I really felt I needed to be a teenage Australian girl in the early 90s to be able to fully appreciate this book. As a modern reader, I found the story confusing, and the open sex talk between Josephine and her parents and grandparents gave me second-hand embarassment.

I found the off and on relationship between Josephine and Jacob incredibly frustrating, he treated her horribly, he hated and constantly disrespected her Italian culture and then tried to pressure her into having sex with him. Nothing about him was redeemable.

I don't think the later scene with Josephine's friend was well planned. It seemed to be used for shock value and while it certainly did that, it felt like a tool that was used to further her story and shape her as a person, which I disliked. However, I did like that the end chapters saw Josephine start to choose her own paths in life.