“So I'm cruising down the road and the object of my thoughts is racing down the street, screaming that her father is a cop. A public servant, very flattering" " I like a man in uniform" He laughed. 'Do you like pizza?' 'What a ridiculous question. I suppose you're going to ask me if I like pasta next?”

Australian writer and teacher

Melina Marchetta is an Australian writer and teacher, known for her young adult novels and for the books that have made her a familiar name in contemporary Australian fiction. She is best known for Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca and On the Jellicoe Road. Her work has been recognised with the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers twice, in 1993 and 2004, and with the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award for Jellicoe Road, given by the American Library Association for the year's best book for young adults.