Looking for Alibrandi is the story of Josie's experiences at school and her relationships with friends and family during her final year at the girls' school of St. Matha. She goes through many difficulties, especially with her changing identity as a second-generation Italian immigrant at a predominantly white school. She is discriminated against because of her culture and traditions. Josie also deals with elements of classism as she does not have the wealth of some of her classmates. Throughout the book, many Australian cultural boundaries and prejudices are broken down. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The important cultural divides described in the book are crossed in many ways, most obviously, by romantic relationships. For example, the strong parallel between Josie's relationship with an Australian boy named Jacob and her Nonna's secret affair with Marcus Sandford when she first immigrated to Australia. Both of these relationships cross cultural divides due to the separation of Italian and Australian cultures, even more so for Nonna since when she first immigrated there was almost no contact between the different cultures. Although when Josie and Jacob start dating the divide isn't as big as what Nonna Katia experienced, there are still stark differences between the two. Josie's life, for example, is governed by strict guidelines, curfews, and cultural traditions in direct contrast to her boyfriend Jacob's relaxed home life. There are several moments where it is shown that it is difficult for them to understand each other, such as when Jacob wants to eliminate Josie but is told that he must meet her mother first. Jacob takes this as a sign of distrust, however, it is simply a cultural plus that he is learning to understand. Another cultural boundary that must be overcome is social class. Josie is shown to have less money than most of her peers, which adds to her feelings of an outsider. These feelings also have negative consequences for those around her, because she doesn't think it's possible that people with more money or higher social status could still have problems. This boundary is broken for Josie primarily by John Barton's suicide. He was rich, came from a wealthy family, and had seemingly endless opportunities, but he chose to commit suicide. It's a heartbreaking wake-up call for her: even though people may seem different because of their status, they are all the same. After this event, Josie also discovers that Poison Ivy, her nemesis, also has her struggles and can genuinely relate to Josie in a way neither of them would expect. The social class boundary is also reflected in the relationship between Jacob and Josie. . She often feels like he's too far removed from his private school life for this to last, for example on page 289. Josie says, "He wore his sports clothes and his hair tied up in a little ponytail." horse. When I looked at my long uniform, my black stockings and black shoes, my starched blazer and classic tie, I wondered if we would ever find a niche together. This prejudice takes many forms throughout their relationship, most notably in the way Jacob speaks. When the two are together, Josie almost always edits her speech to make it sound proper and upper class. As they and their relationship get to know each other, superficial questions such as what type of clothes.'