Young Love in the Roaring Twenties
Edited by Julia Park Tracey
iUniverse, $18.95, 217 pages
Julia Park Tracey has set herself to the task of editing and publishing her great aunt’s diaries. Although the project sounds like a family history of little interest to the wider public, in the hands of accomplished author Tracey it becomes extremely engaging. I’ve Got Some Lovin’ to Do is the first of Doris’ diaries, and it begins in 1925, when she is 15. The Doris of these diaries is a boy-crazy, fun-loving girl. She is somewhat more daring than her parents might like (petting with boys at parties and dances), but the reader is always wondering what her next adventure will be and which boy will be next on her list of crushes. Accounts like these really emphasize the similarities between the teenagers of today and of almost 100 years ago. Portland readers will also enjoy a glimpse of the city as it used to be, when streetcars were the main mode of transportation. Tracey has done extensive research, and her careful footnotes will give city-dwellers the clues they need to orient themselves in order to glimpse the city as it once was.
Reviewed by Katie Richards
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