I remember in 7th grade I had a teacher (whose name I can’t remember for the life of me) who made us read Nickel and dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. That book shaped how I viewed working in America at such a young age and the minimum wage. (I was about 12) 10 years later I’m about to reread it. I always used to think “how come they won’t raise the minimum wage if people can barely survive on it?“ haha now I know it’s cause they don’t give a shit but still a great read.
If you haven’t heard of the book- Barbara is a journalist who works at 3 minimum wage jobs across the country and tries to live completely off the wage. She describes her experiences in the book.