Title: The Lost BoyAuthor: Dave Pelzer
Series: Dave Pelzer Trilogy #2
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Pages: 340 Pages
Genre: Non-fiction - Memoir
Overall Rating:
Synopsis (from the book cover):
As a child, Dave Pelzer never had a real home. Rescued from an alcoholic, abusive mother, his only possessions were the old torn clothes he carried in a paper bag; the only world he knew was one of isolation and fear. In The Lost Boy Dave Pelzer relives his life as a foster child, in and out of five different homes. There were those who felt that all foster kids were trouble - unworthy of love - and resented his presence, forcing him to suffer yet more shame. But through it all, Dave never stopped hoping and searching for the love of a real family.
First Sentence: Winter 1970, Daly City, California - I'm alone, I'm hungry and I'm shivering in the dark.
My Review: As I strolled through this heartbreaking journey with Dave Pelzer, thoughts after thoughts keep going through my head. How did he learn to survive? How tiring it was to keep on guard all the time? How a person could completely lost the sense of security when the one who suppose to keep you secure kept on betraying you over and over and over again. Even though The Lost Boy was not as gruesome as its prequel, A Child Called “It”, the emotional agony and struggle that this boy had to face still manage to bring chill down to my spine.
In The Lost Boy, readers were introduced to the life of Dave Pelzer after he was rescued from the hell he called home. Despite being freed from his abusive, alcoholic mother, he still suffered from the after effect of all those emotional and physical abused that he received from her. He was unable to feel at peace at anytime and he also continued to live in fear because he believed that it cannot be this easy for his mother to let him go. The thing that I found most heartbreaking was when Pelzer kept on thinking that he deserved to be punished for every little thing he did wrong but he wasn’t deserved to be loved and to be taken care of by the people who loved him. This showed the intensity of emotional scars and burden that he carried on his back.
During the years he lived under foster care, he faced a trouble to fit in which resulted in him trying to do anything possible to please anybody that was “willing” to absorb him into their inner circle. Little did he know that all these people were just using him and when anything turned out wrong, he was the one who had to take the blame. The people who lived during that time was also very prejudice, where they thought that foster children were troublesome and didn’t have any right to be among them. How sad, ridiculous and disturbing was that? Though I truly admire him for his ability to come out of this situation – battered but uncrushed, frail but pretty much alive.
There were so many things that I’ve learnt by reading these two books by this author. It reminds me that when I think I got it tough, there is someone out there who got it a lot tougher than I currently am. Dave Pelzer surely deserves a lot of credit for what he has gone through and for what he has achieved thus far. A recommended read for those who enjoy reading non-fiction book that could toil your emotions upside down.
Final Verdict: I wouldn't call this book "enjoyable" cause there is nothing enjoyable to read someone suffer for numbers of years in his life. But this is a kind of read that make you appreciate what you have in your life, knowing that someone else has it a lot worst than you do. Perhaps this is not a book for everyone but I'm sure that those who love reading non-fiction would love this book as much as I did.
Memorable Quote: I clamped my eyes shut for the longest time. My head swam with a stream of endless thoughts. I didn't care whether I slept on a couch or a bed of nails. I just wanted to stay at a place that I could call home - Dave Pelzer
My Review: As I strolled through this heartbreaking journey with Dave Pelzer, thoughts after thoughts keep going through my head. How did he learn to survive? How tiring it was to keep on guard all the time? How a person could completely lost the sense of security when the one who suppose to keep you secure kept on betraying you over and over and over again. Even though The Lost Boy was not as gruesome as its prequel, A Child Called “It”, the emotional agony and struggle that this boy had to face still manage to bring chill down to my spine.
In The Lost Boy, readers were introduced to the life of Dave Pelzer after he was rescued from the hell he called home. Despite being freed from his abusive, alcoholic mother, he still suffered from the after effect of all those emotional and physical abused that he received from her. He was unable to feel at peace at anytime and he also continued to live in fear because he believed that it cannot be this easy for his mother to let him go. The thing that I found most heartbreaking was when Pelzer kept on thinking that he deserved to be punished for every little thing he did wrong but he wasn’t deserved to be loved and to be taken care of by the people who loved him. This showed the intensity of emotional scars and burden that he carried on his back.
During the years he lived under foster care, he faced a trouble to fit in which resulted in him trying to do anything possible to please anybody that was “willing” to absorb him into their inner circle. Little did he know that all these people were just using him and when anything turned out wrong, he was the one who had to take the blame. The people who lived during that time was also very prejudice, where they thought that foster children were troublesome and didn’t have any right to be among them. How sad, ridiculous and disturbing was that? Though I truly admire him for his ability to come out of this situation – battered but uncrushed, frail but pretty much alive.
There were so many things that I’ve learnt by reading these two books by this author. It reminds me that when I think I got it tough, there is someone out there who got it a lot tougher than I currently am. Dave Pelzer surely deserves a lot of credit for what he has gone through and for what he has achieved thus far. A recommended read for those who enjoy reading non-fiction book that could toil your emotions upside down.
Final Verdict: I wouldn't call this book "enjoyable" cause there is nothing enjoyable to read someone suffer for numbers of years in his life. But this is a kind of read that make you appreciate what you have in your life, knowing that someone else has it a lot worst than you do. Perhaps this is not a book for everyone but I'm sure that those who love reading non-fiction would love this book as much as I did.
Memorable Quote: I clamped my eyes shut for the longest time. My head swam with a stream of endless thoughts. I didn't care whether I slept on a couch or a bed of nails. I just wanted to stay at a place that I could call home - Dave Pelzer
This whole series just flies off the shelves in my school library!
ReplyDeletegreat review shy (and it's true *LOL*).i think i will definitely think twice to read the series..he was so pity..that i hardly could imagine what he'd been trough by reading your review. glad i read yours instead of reading it myself.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. This is such a tough series to read. It absolutely broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteYa but sadly this book is not true about the author >:/ he is just making it up why would you think to put that
ReplyDelete