie feels inferior because John's family is so rich and cultured. He's also best friends with her archenemy at her school, Poison Ivy. Jacob Coote, the other guy in Josie's life, is from a more similar background to Josie, he's Australian, but his family is working class and he wants to be a mechanic once he finishes school. At first I was worried it would turn into a love triangle, but it didn't. Josie starts dating Jacob and John stays a friend. I wouldn't recommend this book as a great romance, but Josie's relationship with Jacob had its moments, even if it was often pushed to the background. There's a side story with John Barton that didn't quite fit with the story to me, especially because you could go 50 or 75 or maybe even 100 pages and not hear anything about him.
Bottom Line: I didn't love Looking for Alibrandi the way I've loved some of Marchetta's other books, but, once I eventually settled into it I came to appreciate it as a character-driven story about three generations of interesting, opinionated, and slightly wacky women. Being a fan of Marchetta's other books it was also nice to see the groundwork that was laid in this early book for her later work.
This review first appeared on my blog.