A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...to intervene to protect him, a 5th Grade student. Following a weekly inspection of his bruised body, his injuries recorded in detail by the school nurse, they contacted the Police and he was taken into the care of the San Mateo Juvenile Department. His is the third worse case of child abuse recorded in California. I shudder to think about those two worse cases. ●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪ ...
...to the library I spotted a copy on the shelf and brought it home. Yesterday evening I started to read. ●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪●▪ ...

mum52 29.06.2005 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

A CHILD CALLED "IT" "As a child, Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her sons nearly dead. She no longer considered him a son, but a slave, no longer a boy, but an "it". The outside world knew nothing of the nightmare played out behind closed doors." Mail on Sunday Alarm bells started to ring when I began to read this book, ...
...outline of the story and a little knowledge of what to expect, although the alarm bells for me began right at the beginning of the book when he acknowledges that the book is heavily edited by Marsha Donohoe, an editor by profession, in an attempt to make the story seem as if it were told by a child. Surely a story of what purports to be "one of the most disturbing child abuse cases in the history of California" should have stood its' ground without ...

thingywhatsit 06.06.2006 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...readitswapit asked to swap with a book in my list a couple of weeks ago and I saw this on theirs, so thought I would take up the opportunity. I wasn’t going to write a review on this book as I thought it would be hard to rate it with the 5 stars it should deserve, marking it as excellent, because of the devastating content of the book. However, I decided that the book, despite its content, was far too good not to give it a mention. The main thing ...
...sick, had actually happened to a frightened, lonely little boy and I could not understand how any woman could treat her own son like Dave Pelzer’s mother did. That said – I guess I should tell you about the book and about the boy that was called ‘It’. ********************************************* Dave Pelzer has written this book in the words of a child and begins by telling the reader of his rescue. What follows, however, are the details of his ...

NewYork2006 22.06.2007 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

I finally got it! a charity shop buy admittedly but this book has finally found its way into my possession and read rather rapidly! There could be a problem with writing about this book, the danger being that it would be really easy to write about what's in the book and to expand on the subject rather than look at the book as a whole. I will endeavour to look at the book as a whole but please feel free to leave a comment if you feel i don't. A child ...
...years old. His was a nice normal all american family. It consisted of his mother Catherine, fire-fighter dad, Stephen and his brothers Ronald and Stan. They are one happy loved-up family, David describes how happy the major holidays were, the holidays and trips and how he used to watch his parents prepare drinks and dance cheek to cheek. Then things began to change, Dave tells us that he may have been a loud child or the one that always got caught ...

Emma1973 01.12.2003 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

A child called it is one of the most moving true stories I have ever read. It was written by Dave Pelzer, who, as a child, was abused so badly by his mother that it was documented as the third worst child abuse case ever recorded in California. The most appauling thing about this, as you will discover on reading the book, is that there have actually been two children treated worse than he was. And, of course, others across the world will also have ...
...written from the perspective of a child going through such a horrible experience, so the vocabulary is fairly limited. The next book in the series, the lost boy, is about the chapter of his life when he was in foster care, and the final book, a man named Dave tells of his life as an adult. The book begins with the story of how Dave was rescued from his evil mother by the people he now regards as heros. The reason for starting at this point in time ...

NATI 19.03.2002 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...David’s harrowing experiences he created a trilogy of books, the first being “A Child Called It” I came across the title many times and read a great many reviews before ever considering reading the book One of the reasons I resisted the temptation to read was that I felt it may be simply one of those things that I would be better off not knowing about. Child abuse despite being common place and far more widely acknowledged than in the past, is still ...
...as a subject in general. The first impression of the book was it’s seaming lack of content, after all it was a mere 148 pages long and in a format that dedicated half the words per page compared to my usual literary material.How wrong could I be. In a slightly unusual way the book is broken into several parts, with dedications, acknowledgements and notes preceding the main story and ending with sections from relevant teacher encountered in his ...

Simply_Sensual 22.01.2005 (23.01.2005) · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...of the little boy (now a grown man) I pondered over whether to actually read this book or not. The reason being I’m a big softie and many a time I’ve burst into tears reading sad books or watching sad movies and this being a true life story would mean I would simply bawl a lot more over the book. So, I hung around the bestsellers section (which is where this book currently is) in various bookshops every time I was in town and finally ...
...me long. I was a bit annoyed to discover that Dave Pelzer’s whole story has been chopped into three separate books. A child called ‘It’ covers only Dave’s life between the ages of 4 – 12. This could have very easily been combined A Lost Boy which covers his young adult life and I couldn’t help but think this was obviously a well planned marketing strategy. Discovering things like this took away a bit of the sympathy ...

