Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

I read Jellicoe Road early this year and I loved it, loved it, loved it. I mean I really liked it quite a lot. So, needless to say, I rushed out and bought her other two books, Looking For Alibrandi and Saving Francesca. Then, because I'm sick like that, I had my friend Jen in Melbourne send me a copy of Finnikin of the Rock her new book, which is sadly not yet available here. It should be on it's way as I type. Yay!!

Well, I finally got around to reading Looking for Alibrandi and am I glad I did. This book is the story of Josephine Alibrandi, who has been raised by a single mother, never having met her father. She grew up in an Italian family with a grandmother who she can't seem to get along with.

She's going through a year of changes. She's graduating from school and making decisions about her future. She's trying to decide between the nice-guy friend who she has a lot in common with and the tough-guy rebel who she can't stop thinking about. And then out of the blue, her father shows up back in town and they begin to reconnect although tentatively.

It's a story about all of the relationships in Josie's life: Josie and her mother, Josie and her grandmother, Josie's mother and grandmother, Josie and her father, Josie and her friends.....the list goes on and on. All of these relationships blend seamlessly into this really beautiful story about one year in a girl's life and how each choice counts.

I highly recommend this book. It's wonderfully written and Josie is the type of girl I totally would have hung out with in high school. The dialogue is quick and witty and it's just a really moving story. So go get this book people and read it now!!