Looking for

Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

BLURB...“”I’ll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in-between. I’ll run to be emancipated.

If society will let me”

Josephine Alibrandi is seventeen, and in her final year of school. Dealing with her mum and the ways of her Nonna are daunting enough as she prepares for her exams. But Josie is about to discover real life gets in the way of her carefully-made plans. She suddenly has to heal with having her father around for the first time in her life, falling in love and uncovering her family’s secret background.

Despite all the turmoil, this is the year Josie discovers that emancipation doesn’t mean escaping from your past. Sometimes you need to face up to who you are in order to set yourself free…

Ideas to start thinking about the Issues

1. What are three things you would never say to your kids when and if you become a parent? Give reasons.

2. What are the best and worst things about being male? What are the best and worst things about being female?

3. What types of cultural pressure have you experienced before? Are there

traditions your parents have that they have tried to pass on to you?

4. What do you think are 5 difficult things about having romantic relationships at your age?

5. How do you feel about the expectations your parents have of you academically? Do you think they are reasonable expectations? Do you have

the same expectations of yourself? Explain.

TRUE OR FALSE...a) Josie’s parents were

happily marriedb) Katia was always a

faithful wifec) Josie goes to St Martha’sd) Michael Andretti is

shocked to discover he is a father

e) Katia was born in Australia

f) Christina was born in Italy

VOCABULARYMatch the vocab words with their definitions below (any that are not defined below are to be defined by you using a dictionary. You are to write all words and meanings in your books):

regulation, affection, requisite, deliberately, vanity, articulate, discomfort, meddling, chauvinistic, emancipated

- Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind- To free from bondage, oppression, or restraint; liberate. - A principle, rule, or law designed to control or govern conduct. A rule or order prescribed for management or government- To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere- Required; essential, necessary

MAIN CHARACTERS• JOSIE ALIBRANDI• CHRISTINA ALIBRANDI• KATIA ALIBRANDI• MICHAEL ANDRETTI• JACOB COOTE• JOHN BARTON

JOSIE ALIBRANDI• Seventeen years old

• Scholarship student at a prestigious Catholic girls’ school and vice-captain• Intelligent and her ambition is to be a barrister• She thinks that she needs to escape her Italian heritage• Raised solely by her mother, Christina• Opinionated and passionate• Has a competitive, potentially romantic relationship with John Barton• Jacob Coote is her first boyfriend

Christina ALIBRANDI• Josie Alibrandi’s Mama and Katia’s

daughter• At 16 had a secret relationship with Michael Andretti which resulted in Josie• Raised Josie as a single mother and sacrificed her own ambitions• Ignored and mistreated by her father, Francesco Alibrandi• Has worked hard and purchased their house in Glebe• Is a strict, caring mother who insists on high standards of behaviour for her only child

KATIA ALIBRANDI• Josie Alibrandi’s Nonna and

Christina Alibrandi’s Mama• Married to Francesco Alibrandi and was treated cruelly by him• Had a secret relationship with Marcus Sandford• Opinionated and passionate• Concerned with others’ opinions of her and her family• Katia and Josie fight over many issues

MICHAEL ANDRETTI• Josie Alibrandi’s father

• At 16 had a secret relationship with Christina that resulted in the birth of Josie• Is a successful barrister and works in a prestigious firm. Has recently returned from Adelaide• Assumed that Christina had not proceeded with the pregnancy and was unaware of Josie’s existence• Does not want to be a father when he is first told about Josie• Gradually becomes a part of Josie’s life and accepted by her as a father

JACOB COOTE• Josie Alibrandi’s first real boyfriend• Attends Cook high and has ‘street cred’ • Has a working-class background• Mother died when he was young• Rides a motorcycle• Is sometimes racist and hostile

JOHN BARTON• Son of a government minister• Wealthy upper-class background• Is extremely unhappy and feels pressured to be ‘what he is not’• Good looking and popular• Josie’s friend and competitor• Commits suicide

KEY IDEAS AND THEMES

• PERSONAL IDENTITY

• CULTURE AND TRADITION

• PRESSURE OF EXPECTATIONS

• DESTINY

•PRIVILEGE AND STATUS•LOVE•FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS

A theme is a fundamental and universal issue explored in a text.

BRAINSTORM themes in Looking for Alibrandi.