Book Reviews: A Brother's Journey and The Privilege of Youth

Hello friends,

Since I have a pile of books waiting to be read, I managed to finish two of them over three days. One of them is Richard B. Pelzer's A Brother's Journey, and the other is Dave Pelzer's The Privilege of Youth.

A Brother's Journey is written by Richard Pelzer, who is the brother of Dave Pelzer, whose book A Child Called It is one of the most widely read book. Dave's story of childhood abuse from his mother is a very harrowing experience for a reader to read about, and there came a time when Dave was eventually rescued and taken away to a foster home. When Dave was taken away, it was his younger brother, Richard, who became the next target for his mother's physical, verbal, emotional and phsychological abuse. Initially, it seems like as if the writer is trying to cash in on the success of his brother's book and make a buck for himself, but as I progressed into the book, I realized how this book is more of an apology/ asking for forgiveness from his brother Dave. It is definitely an interesting read, and certainly gave an insight into why Richard acted the way he did, contributing with his mother in torturing his brother in the basement. If you have read A Child Called It, then A Brother's Journey, will take you inside the mind of the brother who witnessed the abuse, and how he dealt with his guilt and overcoming it.

Dave Pelzer's book The Privilege of Youth is one book that I think all disgruntled teenagers should read. All teens go through a phase of being wanting to be adults. All teens seek acceptance from others. It is a difficult phase, all the more so for Dave himself who had to endure years of abuse, and then being shifted from different foster homes to different sets of foster parents. However, it is how he uses this time of being shifted around to seek opportunities to move on with his life. The Privilege of Youth primarily concerns with his relationship with Dan, a father figure role he developed with, and two of his friends, David and Paul.

Dave Pelzer's other books include The Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave, and Help Yourself. I love his work as its personal, and very helpful to me in my own life, especially Help Yourself.

I am almost finishing up Himalaya by Michael Palin. I have other books yet to be read:

1. Cell by Stephen King
2. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
3. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
4. Lisey's Story by Stephen King
5. For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Mansur