The book on youths' new lives

WALTHAM -- In an elementary school in a tough part of New Bedford, Brian DeMello threw books on the floor, to show how much he hated them.

A frustrated boy who became an angry drug dealer, DeMello had never read books, and had not thought much about his future. He certainly had never imagined he would find himself, at age 18, managing a bookstore.

The store, called More Than Words, opened last month in downtown Waltham, tucked between Japanese and Indian restaurants. Like other bookstores, it has comfortable armchairs and a shelf of staff recommendations.

The difference is the six young men who work there: All are in the custody of the Department of Social Services.

About 600 young people leave state custody each year when they turn 18. They are expected to find jobs and to live independently -- even though two-thirds do not have a high school diploma and more than half have no work experience, said the bookstore's founder, Jodi Rosenbaum. The store is meant to fill the gap for some teenagers by giving them real-life experience as employees and entrepreneurs.

The atmosphere in the store is restful; music plays softly in the background. But within the world of social services, the project takes a more radical approach.

Because More Than Words is a real business, which must at least cover its costs to survive, there is a sense of constant tension between the need to make money and the demand to support the store's staff members, as well as to cultivate their skills.

The reality of the venture is what makes the experience so valuable, said Rosenbaum, 30, a former teacher who has also done work in the juvenile justice system.

''It's the most empowering way to train people to take control of their lives," she said. ''For me to tell you you're a good person -- it means nothing if you're not doing something you can see is valuable."

Some of the men at the bookstore had been neglected or abandoned; several had grown up with no responsible role model. They say they know they might be seen as victims or as troublemakers.

At the bookstore, they strive to be something else: young professionals taking care of business. They catalog donations, shelve merchandise, help customers, plan events; they even schedule their own shifts, and they are now hiring new co-workers.

It was their idea to use walkie-talkies for communication between the stockroom and the cash register; it was their idea to offer a story hour in Spanish.

The Moody Street bookstore is the centerpiece of Rosenbaum's new nonprofit venture, Teen LEEP, which stands for Leadership Employment Enrichment Program. It began last summer as an online bookselling business, launched in partnership with the Rediscovery House in Arlington, a group home for boys in state custody. All of the bookstore's current employees live at the home or in apartments rented through its independent living branch.

''All I was contributing to when I was growing up was negativity and violence," said DeMello, who was sent to Rediscovery House after he asked a judge to move him out of New Bedford.

''Now, DeMello added, ''it's all positive, and it feels pretty good."

After it opened three years ago, Rediscovery House staff members worked with young residents, to help them prepare resumes and dress for job interviews.

While most of the young men were able to get hired, less than half kept their jobs over time, said Arden O'Connor, the program's founder.

To succeed, they had to learn how to be professional, punctual, and responsible, ''things we had trouble teaching with lectures," O'Connor said.

''Every time they learned the lesson, they learned it in a harsh way, by being fired."

At the bookstore, employees get a chance to gain the skills they lack, beginning with a 30-hour training program in which they are coached by peers.

All employees are scored by their co-workers daily on punctuality, professionalism, and efficiency; if they earn consistently high scores, they qualify for monthly bonuses, and they are promoted to posts of ''teen associates" and ''teen partners."

Showing a visitor around the Waltham bookstore's basement nerve center, where boxloads of donated books are sorted and then entered into an online catalog, DeMello said he used to struggle in his efforts to talk to strangers.

''When I went on job interviews, I would look down at the table or fiddle with my pen," he said. ''Now, I look people right in the eye and put a smile on my face."

More Than Words has 9,000 books in stock, and there are plans to triple the inventory by soliciting more donations.

The store's online operation uses software developed by a Cambridge bookseller, Matt Mankins.

Clicking easily through a series of screens, the young employees can check how many books have been sold on a given day. Colored pie charts show the breakdown of in-store and online sales.

In one corner of the basement, a lower-tech tool hangs on the wall. A map of the world studded with colored pins, it shows where employees have shipped online orders. Recent destinations have included Norway and Puerto Rico.

On the ceiling of the bookshop, which the young men renovated themselves, they have painted favorite sayings. ''If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got" is what Sammy Resto, 16, inscribed.

An aspiring airplane mechanic whose father is in jail, Resto has recently borrowed books from the store.

Harout Bedrossian, 20, said his work at the store has taught him to stand up for himself. A community college student, he hopes to open his own store someday to sell sports-car parts. His inscription on the ceiling is: ''Never Give Up."

Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com.