Miss-D 24.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

With a story like this it’s really hard to know where to begin. It’s a tale of abuse, a tale of sorrow, a tale of hope at the end of a long hard struggle and also a tale which will make even the most hard hearted people who read it feel shocked at the horrible wretched life David Pelzer suffered as a child. I bought this for two reasons really, one, because of the reviews I’d read on ciao and two it was on special offer at my ...
...occasion she stabs him with a kitchen knife. He isn’t allowed any eye contact with other members in the family and has to sleep in the basement of the house with no heat and very few warm clothes to keep him warm. After the birth of his third brother things get even worse for poor David and on one occasion he is almost forced to eat the contents of his brother nappy. He is forced to steal food from lunch boxes owned by his fellow class mates ...

niclemamy 03.12.2001 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...any old story though, it's a true story. A story told in first person perspective through the eyes of a child. A story containing such horrific descriptions and episodes that even told in the language of a child sent shivers up my spine as to how some people can be so inhumane. A tale of how a child's innocence, security, safety, and childhood dreams can be so cruelly shattered by those who are considered to be the ones who care most, and those who ...
...the true story of David, a young boy who started life happily within a secure loving family. Living with both his parents and his brothers, he spent the first 4 years of his life as you would expect most kids to do - family outings, lots of love and warmth and happiness. By the time David had reached the age of 5, he began to notice a change in his mothers behaviour - this change heralded the beginning of years of the most horrific, gradually worsening, ...

mbmb11 12.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

A Child Called It is part of a trilogy from the author Dave Pelzer. It is a true account of his life from the age of four till an adult. Dave has experienced a truly extraordinary life. As a child, he endured the horrors of child abuse, which included physical torture, mental cruelty, and near starvation. Upon Dave's rescue, he was identified as one of the most severely abused children in California's history. At age 12, Dave's teachers risked their ...
...Dave's removal, he was made a ward of the court and placed in foster care until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age 18. As a young adult Dave was determined to better himself--no matter what the odds. A Child Called It This book tells the story of Dave who became known to his mother as the boy then the child called It. He was mentally abused and tortured in a way that is truly horrendous. His own Mum played mind-games that where at times life ...

zorena 16.07.2001 (24.02.2002) · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

Is A Child Called ‘It’ an autobiography or an autobiographical novel that was hijacked by clever marketing? I am going to have a real problem writing this opinion and I know it will take a while, because I don’t want to offend anyone. So how could I possibly offend you? Like many, I read A Child Called ‘It’ because of the positive feedback that read on this site and recommendations from friends. Most have commented ...
...overcome so much to become a world-renowned writer. Unfortunately, if this weren’t a true story A Child Called ‘It’ would have been buried in bookshops’ graveyards on the bargain shelves or would never have been published at all. Sad, but true. I would just like to say at this stage that this is not a critique of the content of Dave Pelzer’s story; the book is biographical and a situation which is sadly repeated too ...

HappyBunny 31.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...books I have read in a long time although fascinating may not be the correct word to use! However if you have read this book you will know what I mean when I say that it is a difficult book to put down. ‘A Child Called It’ is a true story about a young boy in the 70’s who suffered what is believed to have been the worst ever case of child abuse the world has ever know. Dave Pelzer relives his horrific young life from the age of 4 years to 12 years ...
...what you would expect of a child of that age at that time. The book opens with a list of thanks to individual people in Dave Pelzer’s life who helped him find that life is really a wonderful thing and his has dedicated the book to his own son Stephen who taught him that there really is love in the world. The story opens with Dave at the age of 12 and the escape from his horrific life at home, teachers at school eventually intervene and contact ...

Squidget 24.04.2002 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...child called it” we take a look at the kind of life David had living with his mother from the ages of 4 to 12. David’s young life had been a fairly normal one, until he reached the age of four. Then things changed forever. In his true story he gives versions of the true events that took place in his family home. When David was four, his mother unintentionally broke his arm whilst she was in one of her drunken states. David was taken upstairs to ...
...him for 10 days at a time. He ate from the dogs bowl when no one was watching, to ease his hunger pains. If davids mother thought he had stolen food as he often tried to do, she would put her fingers down his throat to make him be sick. His mother also made him eat the pooh from his baby brothers nappy and even dog pooh off the floor. His sleeping place was in the cold damp basement on an old army cot. David’s parents drank often, when his father ...

gill1960 11.05.2003 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...the early chapters he recalls a life where his mother and father were tender loving parents completely dedicated to him. Dave write beautifully of memories he has of his mother’s lavish care and attention. The Russian River is the place of dreams where he feels most part of the family and clings to desperately to live. His mother’s schizophrenic-like u-turn was almost completely unprecedented. The shock for David to have his mother and father refuse ...
...pathetically, and Dave responds with a glimmer of a smile but he knows deep down his dad would never stand up for him. As the story unravels the true horror that was concealed in a quiet suburban neighbourhood becomes frighteningly apparent. The torturous acts carried out by his mother seem unbelievable. In addition to the cruelty what horrified me was the way his mother treated his brothers. By the end of the book there are five brothers and only ...

Matildas_world 25.02.2002 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

...American man named David Pelzer. A non-fictional best seller it is available from all major bookstores, and I have seen it in practically every bookshop, large or small that I have visited. It retails at £5.99 although some discount stores sell it for less. It is published by Orion. Although harrowing, it's a compelling book that all social workers and teachers should receive free at the start of their training. This is one mans account of the ...
...This poor excuse for a woman starved her child for days on end, forcing him to steal food wherever he could which in turn made him despised by his classmates. He was also forced to wear unwashed clothes, again making him unpopular at school, in fact not only was he unpopular, he was despised and hated both at school and home. She burnt him, beat him, held his head under the bath water, and force-fed him ammonia. She refused to seek medical attention ...

milmol 25.10.2002 · Read full review
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Review of A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer