Inspiration

I have not read anything since I finished The Lost Boy because I’ve been really busy. But I had some more things to say about The Lost Boy so I guess I’ll write about that.

I always knew I wanted a career in mental health care so I attended a health career expo last week and everything I learned got me thinking about what happened to David Pelzer. I then knew I wanted to work with children. I asked a social worker at the expo about the demand for workers in adoption agencies. He explained that they weren’t very high and it would be extremely hard to get a good job in one.

That night I finished The Lost Boy and I had made my choice. I wanted to work with foster children. These jobs are always in demand because of the stereotypes people believe against foster children (i.e. they are not wanted because they are bad kids. Which we know is not true from Dave). These kids need someone they can rely on and know that they will always be there for them. I want to be that person.

If Dave Pelzer could help me make a huge decision like this, I imagine he has helped many more with his story. Thanks Dave :)

The Lost Boy concluded

Well I finished The Lost Boy the other night and it wasn’t quite as interesting as the first book but it was still a good read. I think this is mostly just because it’s a subject that I find very interesting but also don’t know much about. The fact that it’s a real story really helped me get into the book too.

This one wasn’t as much about child abuse as it was about the life of a foster child. I never really thought about it much so I definitely didn’t realize how judgmental people are about foster children! They just assume that the child’s parents don’t want the kid because they’re bad but in this book probably more than half the foster children Dave meets aren’t bad at all but simply not wanted. Obviously this part made me really upset and curious as to why some people aren’t more open minded. However The Lost Boy had parts that made up for some of the bad things. Dave goes through five foster families and every single one is so excepting of him.

Sometimes in between foster homes Dave had nowhere to go besides “The Hill” which is a juvenile detention centre for children who misbehave too much but Dave had to go there just because there was such a shortage of foster homes. I did some research on why this is and I guess the people who actually have the heart to be a foster parent simply can’t afford it or don’t have the time.

But you don’t necessarily have to open a foster home to help children. Go to this website: http://plancanada.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=265&gclid=CNftmOKsp6ACFWV75QodJWHXbQ and you’ll see what I mean. After reading this book and going through Dave’s horrid childhood with him, this website really gave me hope that people are trying to help.

The book ended with another flash forward just like the first book so of course I know that he eventually has a very happy life with his son, Stephan (named after his father I assume). But I am EXTREMELY curious about what happened to Stephan’s mother. I wonder if she maybe abused Stephan too and Dave rescued him? Well I guess I’ll just have to read A Man Called Dave to find out.

The Lost Boy

I started reading a book of my own at home once I finished A Child Called “It”, but I still had David Pelzer on my mind and was unable to get into the book so I waited until Mrs. Kulyk got me The Lost Boy, the sequel to A Child Called “It”.
I thought, as many people probably did, that David’s story ended once he escaped from his abusive mother but just by reading the back of this book I found out how wrong I was. Even without his mother in his life anymore Dave still faced more struggles than many other children could even imagine. The Lost Boy follows David through his life as foster child, being moved from home to home and never really feeling like he has a family or place to call home.
I just started reading it today but I’m already on page 99 and have only put it down to write this blog. It’s extremely captivating with a story that cannot leave a reader untouched. I’m not quite halfway through the book yet so I don’t yet have the whole struggle he went through but the fact that he had the courage to stand up in court to his mother leads me to predict that David will eventually find his right path and live a happy life.
Well that’s all I can really say for now but as I continue through this book I’ll keep posting my thoughts.

A Child Called "It"

I started A Child Called “It” (Click link for summary and review) by Dave Pelzer on February 8, 2010 and I finished reading it on February 8, 2010. So to sum it up: this book was INCREDIBLE. It was impossible not to be completely changed after reading just the first chapter. Even though I have no personal experience with child abuse I still found myself easily relating to Dave just by hearing his story. Dave Pelzer creates such a picture with his words that I just wanted to run to that little boy and help him! The book starts out with him escaping then the rest is flashbacks of his childhood so the whole time I was very eager to get to the end and find out how he gets away. I had a few ideas of the stuff he went through by hearing stories of people who had already read it but there was no way to predict the horror that that boy went through!

Boy, girl, adult or teenager; I think almost anyone could read this book and relate to it because it’s so full of real issues going on all around us that most people are completely unaware of.

This might not have been the author’s intention in the first place but I think that by having the courage to get his story out there, he may have helped many abused children. Whether it was just letting them know to never give hope or even teaching neighbors, teachers or relatives the signs of an abused child; I think David Pelzer may have saved some lives. I very much look forward to reading The Lost Boy and A man named "Dave".

But these are just my opinions… What do YOU think???

My Choices

I borrowed three books from the library yesterday on our trip. First I found a book called All we know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Matchard which was lying on the table the librarian had set out for us. I first picked it up because it had an interesting cover. Once I read the back I decided to give it a try. Then the librarian suggested another book called Innercity Girl Like Me by Sabrina Bernardo. She told us a little about it and I raced to grab it before Jessica could (haha Jessica!). Since I have a whole shelf of books to read at home I decided I should just stick with two books. As I sat at a table to look over my finds I saw a book someone dicarded on the table. I can’t recall the title but the author was Dave Pelzer. I knew I recognized the name so I went on one of the available computers and typed in his name. The title A Child Called “It” popped up and I immediately raced to find the book! I have several friends who’ve read this book with nothing to say about it but amazing compliments. I read the first page and was immediately hooked! Needless to say I read that one first.

Welcome!

Welcome to Casie's blog! I'm making this blog for my English 20 class so most of it will about books :S well have fun!