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Summary: Best read/movie ever
Review: This is just a short review
"Looking for Alibrandi" was a sensational movie and even better book. I felt good al through this story as I can relate, being an adolescent myself. I would encorage every single person to read and watch this story, and If anyone knows a book simular to this story, could they please notify me at...Thankyou
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: For as long as she can remember, seventeen year old Josephine Alibrandi has believed her life to be anything but fortunate. Born to a single impecunious mother from a strong Italian background, Josie has never met her father and doesn't fit in at her elitist Sydney Catholic school on account of her scholarship and inability to conform. She also refuses to embrace any part of her heritage, including her grandmother. However, to make her existence even more of a nightmare, she is constantly reminded of these factors by arch- nemesis "Poison Ivy." Not only is Ivy her superior as school captain, but she is also after the charming, white-collar, extremely wealthy, John Barton. The very same man Josie believes she is destined to be with. Just when Josie thinks her life couldn't possibly become anymore convoluted, she is finding herself more and more attracted to blue-collar bad boy Jacob Coote. And what does her fathers reappearance after a seventeen year absence mean for her? Not to mention having to bear the burden of a thirty five year old secret, her Nona's been keeping, after mistakenly stumbling across it. Will this new information threaten to make her feel more estranged from both her family and heritage than she already does, or will it bring her closer to them. And will she be strong enough to cope when tragedy strikes so close to home? That is all of course without even contemplating the stresses of her upcoming HSC. Set in Australia in the 1990's, this book is a turbulent ride of self-discovery, which deals with themes deemed extremely topical in today's modern teenage society. Not only does Marchetta build realism through creating strength within her characters, she further authenticates them by making their struggles identifiable to a majority of teenagers. She does this by using interrelated themes, such as identity, culture, illegitimacy, sex, single parent families and elitism, to name a few, which ultimately transcend culture. The end product of which, is a novel relevant to teenagers all around the world. Melina Marchetta's main protagonist Josie, can only be described as awe inspiring, covering new territory that was not seen previously in Australian literature. I love this book for it's rare and honest view of the struggles teenagers face in today's modern world. Josie's complexities as a character, implore the reader to keep going so as to see how she handles each of the perplexing situations which befall her. There is also an enjoyably mix of the dramatic and comedic. This type of honest, identifiable and offbeat, teenage subject matter is to an extent what can be seen as Marchetta's trademark. When also considering the content of her newly released, second novel Saving Francesca, which focuses on a young teenaged girl who finds it hard to cope with the pressures of study, family, friendship and the male school environment, when starting at a newly converted co-ed Sydney private school. "Looking for Alibrandi" is definitely worth reading and has in my experience captured readers of all ages and genders.
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: Reading "Looking for Alibrandi" was a pleasure. Although the ending was rather deppressing I had fun reading up to that point.
I liked the comic moments in the book because they brought light-hearted comedy to the book. An example is the beginning with "Hot Pants" magazine.
Most books that I've read are spy thrillers. So this book is a good break from violence and intrigue and brought more emotion.
This book I would most deffinetly recomend to others. However I would make sure that they were emotionaly stable because of the extremely deppressing ending to the book, which is hard for many to handle. But this book is no exception to great liturature. That is why I would recomend this book to others. Over all I enjoyed reading this book.
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: D. Rousseau Looking For Alibrandi Over the summer I read a great book called "Looking for Alibrandi". The author is Melina Marchetta, and although it is fiction it is a great story. I really like how expressive the Author is throughout the whole book. Sometimes she is so specific that I actually felt like I was in the book with all the characters. I also liked the part when Jose & Anna were in the McDonalds parking lot when Greg Sims was harassing them, then Jacob Coote came and saved the day. I liked that part because it showed that Jacob really did care about Josie. Another part I liked was when Josie broke Carly's nose because of the racist things she had said. I was really proud of her for standing up for herself even though it was wrong to break Carly's nose. I also enjoyed reading about her relationship with her Dad, especially the part when he took Josie on the trip with him. I thought that was really great because it showed how she and Michel were finally getting along well when at first she hated him. I have to admit I haven't read many novels like this one. In fact I don't think I've ever read one that expresses so much and that gives a really good meaning of some of the bad things that happen in life, but that something good does come to people who are true to their heart. The novel that this book comes closest to would probably be "Island of the Blue Dolphins". It is very detailed just like "Looking For Alibrandi" and I was very touched after I read both novels. This novel has a very good theme to it. If anyone were to ask me for a good book to read I would definitely recommend reading "Looking for Alibrandi". Although it is a very good book I probably wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of 11. I say that because it did have some language and some events that might be a little inappropriate for anyone under 11. So if anyone asked me what it was about I would say, a girl who is dealing with her friends, boys, her family, schoolwork, her culture and many more hurdles. I really liked this book because it was so realistic and really made you think. I enjoyed reading it and I hope the author has written another book like it so I can read that one too!
