Rating: 
Summary: Survivor
Review: A Child called It by Dave Pelzer was a really interesting book. It is about a little boy, David, who was always beaten by his mother. His brothers would always tease him and his father practically left him all the time. David would go to school every morning and he would have to go straight to the nurse's office because they had to make sure he didn't have any new marks from his mother. David had to do all of the chores and NOBODY was able to help him. If he didn't get done with all of the chores he was beaten until his mother gave up on hitting him. David's father was never there for him through all the bad times and if he was then he was getting drunk with his mother. The only thing he was able to eat was his brother's leftovers. The I felt terrible while reading this book because I would hate to be David. The only thing that he ever did was get beaten and do all of the chores. I recommend this book to everybody so that they will see everything that David had to go through. A Child Called It has a really important meaning to it. Always believe in your insides even through the toughest times. --Tommie
Rating:
Summary: A Child Called it
Review: I would give this book 10 stars if I could. Reading this book has actually changed the way I think about life. Never take anything for granted. Dave had such a hard life and reading his story makes me think how grateful I am to have loving parents. I would love to meet Dave just to tell him how highly I think of him. I would treat him like I would treat the president if I were to meet him. I think Dave is a really strong person and going through what he went through must be so hard for him, but he carries himself very well. Going around the world and helping others makes a big difference in their lives. If you could read this Dave I just want to tell you your a great person and you deserve the world.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read
Review: This book was a real page turner. I could not put this book down until I finished it. I read the whole book in a single day. It is hard to believe that any mother could hate her child so much. I am a new foster parent and felt this book might give me an idea of what a child may have had to go through so that I could better help them. I was blown away at how well written this book was. I recommend anyone wanting to be or already a foster parent should read this book. This is a brave young boy and all I wanted to do was pull David out of the book and give him a big hug and let him know I was there for him. A MUST read book!
Rating:
Summary: A real tearjerker...
Review: Dave begins life with a good mom and a dad that he considers his hero. Suddenly, for reasons unknown things take a turn for the worst and his once loving mom becomes a crazy, abusive mom. Dave has to try to survive the horrendous abuse he receives from his mom. With the daily fight he has with his mom we wonder how much longer he will survive. Finally, Dave's school teachers save him and it seems that life will get better.
Dave is a public-speaker, author, adn a survivor of child abuse. As an adult he wrote a trilogy of his life. Dave married, got divorced and married again. He has a son with his first wife. Dave has received many awards since about 1990. While writing his books he traveled the country speaking against child abuse. Also, he worked as a counselor and a youth service worker, among doing other things. This man has done a lot throughout his life.
I really enjoyed this book. This was one of those books that you really couldn't put down. It was sad, but you have to think that Dave lived this life and its so unreal. The book made me wonder why would a mom do this to her own son. My question went unanswered. Although it was a really sad book and it was crazy that this really happened to someone it makes you realize how many problems we do have in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: I work with children in a Psychiatric Hospital and I have never really had an insight to abuse-victims lives. When this Hero wrote this book, he completely brought everything inside of himself. It is so difficult to express yourself completely when you go through such pain, because the self wants to hide and forget that those things ever happened. Dave Pelzer is an Emotional Giant and truly has the gift of words. You can't help but feel a overwhelming sense of Empathy. This book has truly changed me. It has changed my awareness of these Children forever. Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: Kate's review
Review: This book was a very sad book. To read this book and know every single detail about this kids life really gets to you. It actually gave me goose bumps all over my body to know that parents could do such a horible thing to their child. It really disguisted me to know that, that it actually happened. But later on it started to get a lot better and he actually lived to tell his story. And he even wrote more than just one book about his life and the horrific events that took place in his life.
