ESSAY
During the course of her H.S.C year at St Martha’s, Josephine Alibrandi changes her understanding of the people around her, the people whom she loves including Nonna, Christina, Michael, John and Jacob in many ways she never thought possible. Throughout the novel, Josephine or Josie to the people close to her also changes from a selfish, uncaring teenager to a caring, more sensitive young woman whose feelings towards others become more apparent and noticeable. Her life is turned upside down in one year, and she learns to change, and adjust to change in others.
Long before starting year 12 at St Martha’s, Josie thought of her long lost father Michael as an enigma. “My mother had told me about him once and once only. I’d never heard his name mentioned since.” When Josie first confronts Michael Andretti, the father she has never met, she is angry and upset, and wants to hurt him, like he did to her mother Christina over the past seventeen years. This feeling of anger she has towards him increases, and she feels a sense of rejection when she overhears him say, “I don’t want her”. I do not want to love her” She confronts him and they have an animated argument before agreeing to stay out of each other’s lives. However this is one promise neither can or wants to keep, as they are both too curious, and know that they wanted to get to know each other.
The bond between Michael and Josie, father and daughter doesn’t really arise until Josie needs Michael to save her from being sued by Carly Bishop and expelled from St Martha’s, for hitting Carly in the nose with her science book, causing her to break her nose. As Michael comes to redeem her and make sure that she remains at St Martha’s, Josie feels proud to have a father “I knew how it felt walking alongside one’s father. It was a great feeling”. The bond between the two grows even further when Michael picks Josie up after her ten minute date with Jacob Coote and