foxrain reviewed The lost boy by David J. Pelzer
None
2 stars
This book wasn't as good as the first part. The sense of justice I sought from the trial scene came in the very beginning, and after that, it was okay.
The part after the ending of the book – Perspectives on Foster Care – ruined the book, though. Things were presented from a very narrow viewpoint that took this one person's experiences and, based on them, presented very generalised statements. Police officers are heroes who shouldn't even be called "cops", let alone "pigs", because they save abused children. (I'm sure they sometimes do, but that's not all they do.) The System works, and people who criticise it just don't understand how many kids get a new beginning in the foster care system. (Sure, but what about all the kids the system can't help?) Pelzer is acclaimed as the outstanding foster child who pulled himself up by his boot straps, joined …
This book wasn't as good as the first part. The sense of justice I sought from the trial scene came in the very beginning, and after that, it was okay.
The part after the ending of the book – Perspectives on Foster Care – ruined the book, though. Things were presented from a very narrow viewpoint that took this one person's experiences and, based on them, presented very generalised statements. Police officers are heroes who shouldn't even be called "cops", let alone "pigs", because they save abused children. (I'm sure they sometimes do, but that's not all they do.) The System works, and people who criticise it just don't understand how many kids get a new beginning in the foster care system. (Sure, but what about all the kids the system can't help?) Pelzer is acclaimed as the outstanding foster child who pulled himself up by his boot straps, joined the military and is an all-around proper citizen now. I got the feeling that this implied that all the foster children who cannot escape their past and struggle in their later life are just not trying hard enough. Even if this was not the implication, there was no critical discussion of other types of stories and outcomes. Once again, the winner narrative is the one that gets to be told. What a shitty ending to a mediocre book.
