Looking for Alibrandi

Rating:
Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: Looking for Alibrandi

Looking for Alibrandi is a book about Josephine Alibrandi's senior year of high school. Josephine goes to a private catholic school named St. Martha's, on an English scholarship. She lives with her mother and they have limited means. She was born when her mother was sixteen years old and her father had not been in her life until the middle of her senior year.

. Her relationship with her family and friends is the most important part of this story. How these relationships effect her life and help her grow and mature is what makes this novel so facinating. Her life, while it is certainly unique to her, contains many of the same challenges and opportunities that all-teenage children face. Opportunities and challenges such as, dating. Peer pressure, and academics. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Jacob is a lot about the difficulties they have because of their differences. She has some very close friends who she shares her hopes, fears, and secrets with. One of her close friends, John Barton, puts himself under so much pressure to succeed that he takes his own life. She is a good student and gets along pretty well, but kids made fun of her because she had no father in her life. When her father comes back into her life Jose's first reaction is to dislike her father for what he did to her mother, but after she gets to know him they grow close. She initially dislikes her grandmother and does not understand her "Old World "Italian ways. By the end of the book she understands and appreciates her grandmother and many other important people in her life.
This book is enjoyable because you can relate Josephine's life with your own. Some of the situations Josephine finds herself in are similar to the kinds of things experienced by a teenager in today's world. She gets into arguments with people that mean the most to her, has trouble relating to her father, and does not understand her grandmother's "old world" ways.
In some ways this novel is similar to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In both stories the main character does not have much money in their family, both go to private schools and both are trying to work through problems with their fathers.
I would recommend this book to all teens because the story refers to an average teenager's life. Jose encounters many challenges and opportunities throughout the story. The book is easy to read and keeps you interested because it talks about situations that you can relate to.

Rating:
Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: Looking for Alibrandi, written by Melina Marcheta, is a book about Josephine Alibrandi, a seventeen year-old Australian girl of Italian descent. The book describes how Josephine tries to find herself in the midst of many personal problems and teenage challenges.
Josephine comes from a non-traditional family. She does not know who her father is, and she has been raised by a hard working, loving mom who has had a difficult life. Josephine's grandmother is the other important person in her life. The grandmother drives Josehine crazy because she is always in everyone's business, and is very old-fashioned and strict. Josephine attends a private, Catholic high school, and is often in trouble with the nuns because of her "smart mouth". She gets in fights with some of the girls at school because they constantly make fun of her Italian heritage. Josephine likes a rich, smart boy named John Barton, until she meets a middle class, trouble maker named Jacob Coote. She has a difficult time deciding who is right for her, and everyone else in the book has an opinion of their own.
Things get more complicated for Josephine when she finally meets her biological father. She is not sure whether she should have him in her life. She always wanted to meet him, but now she is not sure if she wants to even talk to him.
Will things ever get easy for Josephine? Will she find out who she is and what is most important in life? You need to read this incredible book to find out.
Looking for Alibrandi is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put the book down. It perfectly captures the life and mind of Josephine. This book is the first one that I have read that describes a teenager's life. Even though I have read a lot of good books, I have never related to the main character as I did with Josephine. Her sense of humor is very much like mine. I admire that Josephine is able to stand up for herself and her family. Although she shouldn't hit people, I cheered for her when she caused a nasty girl to have a bloody nose.
The author, Melina Marchetta, writes about difficult and sometimes sad topics in a very humorous way. When It seems as if Ms. Marcetta is speaking for all teenagers when she portrays the lives of Josephine and friends. Although Looking for Alibrandi may appeal more to girls that to boys, reading this book would show boys all of the pressures that teenage girls face every day. I would strongly recommend this fabulous book to anyone. However, the subject matter is probably not appropriate for children younger than 12.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Read
Review: This book was given to me when I was 16 from one of my Australian relatives, and has become one of my favorite books of all time. Although it's been four years, I still pull it out often to read again. Looking for Alibrandi is a fantastic coming of age book, and for people like me who have a soft spot for this genre, it will make it to the top of your list. The feelings and characters in the book are completely genuine, and the events feel so real that you will alternately be cheering and crying (as clichéd as that sounds!). I would definitely recommend this book to any teenage girl, no matter where they are from.

Rating:
Summary: Looking for Alibrandi By: Melinda Marchetta
Review: Looking for Alibrandi is wonderful novel about a teenage girl who finds herself wrapped up in the chaos of life. The young woman, Josephine has never been worth much to men, but now she had three going for her. Her long lost biological father started wanting to be a part of her life. She also met a middle class man at a debate team compitition and started to fall madly in love with him, his name was Jacob Coote. The third man she met, John Barton was smart and handsome and rich. Her and her family, which consists of her mother and her grandma, were Italians living in an Australian world. I would definitely recommend this book to people of all ages.
I enjoyed reading this book and barely put it down during the 2 days I read it. I really liked all the surprises that Melinda Marchetta threw in. It was hard not tell my mom about the story while we were reading the book together. I also liked how the book was honest. It told the real life version and not some make believe perfect world version. This novel was better than any book I have ever read, and if there was a sequel, I would read it in a heartbeat. I actually was unhappy when I finished the book because the story was over. I would definitely recommend it to anyone like me, because I know they would love it.

