A Tale of Two Families : The Diary of Jan Packard, Melbourne 1974

This is one of the Australian 'My Story' books, and is written in the style of a diary. Jan Packard - our narrator - is a teenager in 1974, watching as change surrounds her family and the family next door. There are many issues here - but primarily the focus is on the Women's Liberation movement and the Vietnam War, with the arguments over the draft and the aftermath.

The joy of this book is how well the facts are woven into an enjoyable, interesting story. Jan is a great character, as are the people around her. The discussions and debates are well handled and several opinions get an airing.

The problem with this 'series' of books is that the quality of each book depends entirely on the author. This one is excellent. Unfortunately others show more aren't as good - such as the one I will review next. Maybe some of them need a stronger edit, to really make the stories interesting to young readers. Regardless, the books are popular, and it's great to see Australian history being told (though I'd love to see this story set in Brisbane rather than Melbourne under the Joh government) show less

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.