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A review by kricketa
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
4.0
josephine alibrandi, age 17, is about to meet her father for the first time, and she doesn't give a rat's ass. she's too busy getting her nonna katia off her back, competing with the school captain, poison ivy, and trying to decide who she likes better: sweet upper-class john, or exciting but dangerous jacob. josie also struggles with being an "ethnic" (her grandparents came from italy) among native australians.
when a school mishap obliges josie to ask her father for help, they tentatively enter each other's lives and begin to get to know one another. meanwhile, nonna accidentally reveals a big family secret to josie, leaving her to question who she is and where she belongs. i enjoyed the sweet but turbulent romance aspect of the book.
this is marchetta's first work, and i might have loved it even more if i hadn't already read "saving francesca" & "jellicoe road"- knowing the heights she can soar to. in comparison (i know that isn't fair) "looking for alibrandi" is a bit overly dramatic and slightly dated. "slightly" is actually impressive here due to the fact that it was published in 1992. highly recommended if you've got it around.
when a school mishap obliges josie to ask her father for help, they tentatively enter each other's lives and begin to get to know one another. meanwhile, nonna accidentally reveals a big family secret to josie, leaving her to question who she is and where she belongs. i enjoyed the sweet but turbulent romance aspect of the book.
this is marchetta's first work, and i might have loved it even more if i hadn't already read "saving francesca" & "jellicoe road"- knowing the heights she can soar to. in comparison (i know that isn't fair) "looking for alibrandi" is a bit overly dramatic and slightly dated. "slightly" is actually impressive here due to the fact that it was published in 1992. highly recommended if you've got it around.