Rating:
Summary: A Poignant Story About a Child's Struggle to Survive
Review: This book tells the story of David Pelzer, a victim of California's third worst case of child abuse. The book, written by David himself, chronicles his life as a terrified young child growing up with an abusive, alcoholic mother and a spineless father who simply turned away when the abuse started. Over the course of several years, young David was forced to endure abuse that is almost impossible to comprehend. He never received regular meals, he was forced to sleep in the garage which would got very cold at night, his drunken mother tried to force him to lie down on a lit stove, he was stabbed in the abdomen, yet his mother refused to take him to the hospital for medical care. He was simply sent back to his worn-out army cot in the basement. Soon, David turned to stealing food from other children at school. This worked for a while, but word soon got back to his mother, who beat him severely for his stealing. The abuse suffered by David was not just physical; it was emotional and verbal as well. David's mother soon quit referring to him by his name. He soon became "the boy", and finally "it". He was never allowed any interaction with the rest of his family. He simply remained in his own little world while the rest of the family ate their meals and did other family things. David was then forced to clean up after the family's meals within a specified time or he would receive another beating from mother. If he made it, sometimes he was "rewarded" with a few left-over scraps from the dirty plates. This type of abuse continued for years. The only thing that kept David going was his desire for someone to love him, take care of him, and call him their son. I cried several times while reading this book. I immediately thought of my own son while reading and how much I love him. It is incomprehensible to me how anyone could possibly harm a young, defenseless child. This book rates as one of the best I've ever read. As a father of two young children with another on the way, I simply cannot comprehend how someone could abuse their own children so severely. Granted, David's mother and father both had severe drinking problems, but that is no excuse for abuse. Also, why was David singled out? None of the other children were ever abused. David deserves tremendous credit for surviving for so long. Without his strong courage and desire to live, he probably would have ended up dead. All children are a blessing. Parents should be thankful for their children and love them unconditionally. They are gifts from God.
Rating:
Summary: Transparency Of Darkness
Review: David Pelzer takes you on an endless journey of a family that was once seemingly normal, which suddenly turned bleak and hostile. Based on an autobiographical depiction, the book runs intense with emotion, penetrating the hearts of those who possess the courage to read it. With ingenious chronological order, as well as powerful imagery: we are taken to the darkened realm in the life of a young, grieving soul of an abused child. Furthermore, the reader feels mystified, afflicted, sorrowful, and triumphant. The sentences pour unto the psyche, never to be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Amazing
Review: Tonight I went to Barns and Noble with Gong. Gong found a book about Thailand and read that for a while. I on the other hand found myself drawn to another one of Dave Pelzer's unbelievable books. I read the first 3 chapter when I was still at the book store. As I was leaving I decided to purchase the book. I could NOT put this book down and hours later finished it. In the course of reading 'The Boy called It' I had so many emotions running through my veins it almost made me feel down right ill. This book details many if not all of the accounts of child abuse Dave underwent as a child. David Pelzer is a man of great determination and will. His views on life are amazing and worth while for anyone's eyes to read. As a child David was mercilessly abused. Over the course of those many years he was abused, his passiveness, frustration, and eventually his hate, all worked to his advantage. He was able to fuel his ambition from all the negative experiences that occurred in his life. His determination and self will to better himself and not repeat his mothers mistakes is absolutely breath taking. For those of you who think you have, or have had a rough life, have no idea what a rough life is until you read this book. If you are willing to subject yourself to roughly 180 pages of packed abuse and true life accounts I recommend reading it. I've been asked by some, 'Why would you want to read something like that?' My honest answer is, I don't know. But the truth of the matter is, that this one person, this one being, experienced more pain than you can ever imagine. For him to make something of his life and become a successful husband, father, and public speaker is almost unfathomable. He now dedicates his time to helping others overcome many of the same obstacles he faced on his path to a better life. If I could shake one person's hand, it would be David Pelzer's.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I loved this book! I read it in four days! I hope to read more about Dave Pelzer. My Dad was a little concerned about the Language and thought I should stop reading it. He read a little about the book and thought it would teach me a lesson. I have read books on abuse and slaves I don't believe in slaves and would never abuse my child. This heart warming story would change the perspectives on everyone's mind. Abuse for me or my children NO WAY!
| 