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi -- Moving and Realistic
Review: Looking for Alibrandi is a realistic book about the powerful struggles of a seventeen-year-old girl of Italian descent living in Australia. It talks about the conflicts she has between her grandmother, mother, schoolwork, and, of course, boys. Josephine Alibrandi is trying to find her true identity while learning the twisted reality of her family's past. She experiences anger, frustration, embarrassment, surprise and other emotions that affect the way she goes on living her life. She makes trouble a lot in school. Because of this, she loses an honorary position that is rightfully hers, and is greatly disappointed. At the end, she has to decide who she really is and what she really wants from her life. Looking for Alibrandi is one of the best books I have ever read. Even though it is told from Josephine's point of view, it seems to really show everyone's true emotion and feeling of the subject. I could really relate to Josephine's problems and understood her very well. I was, however, kind of disappointed about the ending, unless the author is planning a sequel. When I read this I became very drawn to it. I felt like I was really experiencing her life, through her eyes. I would laugh with her and cry with her out loud.
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi Review
Review: Looking for Alibrandi is a well-written novel about a seventeen-year-old girl named Josephine Alibrandi. Her goal as a 12th grader is to get to the college of her choice ... and that's not easy! Josephine is in for a ride on the roller coaster of life. First she hits a sharp turn when she thinks she's in love with John Barton, but dances with Jacob Coote seven times! Next her life throws her a loop-the-loop when she meets her father at family barbecue. He ran out on her mother about the time Josephine was born. After that she hits a bump when a popular girl at her school calls her a wog (A negative term some Australians call people of Italian origin). Josephine gets very mad and hits the popular girl with a science book, breaking her nose J. When Jacob Coote asks her out, she felt as if she were on top of the world. Unfortunately her first date was a failure, but when she's on her way home ... guess who picks her up! Her father, Michael. I would compare that experience to the ride Splash Mountain at Disneyland. When Jacob asked her out she's at the top of the big drop on the ride. When her first date with him is a disaster it's like she's going down the big drop on Splash Mountain. When Michael picks her up she's at the end of the big drop and everything is ok. Next Josephine is really surprised when she finds out that perfect John Barton isn't so perfect. He thinks his life is nothing. He's only ok when he wins. After that Josephine and Jacob get back together and they live happily ever after ... or not. Well they were together for a while, but what can I say? It's teenage love. Does it ever last? After that her life does a triple back flip when John Barton commits suicide. During that time she and her life-long enemy Ivy Lloyd get along when they are mourning John's death. The last thing is when Josephine completes her HSC (Higher School Certificate). I loved Looking for Alibrandi! I thought it was great because it shows what real teenagers face in high school. Most novels are just books about something we may never face. For example: The Odyssey is a good adventure book, but in the real world there is no Cyclops! My favorite part is when Michael picks her up from her dud first date with Jacob. He asks, "Do you like pizza?" and Josephine answers, "What a ridiculous question. I suppose you're going to ask me if I like pasta next?" I haven't read many novels, but I think Looking for Alibrandi is probably the best one I've read yet. I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers. It might be a little too grown-up for 6th grade and under but it was just fine for me. It tells about life as a 12th in high school; the pressure, romance, stress and the social scene (can't forget that J). I give this book 5 stars!
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Summary: Summer Book Review - Looking for Alibrandi
Review: I enjoyed reading the novel Looking For Alibrandi because it was different from any novel I have ever read. It was interesting reading about the lifestyle of a teenage girl - Josephine Alibrandi - growing up without a father in Australia. I also enjoyed reading about Josephine's problems and challenges and learning how she solved them. In addition, I liked this novel because it was set in the 1990's, so I could relate to Josephine's life more than the lives of the other characters I read about in other novels this summer, which were set in much earlier times. This novel is similar to the other novels I read this summer, because in each of the novels, a girl was the key character. They all dealt with some of the issues that face girls as they grow up and deal with different relationships, even though the novels were set in completely different time periods. For example, the novel Beyond The Burning Time was set in the late 1600's, and the Fifth Chinese Daughter was set in the early 1900's, unlike Looking For Alibrandi that was set in the 1990's. The differences in the timeframes made each of the girl's lives very different, but in many ways each of their individual challenges were the same. They were all trying to deal with different relationships with their parents. For example, Josephine had a very good relationship with her mother because she was the only parent Josephine had. In Beyond the Burning Time, Mary Chase had a very close relationship with her mother Virginia Chase because Mary's father had died just after Mary had been born. In the Fifth Chinese Daughter, Jade Snow had an average relationship with her mother and father but when Jade Snow started getting older, the relationship between her mother and father slowly began to drift away. Overall, Looking For Alibrandi was a very good book with unexpected turns in the plot. I could hardly put the book down, and I would recommend this book to others.
