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Summary: A TRUE TEENAGE CLASSIC
Review: "Looking For Alibrandi" is a book that addresses a number of issues that face teenagers. Josie is a character most teenage girls can relate to- Her problems are not unknown, and the way Melina Marchetta writes draws the reader into Josie's life so that one can almost feel her confusion. This book is wonderful: it's a true teenage classic which should be read by any person who can remember being lost at a time in their life.
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Summary: a main charictar who stands up for herself!
Review: this book is very good because the charictars are not perfect and the plot is not mainstream. It's the healthy alternative.
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Summary: Best new book I've read in ages
Review: I am a mother of teenagers and read this book when my son studied it for Year 12. I loved it and found it very readable. A teenage friend who was educated through the Australian Catholic school system really identified with it as did a former principal of a Catholic School. It is easy to identify with for teenagers, teenage girls, 'former' teenagers, Catholic students, immigrants and parents alike. Can't wait to see the movie!
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Summary: ALiBrAnDi MaNiA
Review: when i first heard of the book i wanted to get my hands straiht away. as i read the first page i was inspired by its passion and literature, i couldn't stop reading. the words just keep my going on. the book releates to how i coped with highschool, i faced many problems just like Josephine Alibrandi.i feel this book is fantastic and everyone SHOULD read it!
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Summary: Ok, but nothing new
Review: I read this book as part of a research study on multicultural young adult books in Australia and the US. I guess this is why I found nothing "new" in this book. On its own the book offers a good insight into the lives of ethnic Italians and the intergenerational conflicts of the three main female characters in the story. However, compared to other books on teen angst, the book has nothing new to offer; compared to other multicultural books it seems lacking. As one reader said you don't have to be an immigrant to go through all the angsts Josie Alibrandi went through. You don't have to be Italian to have the sort of arguments Josie went through with her mother and grandmother, for example. They seem more like intergenerational rather than cultural conflicts. Although these points highlight the "universal appeal" of the book, they hardly make the book an "excellent" multicultural novel as the publisher advertises the book here in Australia. The racial abuse Josie encounters at school also seemed almost trivial and incidental. She would have been called names if she happens to have a big nose (I bet!). I guess what I'm saying is that I think if the book really wanted to sell itself as a novel tackling racism it would have/should have gone beyond the usual name-calling because there are other more subtle but more dangerous forms of racial abuse. (I should know since I'm an Asian migrant in Australia.) I suppose the only multicultural aspect of the book I found most rewarding is the background story of Josie's grandmother. I loved the grandmother more than Josie! I probably would have liked the novel more if the book focused on the grandmother and her early years in Australia! (How about writing a prequel to the novel, focusing on the grandmother, Ms Marcheta?) If you want to read another book on contemporary teen angsts, read this book. However, if you're after a multicultural fiction story like I was I would go for Amy Tan, Gish Jen, Jonathan Harlan.
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Summary: Realistic portrayal of a young girl growing up
Review: Looking for Alibrandi would have to be the best book I have ever read. Melina Marchetta was able to realitically grasp the pain, turmoil, joy, fun and tears of this 17 year old Josephine Alibrandi. The book allowed me to delve into the minds of the characters and instead of siding with the main character, it allowed me to understand why they did what they did when they did it. I was angry, sad, understanding and laughed nearly the whole way through. Even though the situations was mostly sad and thoughtprovoking, the humour and positive outlook was never lost which what made it so realistic. I first read it when i was 13, i am 20 now and i still read it. I recommend anyone of all ages to borrow, buy, grap a copy of this text that will always be with you for the rest of your life. You will never see the world the same again!
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Summary: Great teen story
Review: Well, reading this book was quite a change from reading books that have lost all sense of reality. Looking For Alibrandi was not a book I wanted to read, but because I had no choice as it was compulsary at school. However the first page got me hooked. I didn't want to stop at all. I just kept on going and going and going. What I found was so fascinating, was the fact that Marchetta is so much like Judy blume. I read books like 'are you there god, it's me margaret' and 'just as long as we're together' when I was a child, but then was immediately introduced to reading Charles Dickens and Bram Stoker, when i was still 12/13. Reading this book was like opening my teenage spirit again, reminding myself of the times when I didn't find adolescent novels annoying, unhelpful and depressing. I could relate to it so much, not only to Jozzie's character, but also to John Barton, Jacob Coote, and every other character. It was a down to earth book, and really expressed deep meaning. I recommend it to anyone who loved Judy Blume cause this book is definitely parallel in greatness to Blume's past creations.
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Summary: Best Book in School
Review: Several Years ago when the book was first released in Australia it was put on the school's reading list and so I got to study it. I'm not Italian (Im as plain Australian as they come) but I identified with a lot of the issues at that age and gained an appreciation for all the multicultural people around me and that we all have so many wonderful things to learn from each other. Many aspects in the book mirror my own life and I thought the author captured the emotions superbly! It was probably one of the only books of my adolescence that really stands out... and... just last week I went to the pictures and saw a trailer for the movie that is being released of it! Can't hardly wait! From what I saw of it, the actors were very well cast... they were everything I for one imagined... I am sure it will be a good movie. Congratulations
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Summary: Looking for Alibrandi
Review: Although I was a first year university when I read this book, I loved it. Being Chinese-American who heads to Sydney for university, I can kind of relate to Josephine feeling left out. Not only that, I got a better idea of what the Australian high school system is like, since I completed high school at an American school. Highly recommended to readers from all over the world. By the way, whenever I pass through the suburbs mentioned in the novel, such as Glebe and Darlinghurst, I always think of the fictional-yet-so-real Josephine Alibrandi...
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Summary: very informative
Review: Looking for Alibrandi is a modern novel which in a small way applies to all of us... This book I am analysing at school for HSC but am throughly enjoying it! I seriously recommend this book to anyone who has to live between 2 cultures.. This book certainly help me with my cultural problems!
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