Rating:
Summary: looking for alibrandi...
Review: 'Looking for Alibrandi' focuses on 17 yr old Josephine Alibrandi, the illegitimate daughter of an Italian woman named Christina. Throughout this book the reader learns of Alibrandi's struggle for acceptance between the strong Italian community of Western Sydney and the upper class society that surounds the school in which she attends, these two factors are the basis for many of the underlying discourses throughtout this book. Primarily aimed at youth, I felt 'Looking for Alibrandi' appealed to a wide range of audiences and was easy for many to identify with. The only major discrepancy I found with this book was the author's use of language with the younger characters especially when in conversation. I found certin words they used a bit unrealistic and dated. This in turn prevented the reader, especially younger ones, from being able to completely connect to the characters. Overall 'Looking for Alibrandi' is a brilliantly written book, I can see why it is on the year 12 book list for Australian schools. I feel people of any nationality or social standing will be able to find some relevance within this book to their own lives.

Rating:
Summary: looking for alibrandi
Review: This is a fantastic book and i have read it many times.The story is about a 17 year old girl named Josephine Alibrandi and her life during her last year of high school. Josephine is constantly trying to fit in at her private Catholic school, but many of the girls don't want to know her because she isn't rich and because she is a "wog"(someone who has european decent). Her home life is not much better either-josie's family and especially her grandmother, are constantly reminding her that she was born through sin, as her mother had her when she was 17 to the boy next door.

Josie's life is turned upside down when her father Michael, whom she never met, turns up on her grandmother's doorstep. All hell breaks loose when her grandmother discovers that he is her father, because she never knew! Josie also has another dilemma when she discovers she has feelings for a boy named Jacob Coote, as she also has feelings for her best friend John Barton, who dies in tragic circumstances. These things all occur when she is trying to complete her HSC (higher school certificate)so it is a very stressful time for her.

I love this book because it deals with important issues such as suicide, relationships, racism and the stress of school as well as being funny. I can also relate to the story as I am 16 years old and live in the same society as in which the book is set. I have also seen the movie version of the book which is fantastic too.

Rating:
Summary: Looking... and Found a Classic
Review: If one reads any of my other book reviews it is not hard to tell that I have a flare for the unusualy, but the novel was one that I enjoyed never-the-less. I think it is so universal because everyone can relate to Joe's problems and situations. We have all have trouble choosing a boyfriend or girlfriend, and we have all had problems with family from time to time. I think the real beauty is how she deals with her father in the novel, something I was touched by and can relate to personally. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read
Review: The story of Josephines emotional journey to adulthood, although not a literary masterpiece, is still a pretty good read. Although it was written over 10 years ago, it is still applicable to today, and holds many, many similarities to the struggles of life at that age. I thouroghly enjoyed the book, and there is definite room for a sequel, which I would definitely read. It also gave me an insight into the cultures of Australian/Italians. Solid, without being brilliant.

Rating:
Summary: Finding Josie
Review: Looking For Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta, is a novel set in Sydney, Australia about a high school senior named Josephine Alibrandi. She is a confused, rambunctious, carefree, Italian middle-class scholarship student searching for her identity. Although sometimes she is emotionally unstable due to being ridiculed by her peers, she has a good heart and is fun to be with. Her religion and Italian background play major roles in her life. Josie has never had a male influence; her mother became pregnant at age sixteen, and her father's family moved away soon thereafter. Because of her pregnancy without being married, Josie's mother, Christina, is an outcast in her traditional Italian community. Her critical and traditional grandmother makes sure she follows the rules of her community, while her teachers try to keep her out of trouble, although she normally finds herself in it. But Josie's senior year at St. Martha is different. First, her father comes back into her life, and she finds out two nice boys, John Barton, popular and rich, and Jacob Coote, a working rebel, both like her. John Barton becomes one of Josie's good friends, but he has many problems because of all the pressure he is under from his father. Jacob Coote, on the other hand, ends up becoming deeply involved with Josie. Josie has many ups and downs, which makes the story interesting and relative to life. But with the support of her family and friends, she survives all these hardships. She is so grateful to have a loving father by her side, and three wonderful best friends to look up to for help. This year Josie finds herself. She learns more about her background and culture, deals with issues such as boys, stress, suicide, and leaves behind the naiveté little girl she once was.

Rating:
Summary: not my usual type of book
Review: I'm an avid reader, in fact, I read so much that my family actually grounds me from reading sometimes (though not very often because I'm not really a trouble-maker). I usually read science-fiction/fantasy type stuff, but my mom was really getting angry with me for never trying anything new that I finally picked this book up at my school library.

I finished it in three hours. I went back, and I read it again. and again. this book was very inspiring to me because Josephine Alibrandi has a lot of the same ideals, and characteristics that I have. I learned a lot from her, and even though I still don't read a lot of books that aren't science-fiction/fantasy, this book remains one of my favorites. I encourage you to pick it up and read it, even if it doesn't look like the kind of thing that would interest you. you won't be dissapointed.