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

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and inspirational
Review: Never before has a book moved me so deeply. I finish most books within 1-2 weeks, but this was so compelling I finished it in one night... Dave Pelzer vividly recaptures the tale of his abuse in a matter-of-fact fashion, which is effective because the book never turns into melodrama. However, he describes his feelings of bitterness and hatred in equal detail.
This makes it all the more astonishing to see a very different David at the end of the book; we see his transition from an unhappy, tortured child to an emotionally strong and successful adult who harbours no bitterness towards his mother, or indeed any of his perpetrators. The book was so vivid that I felt just as much hatred towards his mother as he must have done when he was a child. I couldn't stop crying. Almost everyone has experienced some kind of bullying/abuse at some point, which is why so many people can empathise with this book.

Rating:
Summary: I sometimes wonder
Review: I did not read Dave's book until after I finished writing my own book, (Orphan, A True Story Of Abandonment, Abuse and Redemption, by Roger Dean Kiser)The horrible abuse that we orphan children suffered at the hands of the State of Florida, while living at the Children's Home Society in Jacksonville, was some of the worst abuse that I had ever known. After reading Dave's book it really hurt me to know that a parent could treat their child in such a manner. I suppose the part that hurt me the most is that we orphans, after being hung, burnt, beaten, slapped, kicked and molested for years, and years finally excepted that type of treatment as just "being normal". The orphanage had convinced us that no one really loved us anyway. So we just got use to that type of treatment. But to have a parent who is supposed to love you and then treat you in the manner that Dave was treated. That must hurt even more. If that is even possible.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: This book is so great, the author draws you into his position and makes you want to read page after page (I read it in 3 days). He provides great detail and specifics about how he was treated by his mother. He describes how he felt making you feel as if though you are sitting right inside his head. When I read it I felt as if I would cry one minute and smile the next. This book puts you on the rollercoaster that was his life never knowing what to expect next.

Rating:
Summary: Speechless
Review: I have currently just finished the third book by Dave and "Speechless" is all I can say in the first book I cannot explain the feelings of anger I had inside it really made me realise that this sort of thing really happens and for somebody to explain all the torture and torment he went through as a child makes you wonder will other people come out and tell their stories? I was delighted when I finished "A man named Dave" he is well and truly happy with his son Stephen and his new wife! He deserves nothing better than a happy life and a content future! All I can say is Keep going you are a inspiration to people all over the world.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT KIND OF MOTHER?!?
Review: I WANTED TO READ THIS BOOK SO BAD, SO WHEN I FINALLY GOT A HOLD OF IT I JUST COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. TO THINK THAT A MOTHER COULD DO THAT TO HER OWN CHILD, YOU JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS, BUT THEN YOU DON'T, BECAUSE ITS JUST SO AWFUL. NOBODY THAT I KNOW OF HAS A MOTHER LIKE THAT, AND I'M THANKFUL THAT I DON'T, USUALLY ITS THE FATHER BEATING THE CHILD. AND WITH MOTHERS USUALLY THEY WANT TO STOP IT, OR THEY LEAVE THEIR HUSBANDS WITH THEIR CHILDREN, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS LITTLE BOY'S FATHER DIDN'T JUST TAKE OFF WITH THE KIDS. THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY, AND THROUGH THE WHOLE BOOK THAT IS ALL THAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. THIS BOOK IS VERY MOVING, AND IT WILL HURT INSIDE, BUT READ THE SEQUAL AND IT WILL BE AWESOME!

Rating:
Summary: The Child Called It
Review: The book is based on a true story, it has a lot of action in it. It's a story about a little boys life, and he tells the story when he gets older. The boys life is really messed up from his mother beaten him and torturing him, until it almost killed him.
Well, thats what Dave Pelzer went through wit his family in the book The Child Called It.
In the book, Dave is a young innocent little boy. He has teo brothers and they could do anything that they want and when they want. Dave got tortured so much he didn't even get to eat, his mother would make him starve for days. After not eating for days, he would steal from the kids at school, stores, and the neighbors. Later his mother starts to figure out that he has been stealing food, She starts to make him vomit to see if he has been eating. If he was eating he got punished and you know what that means, his mom was down right cruel to him. She's the kind of person you would not want to lwave your kids with or even let her have her own kids!!
My favorite part of the book is when he gose to school, and he is away from his mother, and away from the beatings. And the end of the book when the cop brings him out of the city limits and away from his mother to a foster home where he will be safe and free to be able to do things that he wants to do.
I really like this book, I recommend that you read this book, because it is a fast read. It's one of the first books that I actually sat down and read. It is a very interesting book to read, I suggest you read it, if you haven't already.

Rating:
Summary: A child called "it",a touching story
Review: Life can be very confusing,especially for David. When his life first started his mother loved and cared for him. She reffered to him as David but then she became cold towards him. She was nice to his other brothers but she then began to refer to him as the boy,then he became "it". David slept on an army cot,he rarley got fed,he always wore the same rags,and he was beaten. His mother even stabbed him once.As time progresses people become suspicous.Will David escape this brutal life of will he continue to life in this unfit home.Find out in The boy called "it".

Rating:
Summary: so sad. . .
Review: I couldn't believe that i was reading a true story... it came off to me like a vivid-nightmare of someone with a wild imagination... it was so sad... i often found myself crying. i have a much greater appreciation for the life i live... which i often thought unbearable --- NOT ANYMORE--- I applaud mr.David Pelzer for sharing that part of his life with the world...

Rating:
Summary: A CHILD CALLED "IT"
Review: A CHILD CALLED"IT"
Is A book about A child who is aboused by his mother and gets put in several foster homes. I choose this book becuase it's A ture story and I like to read ture storys. What I think was the best thing about this book was that he was able to write about what had happend what was the worst thing that happend was that its y ture and how his mother treated him.I think the intended audiance is 12 and up. I think the aurthor wanted people that would understand the meaning of the book. I've learnd that everybody doesnt get what they diserve, this will help me in the furter by knowing that I need to treat everybody the same even if they dont have the stuff you have becuase you never know that you could turne out the way... YES I would recommend this book to A friend if she was in to that kind of stuff or maybe she knew somebody that was going through the same thing.

Rating:
Summary: Utterly dire! A moving story crippled by atrocious writing.
Review: This was an appalling book to struggle through. Not because of the story, which is moving enough, but because of the appalling writing, layout and editing of the text.

The publishers should be hanging their heads in shame. The strength of the underlying drama only just overcomes the presentation. Such an important story deserves to be well-documented. It wasn't. The back-and-forth timeline, the poor grammar and the inconsistent use of tense made this book all but unreadable for me.