Marchetta, Melina (1965-…), is an Australian author of novels for young adults. Marchetta won the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) award for her first two young adult novels, Looking for Alibrandi (1992) and Saving Francesca (2003). She won the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award for her third novel, On the Jellicoe Road (2006), published in the United States in 2008 as Jellicoe Road. The award is presented each year to the author of “a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.” The award is presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
Marchetta’s first two novels draw heavily on her experiences as an Italian-Australian teenager attending a Roman Catholic high school. The young female narrators of both novels must deal with family problems as well as the friendships, romances, and rivalries that are important parts of their lives. The Piper’s Son (2010) resumes the story in Saving Francesca five years later.
On the Jellicoe Road follows Taylor, a boarder at Jellicoe School, who leads her clique in territorial battles with the Townies and the Cadets teenage groups. A clique is an exclusive small group. Taylor also tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of Hannah, the only adult she trusts.
In a departure from the realism of her first three novels, Marchetta wrote several fantasy novels under the title of the “Lumatere Chronicles.” The series begins with Finnikin of the Rock (2008), about a young man trying to return to his kingdom of Lumatere, now under a terrible curse. The novel won the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction. Marchetta continued the series in Froi of the Exiles (2011) and Quintana of Charyn (2012). She also wrote the adult thriller Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil (2016).
Marchetta was born on March 25, 1965, in Sydney. She worked in a bank, as a consultant for a travel company, and as a high school teacher before devoting herself to writing full-time. Marchetta earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Australian Catholic University in order to teach. She also attended a business college. In addition to her novels, Marchetta has written screenplays and short stories. Her screenplay for the film version of Looking for Alibrandi (1999) won an Australian Film Institute Award for best-adapted screenplay, and the film won the best film category.
