RayneStorm's Full Review: Dave Pelzer - The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Searc...
“The Lost Boy” is the second book of a three part autobiographical series written by David Peltzer. For those unfamiliar with his story, David Peltzer suffered horrific abuse, both physical and emotion, by his mother from the time he was four until his rescue at age twelve. The first novel, “A Child Called ‘It’” discussed his early childhood, which was happy and normal, before detailing his life of abuse at the hands of his alcoholic mother.
The novel “A Child Called ‘It’” is so called as a reference to term used by David’s mother. At the time the abuse started, his mother would refer to him only as “the boy”, but even this name deteriorated to simply “it”. David received daily beatings, was forced to sleep on a cot in the garage and was not even allowed to eat with the rest of the family. David was starved most of the time, often forced to steal food from school. David named one of his worst tortures “the gas chamber”. David was often locked in the bathroom with a bucket of ammonia mixed with Clorox, the toxic gas filling the room. This was the “gas chamber” torture.
On the 5th of March 1973, David was rescued. After having chronicled his abuse, teachers from Dave’s school finally notified authorities, who then removed David from his school, promising him that he would never have to return home. This is where “The Lost Boy” picks up his story.
“The Lost Boy” details the life of Dave from the time he was rescued until he was eighteen. David spent this part of his life in foster care, moving from one foster home to another. In total, David spent time at six different foster homes, his life in some proving to be positive, while in others, he either spent very little time in the home, or found the living conditions to be less than satisfactory. He also returned to a number of the foster homes on more than one occasion, typically when no other suitable accommodations could be found.
Although David tried hard to please others, he found himself in trouble at times, in trouble with both his foster parents and with authorities. One such occasion saw David receiving a sentence of 100 days in juvenile detention for a crime he did not commit. Although David was trying to put out a fire started by one of his “friends”, David was identified as being at the scene of the crime; his school.
Through his stories, this book also details the need for safe foster care homes. Without it, David probably would not have survived his childhood, nor would he be the stable caring human being that he now is. But unfortunately, there is a stigma associated with being in foster care, or at least there was during the 1970’s, which is when David lived in such homes. David suffered much ridicule because of his life in this care, and had to learn how to protect himself from the taunting of others. Even in the later years, around the time he was 16 or 17, the mother of a friend demanded that he leave their property and never talk to her daughter, simply because David was a product of foster care. He was even termed an “f-child”, living in “f-care”.
Although “A Child Called ‘It’” is a highly emotional text, with the reader feeling deeply for David, I found “The Lost Boy” to evoke even more emotions. In “A Child Called ‘It’”, readers cry out at the abuse suffered at the hands of his mother, but in “The Lost Boy” I found myself crying for the small achievements of David as he was growing up, crying first for the injustices, but more for his triumphs.
The writing of “The Lost Boy” differs from that in “A Child Called ‘It’”. In being written through the eyes of a child, “A Child Called ‘It’” has a simpler tone, where as “The Lost Boy” shows a greater level of maturity, not only in the experiences of David, but also in the writing style itself.
Although I feel some guilt at mentioning the price, I feel it is necessary in order to produce a fair review. The copy of “The Lost Boy” that I read was purchased for $16.95 CAD, which is quite expensive for a book of this length. At 340 pages of larger printed text, it is possible to complete this novel in just a few days. $16.95 (CAD) seems to be a lot of money for a soft covered book. However, how can you put a price on a persons’ experiences? Because David now does a lot of work in the are of foster care, I believe readers may look at the price as a donation to such causes.
Because “The Lost Boy” picks up where “A Child Called ‘It’” ends, I feel that fully appreciating this novel comes with having read the first in the series. It is then that the reader can fully grasp just what it took for David to reach the various highs in his life. Having read the first book also aids in understanding the psychology behind David’s thinking and actions.
“The Lost Boy” is a book that I would highly recommend to others, not only because it is an interesting story, but because of the lessons taught within. Through his struggles, David is able to teach all of us the meaning of survival, and fighting for happiness and acceptance. It is definitely an inspirational story, and one that I thank David for having the courage to tell.
The inspiring sequel to the best seller \A Child Called It\. A foster childs search for the love of a family. Imagine a young boy who has never had a ...More at Christianbook.com
Imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. His only possesions are the old, torn clothes he carries in a paper bag. The only world he knows ...More at HotBookSale
The Lost Boy is the harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of a boy s journey through the foster-care system in search of a family to love. Thi...More at Buy.com
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.