by Dave Pelzer
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by Dave Pelzer
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by Richard B. Pelzer
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by Toni Maguire
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The Privilege of Youth: The Inspirational Story of a Teenager's Search for Friendship and Acceptance by Dave Pelzer |
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Review
Pelzer was just 12 when he was taken into care. Over six years he evolved from an abused, terrified, guilt-ridden boy into an aggressive, troubled adolescent in and out of Juvenile Hall and, finally, to a mature and level-headed young Air Force cadet about to make his mark on the world. A truly remarkable story that is the emotional equivalent of a 'rags to riches' transformation, this is the second part of an autobiographical trilogy. Told in an even-handed, non-hysterical yet intensely personal style, this is one boy's search for that most vital yet intangible of things, a loving family. Desperate for acceptance, the young Pelzer will go to any lengths, including petty larceny and even vandalism to belong to a group that doesn't look down on him for that greatest of all sins, being a foster child. As his mother's appalling vindictiveness casts a dark shadow over his adolescent years, he is shuttled from one foster home to the next. Never quite fitting in, an oddity and an interloper, he could so easily have slipped into society's stereotypical niche and become the sort of delinquent foster children were thought to be. His struggle to become something different, something better, will have you crying and cheering at the same time. This is not a sentimental or egocentric book, but a fascinating glimpse into a strange and unsettling world that most of us, thankfully, will never have to visit. Although Pelzer is the central character, he readily admits that the real heroes are the many foster families who take in 'problem' children and give unselfishly of their time and love to help turn that child's life around. This is a powerful and moving tribute to those people. (Kirkus UK)
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"Winter 1970, Daly City, California--I'm alone. I'm hungry and I'm shivering in the dark. I sit on the 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. I'm Mother's prisoner."In The Lost Boy, the sequel to Dave Pelzer's bestselling A Child Called It, Dave recounts the final days with his "family" before the intervention of a schoolteacher led to his being removed from hell and taken into foster care. As Pelzer explains, A Child Called It was told from the perspective of a child aged from 4 to 12; The Lost Boy recounts his years from 12 to 18. The earlier account documents the extraordinary, painful and moving story of this young boy's "lifeless" existence with his alcoholic, abusive mother and a father who was so cowed by his sadistic wife that he could not help his son. Like its predecessor, Pelzer's account of his adolescant years is no easy read, as he takes us through the mixed, mixed-up world of the US care system, relentlessly pursued by his mother, to a final peace of sorts with a caring series of foster parents. An important, raw and exposing book, the Lost Boy's message is, as Pelzer quotes, that "it takes a community to save a child". --Kate Weaver
Review
Pelzer was just 12 when he was taken into care. Over six years he evolved from an abused, terrified, guilt-ridden boy into an aggressive, troubled adolescent in and out of Juvenile Hall and, finally, to a mature and level-headed young Air Force cadet about to make his mark on the world. A truly remarkable story that is the emotional equivalent of a 'rags to riches' transformation, this is the second part of an autobiographical trilogy. Told in an even-handed, non-hysterical yet intensely personal style, this is one boy's search for that most vital yet intangible of things, a loving family. Desperate for acceptance, the young Pelzer will go to any lengths, including petty larceny and even vandalism to belong to a group that doesn't look down on him for that greatest of all sins, being a foster child. As his mother's appalling vindictiveness casts a dark shadow over his adolescent years, he is shuttled from one foster home to the next. Never quite fitting in, an oddity and an interloper, he could so easily have slipped into society's stereotypical niche and become the sort of delinquent foster children were thought to be. His struggle to become something different, something better, will have you crying and cheering at the same time. This is not a sentimental or egocentric book, but a fascinating glimpse into a strange and unsettling world that most of us, thankfully, will never have to visit. Although Pelzer is the central character, he readily admits that the real heroes are the many foster families who take in 'problem' children and give unselfishly of their time and love to help turn that child's life around. This is a powerful and moving tribute to those people. (Kirkus UK)
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Winter 1970, Daly City, California - I'm alone. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Winter 1970, Daly City, California - I'm alone. Read the first page
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87% buy the item featured on this page: The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family |
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5% buy My Story: A Child Called It, The Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave: "A Child Called It", "The Lost Boy", "A Man Named Dave" £9.09 |
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