The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

Thank you, Mr. Pelzer, for writing your heart in this book. As a foster mother of three little ones, 5, 5, and 3, my heart always breaks for what they have seen and what I do not know yet that they have seen or experienced. You have let the world know that all foster parents are not monsters--and in fact, we try very hard to make our homes better and safer than some biological families' homes. The reason people become foster parents varies as widely as the reason children go into foster care. Each child is special and each child deserves the best care and the sweetest love they can receive. I could not put your book down after I bought it at the airport. My heart broke for your loss and your continued struggle to understand why your mother did those horrific things to you and your family. One could quickly blame the alchohol, but my heart ached as you continually tried to uncover what it was you could have done to make things turn out differently. Sometimes, we do not find the answers in this lifetime---your courage and honesty are appreciated. I highly recommend this book to any parent or anyone who is curious about "the system." My hat is off to you, Mr. Pelzer.

The Lost Boy is an absolutely amazing true story of Dave Pelzer, which chronicles his years from 12 to 18 years of age as a foster child. This is book two of three and now I must go and read the other two books in the trilogy. I could not put this book down. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This will book will make you cry, it will make you mad, and at the end, you will be cheering and crying tears of joy for Dave. This book will break your heart and if you are a parent, you will be outraged at the abuse. Sadly, child abuse is so prevalent, and there are so many cunning, and devious parents out there, that some children do not get out and the abuse is "allowed" to go on and on or the child is killed.

Dave's strength, determination, and unbreakable spirit shine throughout this book. How he survived the brutality can only be called a miracle. It breaks my heart to read of such incredible abuse and one does have to thank the foster parents, social works and teachers in this child's life. Dave says, "It takes a community to save a child", and I wholeheartedly agree.

Dave takes you through his five different foster families during his adolescent years and his desperate determination to find the love of a family and a "home" propels him by not abandoning hope.

Dave's inner strength, courage, and fortitude are a shining inspiration to us all. God bless you Dave and the work that you are doing to help other children. Thank you for opening our eyes and sharing "your" story.

This book and the previous A CHILD CALLED IT provide an engrossing view of child abuse and the needs of those rescued from its grip. It is most helpful precisely because it comes from the point of view of the child as he is living it rather than from well-meaning experts who look from the outside in. As the guardian of a formerly abused youngster, I was particularly interested in the emotional stages that David went through after his rescue. His skill in expressing his own frustratation with himself and his reactions to those who wanted to help him is extraordinary. His story has helped me to help my own "foster" son and to better understand what he has gone through even though he himself cannot yet explain much of his behavior. I hope he will someday feel comfortable about reading THE LOST BOY and perhaps telling his own story after the wounds of his experience have become less raw. I anxiously await the third book in the series, for I wonder how the final healing has taken place for Mr. Pelzer. What has happened to his parents; did he ever learn why his mother behaved as she did? How has he learned to parent his own child in the absence of a proper example in his childhood? I think the answers to these questions might show the way for many like him who are even now struggling not to survive, or to find a family, but to heal.

After reading A Child Called It, I of course, had to read Lost Boy. Though, I was very happy to see David got away from his mother, I was more compelled to learn that the school system got involved, finally! Being in foster care itself, can't be a easy task, i.e. living out of a paper sack with the only prized possessions he ever owned, but not knowing from moment to moment if you are going to be pulled out of that home. This book is one of those books that you just can't put down, you have to turn the page to see how David pulls through each situation. Don't pick up this book if you don't have a few hours to spend starting and finishing this book. It is a MUST read! I have purchased A Man Named Dave and have begun to read it. This series is compelling!

I can't imagine a young boy who has never had a loving home. The 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 a 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. The Lost Boy chronicles David Pelzer's journey from foster home to foster home after being rescued from his Mother's severe abuse on March 5, 1973. This story will hold your attention as you get lost in the much interrupted childhood of David Pelzer.

The Lost Boy covers the time from when David Pelzer enters foster care at the age of 12 until he ages out of the system at age 18. Written in the same style as A Child Called 'It', Pelzer tells his story from the view point of his age at the time whether that be a 12-year-old or an eighteen-year-old.

The Lost Boy shows how the actions of a foster parent can affect a foster child. How the fighting among a married couple can call to remembrance images of past abuse. How an understanding look or loving pat on the back can bolster unsteady spirits. Even caring for a pet while a child is in a detention center can help the child to feel that that foster home is more than just a place to sleep, but a refuge from his world of chaos.

This book is a must read as the reader is given the opportunity to see and try to understand how a child in David's position can interpret and misinterpret unrelated occurrences to being somehow his/her fault. Very enlightening reading as the reader is able to see the inner workings of an abused child. If you're a fan of "A Child Called `It'", then this sequel continues with more drama.