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi Book Review
Review: Looking for Alibrandi is a novel about an everyday teenage girl living in Australia in the 1990's. It shows the modern struggles of teenagers and how relationships can influence people and their lives. I liked this novel because it educates young boys and girls about what happens in high school. It also teaches young people to make the right decisions and to think before they act. A good example is when John Barton, a friend of Josephine Alibrandi, contemplated committing suicide. I believe that if he would have really thought about going through with killing himself, he would have realized he had a great life. He could have gone into politics and become successful. But like Mr. Andretti, Josephine's father, said, "Dieing is easy, but living is a challenge." This novel differs from others I have read this summer because it takes place in a different time than the others and as a result Josephine, a modern teenager, faces different challenges. My other summer reading included Beyond the Burning Time by Kathryn Lasky and The Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong. The time frame in Looking for Alibrandi is in the 1990's, Beyond the Burning Time is between 1692 and the early 1700's and The Fifth Chinese Daughter takes place during the early 1900's. Each of these books is about a girl, and each of the girls live in totally different environments. They also have different relationships with their parents. In Looking for Alibrandi, Josephine loved her mom very much because her mom was all Josephine had until Michael Andretti wanted to be a part of her life. Ultimately, Josephine grew to love Mr. Andretti, too. In Beyond the Burning Time, Mary Chase's father, Jacob Chase, died while she was young so her mom Virginia had to raise her. Mary loved Virginia Chase so much that she risked her life to save Virginia from being hanged. In The Fifth Chinese Daughter, Jade Snow Wong's relationship with her parents started off very well. She loved them very much, but grew apart because of an argument involving finances. I would definitely recommend this book to other individuals because this piece of writing is good literature and people should be exposed to good literature. In addition, it gives insight to young people about their future in high school and the importance of relationships.
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Summary: Looking For Alibrandi
Review: Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta was a very enjoyable book. It had some interesting plot twists near the end and hard a good ending. I couldn't put it down! It was a superbly written book and I would suggest it to anyone. I have read only a few other books that have compared to this. Although it is 250 pages, it goes fast. An easy read for all level. -Todd Jenkins
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Summary: Looking For Alibrandi
Review: After reading "Looking For Alibrandi," I thought long and hard of what Josephine went through. Then I realized that she was going through what a lot of 17 year-old girls go through. The time period of changing from a girl to a women. She had boys and troubles in her life. You could consider her life complicated if you wanted to but most women would consider it normal. I liked this book because it shows what really happens in young women's lives. She was just you ordinary girl who happened to have many men in her life. For instance Jacob Coote, who thought he was the bad boy in town, yet cared about Josephine. Her father who was becoming more and more involved in Josephine's life after leaving Josephine's mother when she was pregnant with Josephine. And John Barton who was another young man in Josephine's life who came from a rich and proper family unlike Jacob Coote. This is a good example of how realistic the book is, most every girl teenager in this world have young men wanting to date them, just like Josephine. This novel is different then others I have read because it is more interesting to me because it is about girls and what they go through. Other novels I have read are excellent too but they don't have the same meaning as Looking For Alibrandi does. This novel has a very important lesson in it which to me is that everyone goes through what is intended in life and Josephine Alibrandi did and she had a hard life but she knew that everything would work out in a way. "I thought maybe I'd wake up one morning and see the light." A quote from Josephine straight out of the last chapter. This is what I am trying to explain that one day you will wake up and see the good that came out of the bad. And whatever the outcomes are that is what was suppose to happen. Other books have morals and intentions but the one in Looking For Alibrandi just seemed to be more clear maybe because in a way I can relate to it. I would recommend this novel to almost anyone because everyone can or will someday relate to this story. Maybe not the exact situations in the story or the plot but the similarity between the book and reality. I would recommend this book to girls or boys who want to read something that has to do with what teenagers go through because it has many young adult situations. I loved this book and would read it again and I think that most all of the people that read it would say the same thing. This book would probably be read between the ages of 12-50 because even older people would like this book and think back on their teenage lives. I loved the book and will mention it to anyone if they were interested. I hope that whoever is looking for a good book will choose Looking For Alibrandi.
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