The Lost Boy

infobox book
name=The Lost Boy


author=David Pelzer
country=flagicon|USA USA
language=English
publisher=Health Communications, Inc.
pub_date=1997

"The Lost Boy" (1997) is the second installment of a trilogy of books which depict the life of Dave Pelzer, who as a young boy who was physically, emotionally, and spiritually abused by his obsessive mother.

The book discusses Pelzer's sturuggling with his ability to fit in and adapt to the new environment around him as he is put into foster care. It also talks about the kindness of his foster parents and other people around him as well as his inability to brush his mother aside.

"The Lost Boy" is included as the second book in Dave Pelzer's compilation "My Story".

Plot Summary

The book continues the end of the previous book, A Child Called "It". It is about a child who is taken into foster care at 12 years old, after being tormented and abused for years by his mother Catherine Pelzer. This book starts out with David Pelzer, age 9, running away from home. He ends up in a bar, and getting cared for by some of the men there. One of them calls the police, bringing David home for 3 more years. After three years, one of his teachers notices David's problems. They contact the authorities, causing David to be put together with a social services worker named Ms. Gold. The two go to trial against his mother, and they win. Before the trial, David starts thinking about whether he deserved the treatment, or not. Ms. Gold, on the other hand, assures him it was his nothing to do with him, that his mother is sick. After the trial, he is put into a foster home under the care of who he calls Aunt Mary. He does not fit in immediately, he is quite active, and being disruptive, due to being cut off for so long. He soon receives a visit from his mother, and his brother. His mother asks how David was doing, calling him "The Boy", shocking Aunt Mary. His brother bring back David's bike, in bad shape. However, he fixes it up and gets to ride it again. One day, he is riding his bike, and decides do go down his old road, persuaded by one of the other foster children. His family sees his riding on the road, and contacts his foster family. He gets off the hook, but not without punishment.

Later in the book, David meets a person who he thinks is his friend, until he starts using him to do illegal things. One of those times is when they plan to set one of his teacher's rooms on fire. The fire gets out of control, and David tries to stop it. After it is out, his "friend" tells the teacher that it was all David, who then gets in a large amount of trouble. He gets removed from his foster home for over a month, and put in juvenile hall.

In his sophomore year in high school, he gets put into a class for slow learners. He has decided that he is more interested in earning some money, as he will be out of foster care in less than a year. When he is out of foster care, he enlists in the US Air Force.

External links

* [http://www.davepelzer.com Dave Pelzer's Personal website]
* [http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=145 An interview with Dave Pelzer]