I recommend this book because it has a very detailed description about a very young boys life named David. Lives in a physical and verbal abuse home with an alcoholic mother that has so much hate towards her son David. His mother doesn't give him the "identity" of a child. Just imagine 7 year old getting hit and beaten everyday without any cry out for help. Terrified of everything and anything that surrounds him. His only possession that he can call his own is his torn up clothes that he has in a paper bag. His mother treats him like an animal more specifically, like a dog. Lives in fear that if he leaves his home that his mother will look for him and torture him again like she always does. Although he gets rescued from this horrible alcoholic mother and is sent to foster care, his pain and suffering and living in fear everyday and night is just the beginning for David. The theme of this novel would have to be self discovery for young David. Why self discovery? Well, Davis is finding and figuring out who he is and is battling to overcome the suffering of his mothers abuse. He wants to feel "free" and feel the love with somebody cares deeply for him and will defend him whenever he needs it. Even though he wants to please his mother in staying home he knows what has happened is best for him to discover who he really is. What I mean by self discovery I mean is that David the main character in this book was isolated with suffering and never felt how it really is to have a "normal life". So now that he is away from all these things, he is feeling how it really is to be a kid and looking for the answers he always wondered about his family. That is the theme of this novel, self discovery. Symbolism takes a really big part of this book. The descriptiveness within the words that give you the clear image of how David feels is incredible. I cant say I cant relate to this but I sure know how David felt living with his alcoholic mother and family that did nothing but hurt him mentally and physically. If I would have to convince or persuade someone to read this book I would say that its incredible book never boring and keeps you guessing. I was not disappointed reading it and from the people that I know including my family members they read this book. Specifically someone who enjoys emotional reading, nerve wrecking, love and affection

The book I read is called The Lost Boy. I really like this book. I like in some situations how David, the main character, handled himself. It is a very sad book, and it also tells a lot about a little boys family life. This book starts out as David getting yelled at and abused by his mother. David is only nine. His mom calls them games, and to David, the only way to stay alive is to play those games, so his mom wont hurt him as bad. One day he gets the chance to run away, so he takes it. He gets found by the police and his dad. His dad lies to the police saying that his mother doesnt beat him. His dad also says that David says that for attention. His dad gets to take him back home, and everything starts all over again. He has a cot in the basement with no blankets. He has to sit there on his hands and not move, otherwise he will play another one of his Mothers games. He eventually goes to court and put into a foster home. He gets into trouble after being at his first foster home. David gets taken to a facility, since there is nobody to take him in right now. He liked it there, until he got a visit from his father. His dad said that he messed up the family by exploiting their secret about the abuse. Now, she abuses the other boys. He moves from different homes throughout the years. When he turns 18 he gets his G.E.D. David then joins the air force. I think this book would be good for teenagers. They are more mature and would understand the situations in the book better than a ten year old would. I give this book four stars.

The second book in this trilogy starts to deliver as much shock as the first about the appalling treatment David suffered but then his fight for survival and love shine through as he is finally removed and placed in different foster homes. It was amazing near the end going on to see just what David achieved and the real strength of character he has, I was in complete awe. The epilogue notes I found really added to the story as we got the recollections of the main characters in Davids life at the time and and their thoughts and feelings of what happened in his past as they lived it and now his present.A compulsive read.

This is a continuation of the series from the book A Child Called It. This takes place after Mr. Pelzer is removed from his home and into foster care at the age of 12. The book starts off with a heart wrenching scene of the gross mistreatment to him by his mother. I couldn't even get through the first chapter without practically crying on the outside and screaming on the inside, "Why did this happen to him?" Throughout the book I wanted to know why his mother was such a monster and why did she single out Dave? A person would think that once a child is put into foster care that they would be safe from the one who tried to harm them, I found out that this is not always the case especially in the mid to late 70's. Even after being removed from the home, his mother tried to mentally abuse him by visiting him and letting him know that she would be watching him and if he messed up she would make sure that he would pay for his transgressions. The foster care system is a place of refuge for Dave and the families that he is placed with are kinder to him than his real parents. He had his issues and acted out on them because of the confusion he had on the inside, but he wasn't necessarily as bad or dangerous of a kid as he could have been due to the circumstances of his life. He was aggressive, but only to those who sought to harm him. He stole, in order to be accepted by others. He retreated into himself when he was in public forums because people treated him as an outsider. He hung out with the wrong crowd, but during all that time he never lost himself to the madness because he always knew what was right and eventually got himself back on track with the help of the foster parents around him. It was a good story, but being told from the child's POV continually left questions that were never answered because the details may or may not have been discussed with Dave, or it could be that children remember what they want to remember so some details are lost in the shuffle. The book goes from Dave being placed in foster care up until the time he phased out and entered the Air Force.

"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."The Lost Boy"the second installment of a trilogy. New York Times #1 International Bestseller By Dave Pelzer Will have you intrigued from the moment you read the first sentence. There's no doubt David wants to please " The Mother" and his father but is also looking to find himself. He wants to be "Good" but doesn't know how. Now his pathway on self discovery begins when he's taken from his mothers custody. It takes David years to truly discover his feelings about his mother and father. And gets help a long the way from the series of foster parents, social workers, teachers and friends. David spent the first nine years of his life being abused in "The Home" and once taken from his mothers custody he was moved to a series of foster homes until he was 18. David then goes through a rebellious stage and attempts to burn down a school. Which causes him to land in the San Mateo County Juvenile Hall. David finally finds his way, though the road is not without a series of bumps. He then finally finds the love of a true family his been craving for. This touching series will put tears in your eyes. I recommend this book to all lovers of stories filled with courage and beautiful emotions.