Just So Stories

Hachette

SEP 27, 2023 | 9780733649837 | RRP $34.99

I only quite recently re-watched Looking for Alibrandi, thoroughly enjoying it all over again, so was keen to read and review this memoir, simply on the strength of Pia’s amazing presence as Josie Alibrandi. And I was not disappointed, because her memoir is every bit as fresh, quirky and memorable as that role which first brought her to our collective, national attention.

 Beginning with looking back at the family and childhood that shaped her, Italian immigrants with a strong sense of connection, along with her parents Italian/Irish-Australian heritage, Pia re-traces the significant moments in her early life, her passion for dance especially ballet, the frequent re-inventions as the family moved houses/states, and she was once again the new girl and finally, her journey as an actor.

Add to this mix, her strength of character, her vigilance against bullying and gender discrimination, and her advocacy for those with vitiligo, and you will find yourself with an added respect for this feisty woman, who not only played Josie – ping-ponging between two cultures – but essentially WAS Josie.

I’ll be honest here. As most of my circle knows, I don’t watch a great deal of TV and so have not seen most of Pia’s work there (the exception would be The Secret Life of Us) but I have no doubt she has shone through in those settings as much as she did in that first incandescent role in Alibrandi (who can imagine it’s 24 years ago?!). But I have loved every page of this memoir. It’s been funny, poignant, revealing, honest and highly entertaining.

After months of MG and picture books, it’s the second memoir I’ve read in as many weeks and made for perfect holiday reading. I can heartily recommend it to you and promise you won’t be bored but will relish every word.