Josephine "Josie" Alibrandi
Josephine, called "Josie" by her friends and family, is the adolescent heroine of Looking for Alibrandi. Josie is lighthearted, somewhat flighty, yet dramatic. She's ready to leave high school behind and wants to get on with the rest of her life. Her relationships with her mother and her grandmother are somewhat strained, but she loves both of them very much, even if she has difficulty showing it. When her father comes back into her life she wants nothing to do with him; she resents him deeply for what he did to her mother and takes a very long time to warm to him. She's fiercely protective of the people she loves and is a dreamer; she wants to go to university to become a barrister.
Jacob Coote
Jacob Coote is an Australian teenager who falls in love with Josie. He is rough around the edges, can be a bit of a troublemaker, and has a temper, but beneath it he has a very good heart. He’s fiercely opinionated and doesn’t care what other people think of him, except for Josie. Despite his and Josie's differences, he loves her fiercely, but also wants what's best for her.
John Barton
John is a smart, quiet boy who goes to the all-boys school partnered with Josie's all-girls school. He’s very kind and looks out for his friends. He plans on going into politics because all of the men in his family, going back several generations, have been politicians. He doesn’t really want to go into government, but knows that it’s expected of him. He’s a very wholesome kid, and Josie has had a crush on him for years.
Nonna Katia
Katia is a very traditional Italian housewife, who is an excellent seamstress and an even better cook. She’s strict and doesn’t show affection very often, and has very traditional expectations for her daughter and granddaughter. As a result she doesn’t have the warmest of relationships with them. However, it’s obvious that she cares about them. She has a lot of secrets that she hides from her family, but they eventually come to light.
Christina Alibrandi
Christina is Josie’s mother and is very protective of her daughter. Her relationship with her mother can be strained, but she clearly loves both her and Josie. She never regrets getting pregnant unexpectedly, even though Michael Andretti left her high and dry and to this day refuses to acknowledge his daughter. She is a sweet and caring woman who had her own dreams before her unexpected pregnancy, but always says Josie was worth sacrificing them for.
Michael Andretti
Michael is Josie’s father, who wanted nothing to do with her when she was a baby and is still extremely reluctant to get to know her as a teenager. He’s very successful, and eventually warms to his daughter, which is a huge part of Josie's journey of self-discovery.
Greg Sims
Greg Sims was Josie's next door neighbor when growing up, and he was a constant bully. He's the first person to explain to Josie what it means to be a bastard, and once they grow up he continues to bully her.
Sister Gregory
Sister Gregory is one of Josie’s long-suffering professors and teaches religion.
Anna Selicic
Anna is one of Josie’s best friends and the shy, demure one of the group. Of Slavic origin, she is beautiful but nervous, leading the rest of Josie’s friend group to protect her.
Seraphina
Seraphina is Josie’s most brazen and outspoken close friend. Also of Italian origin, she and Josie have a complicated relationship. They have a thin bond because of their shared heritage, but also argue back and forth.
Lee Taylor
Lee is Josie’s Australian best friend and probably the one she’s closest to, despite their different backgrounds. As Josie says herself, she and Lee pretend to have nothing in common, but can talk for hours about any subject. The other Australian students at their school reject her because her father is an alcoholic.
Sister Louise
Sister Louise is the principal of Josie’s school. She sees Josie’s unlimited potential, but is hard on Josie because of her level of responsibility as vice captain of the school.
Gary
Gary is one of Josie’s neighbors who she gets along with. He’s from Brighton, England, and lives in the flat below Josie and her mother.
Signora Formosa
Signora Formosa is an acquaintance of Josie’s family and a member of the extensive Italian grapevine Josie loathes. Whenever she sees Josie doing something “inappropriate” she reports it to Josie’s mother and grandmother.
Zia Patrizia
Zia Patrizia is Nonna Katia’s sister. Less vain than her sister, she also immigrated from Italy to Australia when she was a young woman, but unlike Katia she had a close connection to her husband, Zio Ricardo.
Father Stephen
Father Stephen is the priest of the church Josie and her family attend. A kind and smart man, he humors Josie and doesn’t stifle her like the nuns at her school.
Robert
Robert is Josie’s cousin who is the same age as her. The two cousins are close and share a similar annoyance about their family and its traditions, but Robert seems a little bit more accepting of them than Josie.
Ivy Lloyd
Ivy Lloyd, nicknamed “Poison Ivy,” is the captain of Josie’s school and her bitter rival. From an affluent Australian family, Ivy seemingly embodies everything Josie is not, and they frequently butt heads. Ivy is also close to John Barton, Josie’s crush.
Angelo Pezzini
Angelo Pezzini is Sera’s older reckless boyfriend.
Anton Valavic
Anton Valavic is Jacob Coote’s best friend who begins to date Anna. Like Jacob, he can be rough around the edges but cares deeply for Anna.
Nonno Francesco
Nonno Francesco was Nonna Katia’s husband. A cold man, he was cruel to Christina because she wasn’t his blood daughter, though he pretended she was so the Italian community wouldn’t shun him and Katia. When Christina became pregnant with Josie as an unwed teenager, he disowned her.
Cousin Maria and Cousin Camela
Camela and Maria are two of Josie’s relatives. Like the other Italian’s in Josie’s life, they like to meddle and comment on her life.
Carly Bishop
Carly Bishop is an Australian girl from Josie’s school who calls Josie a wog. In reaction, Josie breaks her nose with her science textbook, and ends up in the principal’s office. To save her from trouble Josie calls her father, Michael Andretti for help, and this jumpstarts their relationship.
Paul Presilio
Paul Presilio is a coworker of Christina’s who occasionally takes her out on dates, much to Josie’s chagrin.
Marcus Sandford
Marcus Sandford was an Australian friend of Katia’s from when she first moved to Australia. A policeman and army man, he was there for Katia in all the ways her husband was not, and is the true father of Christina.
Paul Sambero
Paul Sambero is the boy who gave Josie her first kiss in year eight.
Paulina
Paulina is Michael Andretti’s sister, and thus Josie’s aunt. Josie meets her when she goes on holiday with Michael to Adelaide. She’s kind to Josie, and tries to make her feel like a member of the family.
