Carolyn Polese, C. (1995). A child called it. School Library Journal.

Even though it is very sad it helps you apprecieate life even more and you become grateful that you have the parents you do. My friends told me that it was an awesome book. AHS/CP

This novel is good and sad at the same time. It is good because it shows how child abuse is a nightmare today for some kids. It is sad because basically its Mom is making his life a living nightmare every day of his young life. ( )

An absolute must read, A Child Called "It", tells of the abuse and resilience of David Pelzer. As a very young child Pelzer lived a normal life; he, his parents, and his brothers were a typical family. They spent time together, laughed together, played together, and vacationed together. Then, suddenly, Pelzer's mother changed; she became monstrous and began beating Pelzer. She did not beat the other boys and Pelzer's father never tried to stop her. This is an extremely emotional part of the book, as I often found myself crying while reading. Pelzer was put through a series of torturous "games" by his mother, things no one should ever endure. Pelzer was forced to sleep in the cold garage, steal from his classmates or dog food to avoid starving, sit on the burning stovetop, and sit for hours almost completely submerged in a bath of cold water. While, understandably at times, the memoir is very hard to read, it is an inspirational reminder of what we should be thankful for, things we are lucky to not have to deal with.

Pelzer's story does turn for the better eventually, and after rooting for this poor, undeserving child the entire time, it is so rewarding to know he preserved. Pelzer, only a child at the time of the story, has more to teach than any adult I know. His memoir was inspirational, emotional and definitely recommended. ( )

This is one of the most heartbreaking stories you'll ever read. That being said, it's also very hard to actually read it. The level of abuse that Dave Pelzer suffered at the hands of his mother is truly indescribable, and I truly admire the man he's become. I don't honestly know if I could be as well-adjusted, not to mention humble, forgiving, and anger-free, as this man is.

This is one book you'll truly remember forever. ( )

If you're going to go through with reading this book, I will go ahead and advise you to pick up a box of tissues while you're at it. This tear- jerker is an inspirational story about a young boy named David Pelzer who truly never gave up no matter how far he was down. David shares his stories of being beaten as a child and explains how he made it from one struggling day to the next. The craziest part is that it was only David who was getting hurt, and not his brothers. I recommend that everyone reads this book because it is truly a story of survival and even more, a tale full of inspiration. ( )

A Child called "It";; This book is about a boy named David Pelzer. He gets abused his whole life, Living one day at a time, seeing his brtohers not get touched and him the only one hurts. This boy is around 6 to 8 years old, and works like you have never seen anyone work before, he goes threw more stuff you imagane. Beaten every day, Second, Hour is his life.,, Book- Child Called It, By: Dave Pelzer. I chose to read this book. Because Its the only book I like and all my freinds told me to. This Book Is Really Great, I think anyone and everyone should read it. Everything is so wondeful, My favirote book by far!

It is just a shock to me how Dave was living a life like this! It dosen't make sence of how his mom abuses Dave, but not his other brothers. This book is just sooooo sad. It makes me cry when I can see what Dave's mom is doing to him. ( )

I thought it was very gripping reading and the treatment this child endured over the years was horrific.

a young boy who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, who played torturous, unpredictable games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy but an "it". ( )

This book was so sad yet inspirational at the same time. This child went through everything and back and survived. This story is told from the child himself, Dave Pelzer, about his fight for survival and courage to help himself. I liked reading this book as it was very inspirational and kept my attention. It gave me emotions such as the need to jump through the book to help this child, and hurt someone. But it was a very good book, and I kept reading all of Dave's books. (Samantha, Fall 200)

Very badly handled, giving no insight into his plight or his parents' behaviour. The simplistic, 'poor me' approach completely disregards the fact that by joining in, his siblings were the victims of abuse themselves. ( )

A Child Called "It" is the true story of Dave Pelzer, who had a perfectly normal life with his family until his mother suddenly turned into a controlling, abusive mother. She singles Dave out from his brothers as the "bad boy" of the family and punishes him senselessly, and without remorse. She beats him regularly and uses food as a punishment, withholding it for days. For particularly "bad" things Dave does, his mother has special punishments which she things of as "games." However, this is not just a story about abuse. It is also about the strength of the human spirit and the determination to survive, even if all the odds are against you.

Reading this book was a truly unique experience. I was introduced to a world that I had never seen before. Though I am not naive when it comes to issues like these, it is one thing to know the facts and another to read the details. Once I got into the 2nd or 3rd chapter of this book, I couldn't stop reading. The things that were going on were so awful, yet mesmerizing. Being starved, beaten, stabbed, burned... how could something like this go on for so long? How could people see it and let it continue? But most of all, how could a child survive something like this and still be a good person, with a heart and faith?

