The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer

The book I'm going to write about is titled The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family. The author of the book is David Pelzer. David wrote this book about his childhood. This story takes place in Daly City in 1997, after the previous book, A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive.

The book starts when David is nine years old, running away from home. David ended up at a nearby bar. Although the partons from the bar took care of him, they became worried and called the police. Shortly after the police came David was returned home to his abusive mother. Things started going downhill for David. He became involved with the wrong kind of company. All David really wanted was to hear his mother say "I love you" to him. Will he ever hear these words?

I thought this was a sad book. This book was also written very well. I would recommend this book to any one that loves a happy ending. You can purchase this book here: The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family .                                                                                                  

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

The book I’m going to tell you about is called The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. The main character is Charlie, who is obviously a “wallflower” as you can see by the title of the novel. The novel is based on Charlie writing numerous letters to an anonymous person that he does not personally know.


There are multiple literature, film, and music references in this novel, which are mentioned while Charlie are with his friends, by himself, or at school – from his teacher, Bill. The author of this novel, Chbosky, says that J.D. Salinger - author of The Catcher in the Rye – is one of his inspirations. This novel is also named in the story by Charlie’s teacher. Another title named is To Kill a Mockingbird, which is another popular novel. Chbosky’s hometown of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania is also where the story takes place. Chbosky is not only an American novelist, but also a screenwriter and film director.

The novel focuses on adolescence, struggles and experiences with drug use, and exploring sexual tendencies. Charlie is a freshman in high school, and really doesn’t have any friends since his best friend Michael committed suicide in the 8th grade. However, shortly after starting school, he becomes friends with a few seniors while attending a football game. He ends up developing a crush on one of his best friends, Sam. Sam is the sister of Patrick, who is Charlie’s other best friend. Patrick is a homosexual who is secretly dating someone that you definitely would not expect. They take him to his first party, where he gets high for the first time.

Throughout the time period of the story, Charlie’s character matures in different ways. As he struggles through difficult times and experiences multiple different things in his life, he begins to have a better outlook on life itself. His brother is away playing football at college, and he doesn’t have a very good relationship with his sister. His aunt was the closest person to him, but she passed away. As school is coming to an end, Charlie wants as much time with Patrick and Sam as possible.

I would highly recommend this novel to people of all ages, but mostly more of a teenage audience. Since the story is through a fifteen/sixteen year olds perspective, I would say it is more appealing to that generation. This is, honestly, one of my all time favorite novels. So, if you have not read it yet, go to a library or buy it here: The Perks of Being a Wallflower! I can almost guarantee you won’t want to put it down.