" (marchetta 258). Josephine is aware that some people will never favour her, and she accepted that. "I didn't care what they thought and I even began to doubt that anyone, give or take a few gossips like Sera, gave a damn either. I thought of Michael and my mother, who didn't seem to worry about people's opinions. And by the looks of things, Nonna didn't have the right to. Jacob didn't give a damn who I was either, John accepted me the way I was and Lee and Anna had never made me feel different. So that covered all the important people and I'd be a pretentious hypocrite if others were more important to me than those who loved me." (marchetta 220). In the end, Josephine acknowledged that as long as her culture didn't bother her loved ones, then it didn't bother her.
Josephine learned to understand and accept her loved ones for who they are. Josephine was able to strengthen all her relationships. One main relationship Josephine was able to strengthen was between Nonna Katia and her. Josephine had a very poor relationship with her nonna Katia. "Rituals. They come and they go, but the ritual of having to see my grandmother every afternoon drives me absolutely insane." (marchetta 33) Overtime, they get so close, that nonna Katia told Josephine her family secret; Marcus Sandford is Christina's biological father not Nonno Francesco's. .
Another relationship Josephine was able to strengthen was between Michael Andretti and her. Josephine has known about him all her life, but has never met him until this year. At first, she didn't want anything to do with him, but they developed a relationship anyways. After a fight with Carly Bishop, resulting in a broken nose, she called him to her rescue. "'My father is a barrister. I'll call him,' I said calmly." (marchetta 84). When he came she accepted him as her father. That was the beginning of their father daughter relationship. "I'm still shocked by how fast things are going between us.