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A Child Called 'It'

Author: Dave Pelzer
Publisher: Orion
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

380 reviews
Sales Rank: 3086

Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.4 x 0.9

ISBN: 0752837508
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9780752837505
ASIN: 0752837508

Publication Date: January 4, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Publisher: OrionDate of Publication: 0000Binding: PaperbackCondition: Used - acceptable

Also Available In:

•	Hardcover - A Child Called It

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk Review
David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care but not to David, her son, whom she referred to as "an It". This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel,The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system.

Though it's a grim story, A Child Called "It" is very much in the tradition of Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and the many books in that upbeat series, whose author Pelzer thanks for helping get his book going. It's all about weathering adversity to find love and Pelzer is an expert witness.--Christine Buttery

Customer Reviews: Read 375 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I read one of the most horrific parts of this book on a train, and had to bite my tongue to stop myself from sobbing. The sort of aubse Dave went through doesn't bare thinking about. Don't read this book unless you're prepared for it to leave a perminant mark on you.

5 out of 5 stars

Traumatic July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I knew that this would be a traumatic read and subconsciously I have put off reading it. As it has been sitting on our bookshelves for a little over two years I decided I should not put it off for any longer.
It is very short and I read it in its entirety yesterday afternoon. Certainly not a book one reads for pleasure or relaxation. It is not a story just the horrendous facts of a little boys life from the ages of four to twelve. I squirmed in horror as I read this example of the truth being so much scarier than fiction.
Dave Pelzer's young life was a living hell with a Mother who physically and mentally tortured him. She was obviously a very disturbed woman but why was it that his brothers and his Father in particular, were unwilling or unable to stand up to her?
As this all happened over thirty years ago, one can only hope that nowadays such horrific cases of child abuse would never have gone for so long. I really cannot understand why it was so very difficult for the school to rescue David from this situation, which they did eventually. It seemed to take them an eternity to gather the facts they needed! Why oh why did this child not have the strength to take the help that was tentatively offered at various times and just refuse to go home. I believe it was because he was so very very scared that if he did so no one would believe him and he would have ended up a murder victim. It seems to me that against all odds Dave Pelzer showed amazing strength of spirit and survived.
At times it seems unreal and is certainly very disturbing, however child abuse is sadly a reality in our society and for that reason I am glad that I decided to read this account.
I will read the sequel `The Lost Boy' soon as it is also waiting on the bookshelves. It covers the period from age twelve to eighteen, when after his prayers were answered and he was rescued he became a foster child.

I gave this 5 stars not because it was a good book in the literary sense but because it is a bravely related memoir.

4 out of 5 stars

A horrific read... July 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I bought this book when it first came out and read it in one sitting. It is one of the few books to reduce me to tears in sympathy for the writer.

I thought it took a lot of courage for Dave Pelzer to write this book (and the ones after) as it's obviously not an easy thing to relive never mind write and share with the rest of society.

It is such a heart wrenching account of his childhood and it does make you think how his own mother could be so evil and the amount of child abuse that goes unspoken about as it's still kind of a taboo subject.

The events in this book are horrific and it's hard to believe how a little boy could fight and survive them.

Some of the other reviews of this book go on about the writing style and the editors not doing their job properly but does it need to be written perfectly as long as it gets his message across? As i said before it's not an easy thing to relive never mind write about so who cares if its not fantastically written, read the book for what it is, a terrifying account of child abuse and how one boy managed to get out of the situation and get on with his life no matter how hard it was at times.

2 out of 5 stars

Over-rated (yet we love because its 'horrific' and somewhat true June 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm going to get yelled at for this, but here goes.

Dave is a great, brave boy, who manages to endure some pretty awful things- but thats it. This 'book' is an autobiography of sorts- not a peice of writing. We can't forget that. We have to rate and review this book based on its merit as a novel/story. And it's ot very good. Ok, Ok so he went through a lot. I know that and I feel for him. But all this book really does is make you feel sock at how a boy is treated. As a novel, it's empty. The writing itself is not good, it has no storyline (just a bunch of stuff happening to him) etc.

I say again: I am not taking away what happened to him. I just think it's ridiculous that people regard this as an actual novel, when in fact in is an autobiography. One which, I may add, a lot of stuff in it that you can't possibly expect a 9 year old to remember in so much detail, no matter how traumatizing. So, as an autobiography; great, 4.5 stars. But as a novel? Pppppffftt.

Pretend for a moment it is not a true story (because that's the only reason people think its so good)- can you honestly say it was written with great talent and elegance? That it a had a captivating storyline that built tension at the right moments and it's beautifully written peices reflected inspiringly on the philosiphies of what was happening? No, you can't. Dave is not a good writer, or story-teller. The book is not real written, and if it were ficticious, people would say it was a weird rambling...thing.

I'm sorry to sound harsh- if was an autobiograohy and only that I would say it was great, though I would still argue that parts were 'added', empasized obviously. How can a nine year old remember what color clothes he was wearing the day 'this' happened, then 'that' the next day etc. Obviously for the sake the story he had to write it as such (ie try to be descriptive). But thats my point. It is obvious this was intended to be a biography based NOVEL/STORY, in which case when reviewing this NOVEL we should review it as one (forgetting its based on a true one). When you do that, its not good. Again I say it: I have a lot of respect for dave, and have the same views on him as everyone else- but this is a book, and as a book it's not very good.

So, basically, if you want to read about a lot of heart-wrenching stuff that makes you feel sick, do- it will help you leanr about child abuse and what can be done etc. And that's great. Raising awarness of child abuse is something this book has done wonderfully, and I cant take that away from it. If you want to learn abour dave/child abuse/sadism- this is the book for you. If you prefer to read well-written, intellectual, not over-rated pieces of literature, then stay clear of this book. It's over-rated, entirely on the bases that its a semi-true story, and just because its based on something real, doesnt make it a good book.

4 out of 5 stars

Great book, sad and compelling but too short June 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I really enjoyed this book although I did find it hard to read because of the abuse against a little boy. The reason I haven't given the book 5 stars is because I felt it was too short and left some unanswered questions at the end. The questions are answered in later books but I think that it could have been finished a little better.