Reviews of The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer

The Lost Boy

A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

by Dave Pelzer

The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer X
The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer
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    Aug 1997, 340 pages

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Book Summary

The sequel to A Child Called "It" in which Pelzer answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent.

Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possessions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows is one of isolation and fear. Although others had rescued this boy from his abusive alcoholic mother, his real hurt is just beginning -- he has no place to call home.

This is Dave Pelzer's long-awaited sequel to A Child Called "It". In The Lost Boy, he answers questions and reveals new adventures through the compelling story of his life as an adolescent. Now considered an F-Child (Foster Child), Dave is moved in and out of five different homes. He suffers shame and experiences resentment from those who feel that all foster kids are trouble and unworthy of being loved just because they are not part of a "real" family.

Tears, laughter, devastation and hope create the journey of this little lost boy who searches desperately for just one thing -- the love of a family.

From Chapter One

Winter 1970, Daly City, California-  I'm alone. I'm hungry and I'm shivering in the dark! I sit on top of my hands at the bottom of the stairs in the garage. My head is tilted backward. My hands became numb hours ago. My neck and shoulder muscles begin to throb. But that's nothing new -  I've learned to turn off the pain.

I'm Mother's prisoner.


I am nine years old and I've been living like this for years. Every day it's the same thing. I wake up from sleeping on an old army cot in the garage, perform the morning chores, and if I'm lucky, eat leftover breakfast cereal from my brothers. I run to school, steal food, return to "The House" and am forced to throw up in the toilet bowl to prove that I didn't commit the crime of stealing any food.

I receive beatings or play another one of her "games," perform afternoon chores, then sit at the bottom of the stairs until I'm summoned to complete the ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Library Journal
Following A Child Called It (Health Communications, 1995), which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and appears frequently on high school reading lists, this is the second in a planned trilogy from motivational author and speaker Pelzer. Here he tells his story from the time he left his abusive mother and alcoholic father, through his experiences in five foster homes and juvenile detention, and how he eventually made it into the Air Force. He was a defiant, rebellious boy who, despite his background and personality, managed to endear himself to many guardians, social workers, and teachers. Pelzer writes in an honest, sometimes rambling, style; he is never bitter, and his story will find many sympathetic readers. However, he leaves many questions unanswered (which may appear in the third book), dealing with his adult-life relationships, his son, the mother of that child, and the ways he turned his life around. This is sure to be popular among students and readers who await a sequel to A Child Called It. Well recommended.?

Reader Reviews

Brandi

Good
I loved this book.
Martin

The best book ever
This book is the best book ever.
Andrea Bogart

The Lost Boy
The Lost Boy is a very sad story about a young boy that got very badly abused by his mother. I really enjoyed reading about the authors life. But what I didn't enjoy was the way his mother treated him. I don't understand how a mother can hurt her own...   Read More
VBALLER

Inspirational
This book really touches the heart about on boys journey to make it through the tough times. Dave Pelzer is telling a story that will get through to millions and just make you sit and think for awhile. Reading this book will change your perspective ...   Read More

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