The Lost Boy - Dave Pelzer

Advantages: it makes you think
Disadvantages: it makes you think

...had completed his chores to the satisfaction of "the Mother" he dreaded weekends because no school to go to meant there was no food available to steal, even though he was made to vomit on his return to "the House" at the end to the day to prove his success at eating without permission, or the lack of it. Following yet another battle of wills between his parents when "the Mother" argued with Father, who had made an objection to her treatment of "It" ...
...the message she shouted to him, "I don't like you! I don't want you! I never loved you! Get the hell out of my house!" And so he did! Wearing ragged trousers, a torn long-sleeved shirt and a pair of tennis shoes David ran, hoping somehow to make it to Guerneville where he could swim in the Russian River at Johnson's Beach, the place of his fondest early memory. It wasn't to be, of course it wasn't. I knew that even as an adult he'd have been unsuccessful. ... Read review

Advantages: opens your eyes to foster care children and life after abuse
Disadvantages: upsetting to read in places.

‘The Lost Boy’ is the gripping sequel to the emotion filled book, ‘A child called IT’. It follows Dave Pelzer from the age of twelve to eighteen and shows us just what happens after an abused child is removed from his or her ‘home’. *** About the book *** There was one fear after Dave left his ‘mother’, and that was that she’d find him. All his little life he had learned to fear the consequences of his mothers drinking. He endured unimaginable things, ...
...quite a while, especially when the joy of being away from his mother was short lived. As his mother, she was still entitled to know where Dave was at all times. This meant that occasionally she could pop around and see him, but only after being invited by the people Dave was staying with. This obviously caused a lot of upset for Dave to the delight of his mother. In fact so disturbed was Dave by the visits and the threats she’d use while she was ... Read review

Advantages: compelling read.
Disadvantages: can be very upsetting

This is the second part in the trilogy of the heart rending true story of David Pelzer. The first part “A Child Called It” told you about his life with his abusive, alcoholic mother. It ended where David was at the age of 12 and he had just been “rescued”. With the help of his school teachers and a police officer he was taken into the care of the “County Child Protective Service Agency”. This is where “The ...
...to Ms Gold about all the abuse that “The Mother” afflicted on him. He began to see Ms Gold as his savour, his friend, someone he could trust. During David’s stay at “Aunt Mary’s” he had to attend court for the hearing to decide whether he would be returned to his mother’s custody or be made “a permanent ward of court”. This made David so worried that he tells Ms Gold (his social worker) that ... Read review

Advantages: Gives first hand insight into the life of an abused child, Brings public awareness to the subject,
Disadvantages: Deserves a much wider audience

+ Plot Synopsis + The Lost Boy is the second book in the trilogy by author David Pelzer. It is the moving sequel to the highly acclaimed ‘A Child Called IT’. This book details Pelzer's adolescent years, from age 12 to age 18, and follows his experiences as a foster child after being rescued from abuse in 1973, to his decision to join the U.S. Air Force in 1979. The first chapter goes back to when he was only 9 years old, which gives ...
...was described in the first book. For people who have not read ‘A Child Called It’, the first chapter summarises the general mood and tone of the first book and effectively slips into Dave’s teenage years. Those of us who have had loving families all around us all our lives cannot even imagine the agony a child such as Dave Pelzer went through. This book conveys this realistically without any melodrama whatsoever. Just as it was, ... Read review

Advantages: OPENS YOUR EYES TO THE PREJUDICES THAT OFTEN GET OVERLOOKED.
Disadvantages: DITTO

After reading the first of Dave Pelzer’s trilogy ‘A child Called It’, I felt compelled to go out and get the sequel entitled ‘The Lost Boy’. Once I’d read about the horrific abuse he suffered at his so called mothers hands, I had to find out how he fared once he’d been 'rescued’. This book takes up at the point where the authorities have come to realise the abuse David has suffered and take court action and have him removed from the family home ...
...that we all accept as the norm during childhood, he finds it extremely difficult to adjust. Especially when he has to face his mother in court in order foe him to be placed in the care of the authorities. Despite her best efforts, his mother loses and David is placed in permanent care. His first foster carer was aunt Mary where he stayed for a short period of time until a permanent home could be found for him during his time at aunt Mary’s, he desperately ... Read review

Advantages: Very Moving and always exciting
Disadvantages: Quite Fast Paced

...This Book by Dave Pelzer is one of the most moving and exceptional books i have read in my lifetime! It cost me £5.99 and is sold in any good book shops! Every next page i read was something new, exciting, interesting and just fabolous! It is quite upsetting at some stages, with child cruelty from parents. The book has 169 pages of not too small sized writing which is a good size, and does not take to long to read. At the back of the book there are two exctracts from Dave Pelzer's follow on books called: The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave. There is about a chapter from each of them books. "Such a story cannot fail to move" is what the Mail on Sunday said about this book and thats exactly what i feel too! A fantastic book full stop! Definitely a must read for all!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: It will have you hooked
Disadvantages: not for the faint hearted

...years old, then everything change, the brutality of his own mother is so shocking it had me in tears. Never could I have ever imagined such cruelty went on in a family home, his father sat back and watched everything happen to this poor child, and it wasn't just a case of beatings. I sat and read the whole book in a day, as I just couldn't put it down, Dave pelzer has also written two follow ups to this book called "A man called Dave" and "The Lost Boy", I am planning to read both of these in the very near future. Dave Pelzer has shrown great courage in writing these books, and they are well worth a read, though I was totally shocked at what had happened to this poor child, it is claimed to be the 3rd worst case of child abuse in America, so I can't even begin to imagine what the other cases were like.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: An example of the real world
Disadvantages: An example of the real world

...of age. Oh...but wait...Dave was a "bad boy" he must deserve everything he got...yeah right...not even the devil would deserve it, not many boys can go to hell and back over and over again to survive like this boy did which is truely a making in history itself! xxx Read David Pelzers 'The Lost Boy, and 'A Man Named Dave' where you can get the whole story and maybe even find out why his mother did those things to him. xxx... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful