Brian Posadas


                                              The Boy From the Basement By: Susan Shaw

Imagine being locked in the darkness, in the horrors of the basement. The spiders, webs, cold cement floors, it sure would be the most traumatizing thing of your life. Charlie, a boy the age of 12 had been experiencing this his whole life. He had an abusive father with a helpless mother. He is forced to scavenge for food and water when his father is sleeping. Lock-ins were a big obstacle for him and happened daily. This was all Charlie knew, resulting in him being brainwashed by his father, Charlie thought he deserved the punishment from his father, he was oblivious to the outside world and has a lot to learn. To be totally honest this book is one you should read. I would not recommend this to horribly sensitive people as it will give you a cringe and tear. It's a suspenseful read for sure! Always giving me an eager feeling to pick it up again and find out whats next. Definitely one reason for you to pick up this book for a read. Another factor that makes this book unique to me is it makes me really appreciate the blessings that I have. It gives you a sad, grieving feeling but also a sense of gracefulness, thanking God that I have amicable parents and not having to go through this nightmare of a life. The novel makes it unbelievable that a child can say "Father says i'll be bad if I read."(125) and having him confess "I don't know what November first means... What's school? I don't even know what school is."(58) It gives you a perspective, a hopeless, curious one about the thing we most cherish, life. This is the core reason to why I recommend this book to anybody looking for one to read. I'm sure that it wont be a decision to resent.