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

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Summary: A disturbing look at child abuse.
Review: This is an absolute must read book. It will open your eyes to a world most people do not know to exist, a world you will probably not want to know about. It is the easiest and most difficult book you will ever read.

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Summary: What the book mean't to me
Review: This would have to be the best book I have ever read. Althought the book was very disturbing it was an excellent read. It was a real eye opener as far as what goes on behind closed doors. I found it unbelievable that David J Pelzer managed to survive when his own family gave up on me. I loved the book and recommended it to many of my friends that also enjoyed. I look forward to reading the seqeals. The best book I.ve ever read!!

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Summary: What a Powerful Book
Review: This book is good. I have the entire trilogy plus the self-help book, Help Yourself. Dave Pelzer nearly died at the hands of his mother. His case was one of the worst cases of child abuse ever in the state of California.

Dave's mother was the complete opposite of what a mother should be. The Mother, as Dave refers to her in the book, starves him for days on end. She forced him into a closed bathroom with amonia. At one point, she stabs him in the stomach. His mother refuses to take him to the hospital. He was forced to live in the garage. He wore the same clothes for years. His classmates teased him because of his appearance. Eventually, some staff members and a teacher rescued him from his mother.

How Dave survived is a miracle!

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Summary: Best Book I've Read In A While!
Review: In my mind this book is the best i have ever read. I became one with the main character. I was an abused child also and to read this book I could "feel" the pain. crying was done while reading through the pages. Not to spoil anything for anyone but this book is really the story of a triumphant man. I have also read the second and third part to this book. ( A lost boy, and A man named Dave) and to hear the way this Man comes out I just feel like I'm proud of him. Although I've never met the man I feel as though I already have. I give this book a rating of 5 stars and there is no doubt in my mind that if one can read this book and not feel any type of feelings at all. It's just ridiculous.

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Summary: So Sad a story
Review: I can't begin to put into words how I feel right now. Totally spooked/angry/confused are just some of the emotions I feel. Davids story is the most upsetting but compelling story I have ever read. How he manages to come through all this horrific abuse is unbelievable. He is a truly compassionate man. The mother in me just wants to hug him and tell him that there is hope in the world and that somewhere here is another life, one that is good and kind and loving. I can't wait to read the sequal to find out how the next few years of his life turn out and what if anything has happened to the rest of his family.

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Summary: something happened - but what?
Review: if your reading this review you have either already read this book and want to find out if i thought it was as brilliant as you did, OR you have heard about this book and want to make sure its as good as everyone says it is (if it was otherwise, you would have seen the five stars above the review and gone swiftly ahead until you find a review with fewer stars - keep looking...)
so ill tell you what you want to hear... it is brilliant. its impossible not to recognise the strength and courage of so young a child. people have their sucpicions that pelzer has built his story entirely on retrospect and therefore none of the childs emotions are accurate, they are constructed by pelzer to fill in the gaps.
but im afraid the general reader doesnt care much about such things, what difference does it make whether the story was real or constructed, the same emotions would be released by the reader... anger, pity, shock, love, frustration, etc. the reader would still sigh at every torture that the child went through, and the same "dear god" and "jeezus" would be mouthed countless times throughout the book.
people have advised that this book is not for the faint hearted, i disagree, this book was designed to strengthen hearts, david pelzer teaches you to strengthen the heart and mind.
very emotive, very good

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Summary: A Very Powerful Read
Review: Readers of this book have labelled it as depressing, and I agree; it is terrifying to know that this brutal treatment exists in our seemingly civilised society. I found it unbelievable that a human being, namely David's mother, could be capable of inflicting such torture and find such satisfaction in it. David has written about his mistreatment in a factual manner, and although this has been criticised by some reviewers who say the book lacks any emotional depth, I find that this factual approach is effective as it presents the reader with a shockingly detailed account of his mother's behaviour. The book is depressing, but the author's decision to mix up the time scale, beginning the book with his escape to freedom, reassures us that despite all this despair there is a happy ending, as we have already been told of it.

Overall, the book evoked feelings of intense anger in me. These feelings were directed towards his mother, but also towards his father who failed to help David and allowed his wife to continue torturing him. I think the saddest moment of the book is when David is stabbed by his mother, only to be told by his father to carry on with the dishes so not to upset his mother any further. The author does not tell us what happened to his parents, whether they were sent to prison, but I would have been interested in knowing their punishment. Furthermore, I do not doubt that this story is a true account of David Pelzer's childhood, yet I find it hard to understand why it took so long for David to be rescued. I also wondered why David never made the decision to run away from home.

I admire the author for having the courage to retell this harrowing story of his childhood, as it must have been incredibly painful. I also admire him for using his experiences to benefit other victims, showing that child abuse is a reality, and that more help must be given to help those who are affected. David's story is remarkable in the sense that he survived the impossible, and managed to put the past behind him, living the rest of his life to the full. This book is a real eye-opener. I found it very powerful, and suggest that you read it. I will definitely be reading David Pelzer's other books which follow on from 'A Child Called It', to read further about how he overcame his unfortunate experiences.

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Summary: very good
Review: i thought this book was wonderful, i was realy touch and i even got my mother to read and i must say she is not a fan of reading, but if i got her to enjoy it, this book must be good, i even got her to read the sequel so i am telling you to go get this book, its a keeper

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Summary: A Child Called It Review
Review: I don't like to read books too much, but for my summer reading we were required to read a book. I picked A Child Called It and it was the best book I've ever read. It really reaches out to you and touches you on the inside and out. I would read it over and over again and again. You would never imagine what a child can go through, until you read this book. You feel like you are actually there, the way that David Pelzer tells the story. The best part is that this book is an autobiography so you know theres no lies or fiction in it. If you read this book, you will understand what I am talking about. I'd say that the age range to read this book is about 14 and up. Thanks!

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Summary: Horrible abuse...but massive denial still persists
Review: 'It's two stars go to the first chunk of the book, in which the factual portrayal of abuse against the boy took place. He amazingly remembered a lot of it, to his credit, and it was horrific! As far as I was concerned, however, the rest of the book was junk.

Book's weak points:

1) 'the third worst case of child abuse in the state of California' ' pure grandiosity! Yes, that boy went through living hell, but c'mon, who's rating?

2) His idea that he's so completely turned his life around, worked through his abuse, and is now living a purely positive life ' gimme a break!?! I didn't feel he really worked through his abuse all that much. What I did feel was that he walled off all his feelings around the abuse and simply moved on with his life, put his abuse past him. Only in that way, I believe, could he have written such an emotionally dead story of his own abuse. This book lacked feeling! It was more like he was just retelling what happened on a surface level'but not on an emotional level within.

3) And the tell-all: supposedly the author has really worked through his abuse, but I don't feel he's broken the abuse cycle at all, with the dead giveaway for me being what he did with his adult life: joined the Air Force, and 'played a major role' in Desert Storm, joining in the slaughter and destruction of Iraq, a great way for an out-of-touch person to act out the anger and hostility for one's own deeply buried (but still perfectly alive) emotional wounds of childhood. Incidentally, didn't the U.S. destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and economy (surely in part by Air Force bombing) leave something like a million or two Iraqi children destitute'sounds like abuse to me! (perhaps even worse than the Third Worst Case In California') And yet, does Dave Pelzer speak against that? No, he brags about his 'unique' accomplishments!