Think about your childhood. Imagine that you have no place that you can call home. No one is there to love or protect you. You have a family, but you exist for the sole purpose of being the object of your mother's abuse when she drinks too much. Again, imagine that you're rescued from your mother's abuse, but nothing is normal even after that. You don't know what normal is like; you only know that you would like very much to fit in and will do almost anything for that. Your daily emotional life consists of insecurity, tears, frustrations, and helplessness. You have to fight against prejudice, and stereotypes from other normal parents and kids, because you're now considered an F (foster)-child. An F-child, who had to move in and out of five different homes, your possessions consist of only a paper bag of old worn out clothes. Many consider foster children a troublesome bunch and not worthy of any kind of love because they do not belong to a family.

This was Dave Pelzer's life. This book describes his journey to finding himself, the challenges he faced, how he finally rose above it all, to not only make good in life, but also accomplish more than most others.

This book was written to make society realise the importance of the foster care system, social security, prejudice, and hurdles that foster children face. Not many of us know about foster kids, or have friends who are foster children. They seem to be a taboo subject, or a topic that people dont think very much about. David Pelzer is living proof of the problems and potential success of the system; and his book reminds us not to take the normal things in our lives for granted.

When reading his book, you will travel with him, and experience the many low points of his life. You will actually feel his anger, tears, fear, and frustrations. And eventually, you might even laugh out in triumph when he conquers his hurdles. But this book never lets you forget that these emotions that you experience, are only a small fraction of what foster children actually feel.

People, who have already read David Pelzers first book A Child Called It, would already have had a taste of the range of these emotions with him. They might feel a little disappointed with The Lost Boy. It is not as dramatic or shocking as his first book. Perhaps it is easier to feel shock and outrage for David when he was just a toddler. Although I still felt sympathy for teenaged Davids struggles, his story seems to have been written as a showcase for his personal battles to overcome his hurdles and achieve his goals. Knowledge, with age and experience has made him seem less of a helpless victim, as compared to this first book when he was just a toddler.

This is a true story, and is not meant to entertain. It is to make you realise or be reminded again, that there is more that all of us can do to make life richer and fulfilling for others.

A definite must for self-inspiration, and self-reflection on life itself.