Reflection Essay on Looking for Alibrandi

Looking for Alibrandi is a novel written by Melinda Martchetta which captivates its audiance within the first few minutes of reading with the use of different language and narrative conventions.The book itslef is about a journey to which we travel everyday. It shows us the importance of knowing who we are and who our family is. The issues throughout the book are so much like the ones we face on a regular basis such as depression, love. hate. expectations,betrayal and admiration,
Winner of numerous awards Looking for Alibrandi shows us the harsh reality of teenage life. This novel managed to step outside all barriers as it exposed the experiences of a second generation migrant, single mother christina and her intelligent and a bit dramatic teeage daughter Josephine.
Josephine is a17 year old girl in her last year at high shool and about to complete her HSC. She desperately wants to fit i with with the rest of her school friends. With friends Seraphina, Anna and Lee she dredges through every day with a hope that she will be noticed for something other than her illagitimacy.

Josie as she prefers to be called is portrayed as someone who is very self absorbed but alot funny and very smart. Josie’s life is one day altered when her unknown father returns into her life after 17 years. After the inital shock of her fathers return Josie decides its time to get to know her father and a relationship begins to form.
Josephine also begins to form a closer relationships with her mother and Nonna, with the help of her love interest jacob coote who teaches her about love, life and understanding. Throughout this josie learns to deal with whatever life throws at her with the sudden loss of a friend and potential soul mate John Barton.
Josie deals with betrayal and loyalty with the discovery of a family secret, and realises the need for forgivness. This all helps her come to understand that she needs to come to terms with her own life, even if that means taking responsability.
The plot of this novel is that for a teenage audience, it highlights the important issues in which the face. Throughout the book Josephine finds her self trapped between two worlds, ad the setting is based apon an Australian and Italian background. Josie’s family life involves things such as ‘ anual tomatoo day’, where as her Australian day to day life involes fun at the beach and such with close friends. No matter how she tries to deny it, her cultural background holds her back from living a full Australian life fully.