A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive

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Summary: "WORST STORY I EVER READ"
Review: This man has something against his parents. The only way he can get back at them is to write a book full of lies and untruths just like Roseanne Barr. Save your money.

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Summary: Definitely one of the most inspirational books I've read
Review: David Pelzer is a very strong and encouraging individual to all of us. He has both the motivation and the will power to continue, no matter what the trouble he is in. "A Child Called 'It'" is a touching book which informs others of the millions of abuse cases which exist today. It teaches you, but, most importantly, it helps you to discover yourself and all that you have.

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Summary: I have reopened a wound
Review: I am saddened and emotionally exhausted after reading this book in one sitting. After reading far into the wee hours of the morning, I lay awake scared, just as David must have done on that army cot in the cold basement. I feel six again and relive the hatred and pain. I acknowledge the blows, just as David did and his will to outsmart his attacker. I am no longer an adult, I am still that small hurting child. David..how did you overcome this? Now that I am ready to try..you must let us know..for the sake of another generation..let us know how to heal. God bless.

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Summary: Dave Pelzer is to be admired for living to share his story
Review: As a teacher for 18 years, and a previous ward of the state at the age of 15-I relived an old pain-apathy on the part of our educational system and on the part of DES-CPS in this country. I admire David for seemingly able to rise above it all. As a new, yet unemployed professor specializing in preparing new teachers, David's story has left an imprint on a way I too may make a difference. Including his book and additional information on 'the system' will be a must in any classes I teach. I would like to have information available in the prologue about the following? 1. The CA CPS laws that existed during the 70's. 2. Account for the school not doing something in 1st grade-twice 3. Account for the father/mother after being taken out of the home. 4. What happened to siblings? NPR should also be contacted to provide a rewiew of the book and have a discussion on this topic. I admire David and have begun to look back at my own childhood attempting to one more time to 'let go' Thank you

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Summary: Excellent from page 1, couldn't put it down until finished!
Review: This is a book that explains in detail the abuse that 1 child out of 5 suffered at the hands of the person who should have most protected him in the world. It left me with a feeling of guilt, sorrow, shame, disgust, and anger. I felt all of those emotions because i'm wondering have I come in contact with any David's of the world and not noticed, or for reason's unkown didn't want to acknowledge. I would like to think that I have a 6th sense about these types of situations but one never knows, someone you see everyday could be living a nightmare right before your very eyes and you just might not know it. Shaheedah El-Amin ([e-mail]), Atlanta, Georgia

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Summary: News Update!
Review: 11/7/97 -- A CHILD CALLED "IT" is currently a New York Times Bestseller! A sincere THANK YOU to everyone who read this book and helped spread the very important message of Pelzer's life! (You may also want to check out the new sequel, THE LOST BOY, released August, 1997.)

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Summary: I could not put it down!
Review: When reading the story of little David, I was many times moved to tears yet I still could not put it down. Other times, I thought I would be physically ill, yet I could not put it down. The remarkable inner strength this child had is almost beyond belief. I had a very hard time sleeping the night I read the book (in one sitting) I kept seeing this little boy so scared and so alone. I had to keep remembering that he got out alive and is helping other abused children. The only thing I was disappointed about was the book didn't explain why a mother would just change and why she focused on one child, not all of them. Also, what kind of father allows his wife to treat his child that way. In my mind, he is just as guilty. May God Bless You David! I am very much looking forward to reading THE LOST BOY and finding out how David coped after leaving that house of horrors.

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Summary: A true story of David Pelzer's life
Review: Dave Pelzer spoke to the members of the National Exchange Club at their national convention in 1996. He retold many of the stories in his book detailing his life with an abusive mother, weak father, and a school system that knew what was happening and did not stop it for many years. Thanks to 3 special people at school who lost their jobs since they reported the abuse, Mr. Pelzer is alive today to tell how he survived. As unbelivable as the story may be, although true, it is a shock to know that the mother went to her grave without ever being punished! A very quick reading book

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Summary: Inspirational story of growing up in a black & blue world
Review: The horrors that David Pelzer suffered at the hands of his mother is phenomenol. From the book we learn that one day David's mother turned from doting mother to fiendish villain who beat her son, poisoned him, let him eat things that a hound wouldn't even touch. This story is about a boy who survived despite the attempts to take his life. Although the abuse is absolutely horrific, it still doesn't state why the mother turned on him and him alone. Why did she not reign her terror on her other four boys? What made David such a "bad boy" and an "it?" There are many unanswered questions to the story, but ends in triumph with his dignity still intact.

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Summary: A Child Called It
Review: â''A Child Called Itâ'' is a heart-wrenching novel about astounding perseverance and the willpower one boy had to survive. This true story accurately depicts the harsh Brutality of David Pelzerâ''s life from the ages of 4-12. In this book Davidâ''s Mother is an Alcoholic, who brainwashes him into believing he is â''bad boyâ''. He is both physically and emotionally abused; forced to sleep in the cold, dark basement of â''the familyâ'', and is starved almost to death for pleasure. He canâ''t sneak food either because he is forced everyday after school to vomit whatever he may have eaten. His mother is also always thinking up some new, torturous â''gameâ'' for them to play, like drinking ammonia or a game of â''grab and stabâ''. Yes, stab! His three other brothers are left untouched by theirs motherâ''s wrath, all and his father stands on the sidelines like a cowardly dog, as his son is beat murderously. David and his mother indeed share a very secret relationship. A relationship filled with hatred. All of motherâ''s frustration is taken out on him, and I could barely take the loneliness and the need to be someone, anyone, he felt. He had no family. He was all alone. NO ONE would want to experience the struggles he was faced with, and I mean no one! and no little boy should be treated in such a bitchy way. The life of David Pelzer has taught me to be grateful for my life, and thankful I have never had to walk a mile in his shoes. However, it has also taught me never to give up, and to keep fighting. To live, and to live life to the fullest. From the start to the finish of this wonderful book my tears were glued to the page, and yours will be too.