The Lost Boy (memoir): Difference between revisions
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''The Boy'' is included as the second book in Dave Pelzer's compilation ''My Story''. |
''The Boy'' is included as the second book in Dave Pelzer's compilation ''My Story''. |
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==Plot summary== |
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The book continues after the ending of the previous book, ''[[A Child Called "It"]]'' with David Pelzer, 9 years old, running away from his home in Daly City, California. He ends up in a bar, getting cared for by some of the patrons. One of them calls the police, bringing David home to his abusive mother. David's teachers eventually contact the authorities, causing David to be put together with a social services worker named Ms. Gold. Before the trial of whether or not to permanently remove him from his mother's custody, David becomes confused about whether he may have deserved the treatment his mother gave him. Ms. Gold, on the other hand, assures him it had nothing to do with him, and that his mother is sick. |
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Athe trial, he is put into a home for the mentally challenged under the care of a woman he calls Aunt Mary. He does not fit in with the other children, he is quite active and disruptive due to being cut off from normal household living and behavior for so long. He soon receives a visit from his mother and brother. His mother asks how David was doing, calling him "The Boy", shocking Aunt Mary. While Aunt Mary answered a short phone call, his mother swears to David that she will get him back. His brother brought back David's bike, which was mistreated and broken. He is so distraught by the bike's condition that he cried for hours. He decides to fix the bike on his own. One day, he decides to ride his bike and go down his old road. His family sees him riding on the road, and contacts his foster family. He is punished, but it is nothing compared to his former treatment. |
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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 classroom on fire. The fire gets out of control, and David tries to stop it. His "friend" later tells the teacher that it was all David. As a result he is removed from his foster home, and sent to [[Juvenile Hall]]. He eventually is released, and is placed in multiple foster homes across California. |
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In his sophomore year of [[high school]], he is placed into a class for slow learners. He then decides that he is more interested in earning money than school, because 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]]. Surprisingly, his own mother knew the news and she congratulated him at his Air Force graduation. As he talked to his mother and began to cry, he then hopes that his mother will say the three special words that he has always wanted her to say. "I love you." It was not said and he believes she is just playing with his emotions, as he has longed for these three words for years. He believes that he wanted to see his mother but that was also not a good idea. He soon realizes that the mother's love that he has always been searching for was in the arms of his foster mother, Alice. The story ends with him beginning his career in the airforce so he can learn how to treat others. From then on it continues to the book [[A Man Named Dave]]. |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.davepelzer.com Dave Pelzer's Personal website] |
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* [http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=145 An interview with Dave Pelzer] |
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{{Dave Pelzer}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost Boy, The}} |
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[[Category:1997 books]] |
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[[Category:American autobiographies]] |
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[[sv:Pojken som inte fanns]] |
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Revision as of 16:46, 2 October 2012
- For other uses, see Lost Boys
_US_cover.jpg) | |
| Author | David Pelzer |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Health Communications, Inc. |
Publication date | 1997 |
| Publication place |  USA |
| Preceded by | A Child Called "It" |
| Followed by | A Man Named Dave |
The Lost Boy (1970) 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 psychologically abused by his obsessive mother.
The book discusses Pelzer's struggling 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 Boy is included as the second book in Dave Pelzer's compilation My Story.
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