Looking for Alibrandi

Looking for Alibrandi is a book about an illegitimate 17-year-old girl struggling through her final year in a Catholic school. She is confronted not only with the normal issues of adolescence but also with her own family history. At the beginning of the novel she does not know her father and is angry at him for leaving her mother and her alone and poor. Later he comes back into their lives and she says, “how dare you think that I want to be in your life. I don’t want you anywhere near us.” (P.69) However, facts about why her father Michael Andretti left and his profession as a lawyer slowly change her attitude toward him. The developing relationship between the two sees her say later in the novel, “I quite enjoyed talking to Michael Andretti. He was a great listener and didn’t try giving unwanted advice”. (P.126) Family and relationships generally are two themes of the novel that are explored. Josie is angry at her father for not being there for her but she is also embarrassed that her school mates know she has no father. As he comes back into her life she has to balance this anger with the sense of security and identity that he provides. Another confusing aspect of the Alibrandi character is her Italian heritage which stands her apart from the other girls at her school. A major theme of the novel is belonging. Josie feels that she will never be fully accepted as an Australian as she does not fit the Anglo Saxon image of the country. Slowly however she comes to terms with her identity and learns to embrace it, “there’s this spot inside me that will always be Italian” (P.152)

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