Working Days: Short Stories about Teenagers at Work - Softcover

2.57

7 ratings by Goodreads

9780892552245: Working Days: Short Stories about Teenagers at Work

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0892552247 ISBN 13: 9780892552245

Publisher: Persea, 1997

"Almost without exception, the pieces are thought-provoking and consciousness-raising, and are certain to ring a bell with teenagers working, unemployed, or planning their careers."―Kirkus Reviews

An ALA Best Book: fifteen short stories about teens in the adult workplace.

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About the Author:

Anne Mazer is the author of several widely acclaimed books, including the novels Moose Street and The Oxboy, and a picture book, The Salamander Room, winner of the Keystone to Reading Book Award and a Reading Rainbow Feature Selection. Anthologies from edited by Mazer include: America Street, Going Where I'm Coming From, A Walk in My World, and Working Days. Mazer grew up in Syracuse, NY and lives in Ithaca, NY.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 8 Up. These 15 short stories feature teens making their way in the adult world of work. There are no idealized settings here; the young people toil in dirty factories, sleazy motels, and on farms that employ illegal immigrants. The characters do not find these rough conditions jarring since they have not had privileged childhoods. Yet as they view the older, wilted, and disillusioned folks around them, they are determined to triumph and to make a difference in the world. Though the collection reflects a nice diversity of cultures and has a laudable theme, the stories are uneven in quality. Some are sophisticated and have the tone of adult reminiscences. Some selections stand out. In Marilyn Sachs's "Lessons," a lonely young woman tutors an adult Greek immigrant and rebels against her own family's seeming lack of generosity. Anne Mazer's "The Pill Factory" skillfully depicts a teen's persistence in the face of a deadening factory environment. Graham Salisbury's "Forty Bucks" is an interesting vignette about two boys who confront a couple of troublemakers while working the late shift in a Taco Bell in Hawaii. "The Avalon Ballroom" by Ann Hood is a poignant tale of a New York City kid who struggles to get the money to attend Princeton. All but three of the stories are original. "The Baseball Glove" is reprinted from Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven (HarperCollins, 1996). Short stories don't tend to circulate highly unless they're on a wildly popular topic or there's a school assignment; as a whole, this collection lacks the kind of pizzazz needed to grab all but the most sophisticated readers.?Jacqueline Rose, Lake Oswego Public Library, OR
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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