That being said, I did have a few problems with this book. First of all, I felt that the quality of writing throughout the novel was mediocre at best. Though I was often too engrossed in the story to care, this may be a problem for others. Also, the timeline didn't seem to line up exactly. Not only did I feel like he was jumping around in the story, but there were frequently specific events that felt inconsistent. This repeatedly took away from the reality of the story for me.

Overall, Dave Pelzer's heartbreaking story overshadowed his poor writing and inconsistencies most of the time. If you are looking to read this book, be warned: there is essentially no break from the abuse. If you're like me, you may need a tissue or two.

Three and a half stars. ( )

This book had me in tears. I think this is a must read for everyone. Period. ( )

This book is packed with emotion. It is a journey through the eyes of a helpless child trying to survive the abuse of his own mother. It will have you flipping page after page wanting to find the truth. ( )

This book is the best. It's so sad, but it's amazing. Dave isn't scared about telling people about the way he had to live. I would recomend it to everyone to read. ( )

This book is one of the saddest but most amazing books that I have ever read. Dave Pelzer does not "sugar coat" anything. He tells you how he lived it and I think thats what makes the book so great!
I would recamend this book to people over the age of 16 ( )

This is an absolutely heartbreaking novel, but one that needs to be read. It will make you cry for certain, but at the same time, it will open your eyes to the reality of child abuse. ( )

4 The book was very effective for the Teen Problem Book project.
4 The book was good.
I would recommend this book as it has the necessarily problems, however, the level of the book is low. Therefore, I would recommend this book for the younger audience. ( )

The story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played torturous, unpredictable games - games that left him nearly dead. this book I recommand to any one who is doing a abusive study or wants to read somthing that touches your heart many times when i read this book i was left speachless and tears fell from my face this book touched me and it amazing but sad. ( ) ( )

This is a book that's very hard to rate and review. It depicts horrible abuse of a young boy at the hands of his mother, and reveals the dynamics of child abuse from within the family, which is seldom shown so honestly. An inspirational book that will break your heart. It's well worth reading. ( )

A child called it, Dave Pelzer's story is of a child beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother. A mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. He's no longer considered a son, or a boy, but an it. Dave had to learn all these games in order to survive. His bed was an old army cot in the basement and when he was allowed to eat it was scarps from the dog's bowl. Throughout, Dave kept alive the dream of finding a family who would love him and care for him. This is an inspirational look at the horrors of child abuse and the stead fast determination from one child to survive despite the odds.

I adore this book because it is based on a real life story. The little boy, which is been called it by his mother, suffers everyday day and night from his mother's torture. ( )

This book is very interesting, but horrifying. I can't even imagine how horrible it was for Dave to suffer the type of abuse that he received from his mother and brothers. I have read a couple of the other books that take place after this one, but this is the most interesting of the series, in my opinion. ( )

The book i read was "the child called IT" was written by Dave Peltzer
himself and is a known true story. the book is about DAve as a shcild and
being strictly abused by his mother. Dave had to go to school with grubby
unwashed clothes and didnt get cold lunch or any money for hot lunch.Thats
where Dave started getting sent to the office because of his rochety smell
and him stealing other students lunches. Dave had to stay in the basement
to sleep,. he couldnt eat with his other siblings he only sometimes gt
someof what was left over, he had to do all the chores in the house. his
mom abused him sometimes by burning him on the stove. he was known as "IT"
after a while, not his real name, Dave. his dad alwats tried to save him
but it just got worse when him and his mom started fighting. he was abused
for years on years almost til he was in his mid-teens. he was saved
aventually when he was in school one fday and got called to the office
becayse some teachers were concerned but mostly the nurse. the police were
called and they had set up a lunch for him and had to show the police the
scars and bruises and the police called his mom and said that he has a new
home now with popele who will treat him right and he was passed on from
foster home to foster home until he found the right one then continued his
life from there. Dominique

I have to honestly say that as a mother of 5 foster children, 3 children of my own, 1 child lost, a woman of child abuse and one who hears the stories all the time, I found this to be a very poorly written book. I won't even waste too much of my time going over it since I just went over another poorly written book and gave my thoughts on it already today.

Does grammar mean anything to anyone now a days? The grammar here was just awful. The lines cliche, the discourse was off-it was just bad. I don't see how anyone could get through the awful grammar and still save room to "feel" what was going on in this story. The man should have gotten a ghost writer. His characters are flat and he tells his story vs showing it. It was like hearing a news report, I only said "awwww" because things like this are just horrible. Even while reading this book while being preg, with doctors telling me that me or my child might not make it, I still threw this book across the room and screamed that some people should realize that they just can't write.

This book has been my inspiration though. Every time I think that I should give up on writing, I remind myself that if "A Child Called It" could get published, anyone can be published, even me. All I have to do is kill off a kid or his mother and abuse someone. It seems that the ability to write well doesn't matter anymore. ( )