Josie attends St Martha's, a wealthy catholic school in Sydney's Eastern suburbs on an academic scholarship. At school Josie feels like she is the odd one out, being ethnic, plus all the other students come from wealthy backgrounds.
All her life Josie has felt like an outsider. Her birth itself was the beginning of a life as an outcast in the eyes of the Italian community as Christina was unwed and the identity of Josie's father was unknown. Her grandmother had nothing to do with them until the death of Christina's overbearing and violent father Francesco. Josie was also not accepted in the Australian community, as she had no father and was only half Australian. Josie thought her life would change when she was accepted into St Martha's on a scholarship, but there she was looked down upon for not being able to afford to pay.
A major theme in Looking For Alibrandi is identity. Josie has a change in perspective on her own identity. Initially, Josie believed that her appearance and ethnic background were the determining factors in her social acceptance .She also believes that because she is at a wealthy school on a scholarship and has no father, she is looked down upon. An example is when Josie was told by a teacher Sister Louise that she was actually voted school captain but was given the role of vice captain because they felt she lacked the leadership skills and that her and her friends are in fact trend setters within the school and looked upon with envy, Josie has a sudden change in perspective on herself. She has always lacked self esteem and was very conscious of what others thought of her, but