The Boy From the Basement

From Guest Author, E.K.

I usually don't like memoirs, but this specific one, The Boy From The Basement, got me interested. A boy named Charlie had a father who forced him to live in their basement. Charlie thinks he deserves to be in the basement because he did something wrong. The only time he comes up from the basement is at night when his father is asleep to sneak food and get a drink from the sink faucet. 

Charlie never saw things that were outside of the basement. He never had a chance to know what it felt like to go to school. He never had the family that he wanted, like the families that spend holidays with each other. He never got to see animals in wild. It must have been hard that he could not see things that other people can.

There’s a spider that Charlie imagines in the basement. When Charlie sees that spider in the corner he feels that it represents his father. When his father is on his mind the spider appears back in the corner. He feels that no matter what he’s doing his father is always watching him. Charlie thinks he’s not independent.

I can relate to the main character. The main character and I went through similar struggles when we were little. He didn't get enough food when he was living in the basement. The people in the orphanage did not provide enough food for me to eat. I feel that both of us were treated like homeless people. They did not give us the same respect as another family would give to their children. He would sleep on an old, moldy mattress that his father threw down the basement for him to use. What they did for me was put me in any ancient crib that would collapse any moment. 

As I read the book, I was curious about how the boy handled his problems. I wanted to know how he was treated by his father. I wanted to know if he eventually gained his freedom. This book answered those questions.

I would definitely recommend this book to young readers who might have had the same struggles as Charlie. If you like the Pelzer books about survival, this is in the same genre. This book can make you aware of the problems that some children are facing today.