Fill out this application and wait over there by Ruth Starke
Omnibus, 2009.ISBN 9781862918474.
(Ages: 13-15) Ruth
Starke at her wicked best, poking fun at everything from the uniforms
worn by a
well know chocolate factory's employees, to rules about turning on the
cash
register, to the half truths told to casual employees, to take away
food, to
people in check out queues and the general misuse of the English
language. The
list is endless as we read Hailee's diary of her year in casual work,
saving
for a holiday in Thailand during the following year, although she
prefers the
term traveler. Innocent, naive to the extreme (I had to keep reminding
myself
that this girl had just completed year 12), self centred and scathing
of those
around her, Haille muddles her way through part time work at a
supermarket
(SpendUp), some weeks at an up market boutique called Philosophe, one
night at
an Indian restaurant, some time at the local community paper, Suburban
Echo,
and 3 months work at Hamel's Chocolate outlet.
Each
stint gives her a different look at employment and what happens in the
workplace, but she is oblivious to the subtleties and undercurrents of
working
at all. She blunders through, taking umbrage at supervisors' comments
and
criticisms, merrily thinking that they should be impressed with her
skills. She
gives out wrong information, tells lies to get more hours at SpendUp,
finds
fault with those she works with, expects to get work on the floor
rather than
wash dishes, and generally has an incredible opinion of her abilities,
which
are minimal. She complains about the working hours, the uniforms, the
staff
rooms, the forms she must fill out, the pay, the customers, in fact
everything!
All
through the difference between what Hailee expects and the reality of
her
situation will cause readers to laugh out loud. Her naivety is
overwhelming.
Her mother's advice is never heeded, and her brother simply laughs at
her,
while her father actually suggests work at the paper where he does some
part
time work. It is fascinating to realise at the end of the book, that
the jobs
at which she has had some success are all those told to her by friends
and
relations, and that the work she is finally offered is not something
she has
thought about at all.
The
humour and caustic comments about today's teens carry this long diary
to
Thailand, holding the reader's interest all the way through. Some
glimmer of
understanding about the vagaries of the workplace may filter through,
and cause
some readers to rethink their attitude to part time work, but on the
whole they
will gain a good laugh at Hailee and her efforts to save money.
Fran
Knight