Working for a Living…
Books
Featuring Teens at Work and People on the Job
Cathy Belben, Librarian, Burlington-Edison
High School
Updated March 2001
Bauer,
Joan. Hope Was Here.
Hope
moves to Wisconsin to work as a waitress and becomes involved in a local
political scandal.
Bauer,
Joan. Rules of the Road.
Jenna
is hired to drive an elderly woman across the country, and along the way, hears
the story of the woman’s troubles with her son, who is trying to force her to
retire.
Bloor,
Edward. Crusader.
Fifteen-year-old
Roberta works hard every afternoon and weekend in the family business, a virtual
reality arcade in the West End Mall. She keeps her mind off the fact that the
arcade is slowly going under and that her father ignores her existence, but she
cannot ignore the fact of her mother's brutal murder seven years ago. Roberta's
quest to find her mother's killer weaves together several skillfully constructed
subplots, including a shady political scheme to ruin the mall, real and imagined
hate crimes against an Arab store owner, and how the Crusader itself, a virtual
reality game, serves as the catalyst that ignites and unites these seemingly
unrelated factors in Roberta's life.
Brooks,
Martha. Being With Henry.
Laker
leaves his troubled family to live on his own, and after being hired to do lawn
work by an elderly man, becomes friends with the old man.
Cadnum,
Michael. Redhanded.
Steven's
new friend Chad knows about things. He knows about drinking and guns and prison.
He also knows a fast way to get cash, which is exactly what Steven needs if he's
going to make it to the big boxing tournament. Steven knows he's taking a risk
getting mixed up with Chad, but he doesn't know how violently it could end.
Clark,
Catherine. Truth or Dairy.
A
teen working at a yogurt parlor copes with her job, her family, and the
break-up of her relationship with humor.
Conford,
Ellen. Loving Someone Else.
Holly
takes a job working for two elderly sisters in order to earn money for college.
Frank,
Lucy. I Am an Artichoke.
A
summer job as a mother’s helper starts as fun and becomes more and more
serious as the child under care develops a serious eating disorder
LeMieux.
The TV Guidance Counselor.
Sixteen
year old Michael tries to deal with his parents’ divorce with his photography
hobby until an accident drives him to the breaking point.
McNeal,
Laura and Tom. Crooked.
Two
teenagers fall in love under strange circumstances:
both are being
threatened
by a pair of brothers whose bullying is a first just annoying and later becomes
dangerous.
Paulsen,
Gary. The Beet Fields.
The
autobiographical account of the summer that changed Paulsen’s life, when he
went to work in the beet fields and learned about life and love.
Salisbury,
Graham. Jungle Dogs.
A
newspaper route turns humorous and horrible when threatening dogs make it more
and more dangerous.
Silvey,
Anita. Help Wanted.
A
collection of short stories about teens working.
Thomas,
Rob. Doing Time: Notes from the
Undergrad.
In
this collection of hip, clever stories, teens at Deerfield High School in Texas
describe the impact of their required volunteer work on their lives and
thinking.
Thomas,
Rob. Satellite Down.
Patrick
is selected to be a reporter on a national TV news show for
teens…he’s
thrilled, believing he has been chosen for his reporting skills, only to learn
there’s another reason why he has been hired…
Brown,
Larry. On Fire.
A
great collection of short essays about experiences the author has had as a
professional firefighter.
Codell,
Esme. Educating Esme: Diary
of a Teacher’s First Year.
Esme
Codell is hired to teach 5th grade in a difficult urban school, and
ends up learning a great deal from her young students—both about them and
about herself.
Culley, Travis Hugh. The Immortal Class: Bike Messengers and the Cult of Human Power.
Culley
describes his experiences as a bike messenger in Chicago.
Douglas,
John. Anatomy of a Motive.
Douglas,
John. Journey Into Darkness.
Douglas,
John. Mind Hunter: Inside
the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit.
Douglas,
John. Obsession.
One
of the foremost criminologists for the FBI details his work profiling killers
and solving crimes.
Ginsberg, Debra. Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress.
Twenty
years of waiting tables has given the author a unique insight into the career
and human behavior.
Huyler,
Frank. The Blood of Strangers.
Fascinating
short essays about the author’s most interesting and troubling cases as an
emergency room doctor.
Kirwin, Barbara. The Mad, the Bad, and the Innocent: The Criminal Mind on Trial.
A
criminal psychologist discusses some of her experiences with various criminals
and challenges the current use of the insanity defense.
Levy, Harlan. And the Blood Cried Out: A Prosecutor’s Spellbinding Account of the Power of DNA.
An
analysis of how DNA evidence can be used to solve crimes, including those the
author has been involved in solving, such as the O.J. Simpson murder case.
Manhein, Mary. The Bone Lady.
The
riveting tale of a true-life, crime-fighting scientific sleuth.
Manheim shares the extraordinary details of the often high profile cases
on which she works as a forensic anthropologist, and the science underlying her
analyses. From a pile of bones, she
assesses age, sex, race, signs of trauma and time of death.
Maples, William. Dead Men Do Tell Tales.
The
memoirs of a noted forensic anthropologist and details of some of his famous
cases, where he has solved crimes using only bones and teeth that were left
behind by the victim.
Owen, David. Hidden Evidence: Forty True Crimes and How Forensic Science Helped Solve Them.
An
introductory chapter explains how forensic scientists work to solve crimes.
The remaining chapters offer excellent descriptions of how real crimes
were solved using forensic clues.
Paul, Caroline. Fighting Fire.
The
author describes her training and experience as the first female
Rafkin, Louise. Other People’s Dirt: A Housekeeper’s Curious Adventures.
The
author describes some of her strange experiences and insights resulting from her
short career as a professional housekeeper. Offers some interesting points about
how people view their homes—and their helpers.
Ross, Alan Duncan. The Medicine of ER.
Provides
information on the real medicine behind the television series "ER,"
discussing whether the actions of the on-screen doctors, nurses, and paramedics
make real medical sense or just good drama, and includes bloopers and
step-by-step re-creations of the medical decisions and procedures from several
episodes.
Rushin, Steve. Road Swing.
A
very funny account of Rushin’s road trip across America, where he pursues his
dream of visiting athletic sites, both well-known and obscure. As a writer for
Sports Illustrated, he has heard and written about many of these places, and
looks forward to visiting them. His story about his trip and the places he goes
is very entertaining.
Sawicki, Stephen. Animal Hospital.
Traces
the drama in the lives of the patients and caregivers at an animal hospital.
Taylor, David. Zoo Vet.
How
a vet at a zoo handled illness and injury among large zoo animals.
Watson, James. Walking Point: The Experiences of a Founding Member of the Elite Navy SEALS.
Recounts the creation of the SEALS in 1962
and the history of the group since then.