A Child Called "It"

Dave Pelzer's first book in this series is phenomenal. What actually happened to him as a child is hard to imagine. This was a number one New York Times bestseller for months and is an inspirational story. What looked like the best childhood a kid could possibly ask for turns into a nightmare in this traumatic boy’s life. Dave Pelzer wasn’t the only child, he had two brothers he hated because they never experienced the same pain that his mother put him through. As a child, he never understood why his mother hated him so much.

Dave's mother was abusive. Because of her disgusting actions towards him as a child, he had to face the emotional and physical scarring she would bring him. Dave begins facing a battle between the school staff and his own mother. His mother, known as the “evil bitch,” Dave states, instilled fear in him while the school staff tried to comfort and weaken him to tell the truth. Pressured by his environmental surroundings and harsh conditions, Dave begins thinking whether he should run away or not. He has no choice but to try to seek help from his father. After realizing that his father doesn’t want to acknowledge his abuse because of his fear of his wife, Dave decides to take matters on his own hands and make his big decision.

David Pelzer is an inspiration to myself and his book has impacted me because he reveals to the world that not every family is perfect. He also shows how people don’t know what really goes on in one’s family behind closed doors. At a young age, I had to develop a strong mentality and become independent. David Pelzer’s childhood showed that he too had developed these same traits. Despite the abuse, I would say that I’m similar to David because throughout the book he demonstrates perseverance and motivates himself to do great things. This is how I view myself.

David Pelzer’s abuse wasn’t just ordinary. His mother did things such as burning his hand on the stovetop, trying to put him in the oven, and even locking him in a bathroom full of horrible toxicants. This made me wonder the childhood of his mother because such horrific actions done by the mother reflects the idea that she may have in fact been abused or even neglected as a child, herself. I believe in the idea that people inflict pain on other people who are vulnerable because they are angry at themselves and they find pleasure in hurting others. This is my perspective on David’s mother. If she would have been raised correctly instead of being possibly neglected or abused, she would have never tried to hurt David. David’s mother’s childhood is what caused the corruption in her mind and is the essential reason as to why she is numb to others feelings.

Many books have their levels of interest. This book exceeded expectations for many reader’s simply because it is original and I must include that it is a Non-Fiction book. David Pelzer’s is a master of imagery because of his ability to descriptively write and relive the moment. His word choice is phenomenal because he makes the reader feel as if they too can feel his pain. This book was very impressive because of the idea of centralizing the abusive life of ones family into a kids perspective.

Although the book was impressive in a lot of ways, there were parts of the book in which may the book seem less appealing. The book fell off when David Pelzer decided to include his father. As a child, you don’t fully understand why adults act the way they do but this there’s no excuse for the father. I believe that the father was represented as a bad guy in this book simply because he should of known that Dave’s mother was mentally sick. I believe that no matter how careless one may seem, it is in every normal human being’s nature to react to such violence. The idea of David’s mother making him eat his own vomit and having him sleep on newspapers like a dog while the father wants to help but still doesn’t seems a little outrageous.

This book reaches out to an audience who loves Non-Fiction books that pertain to abuse in ones life. This book should be recommended to those who don’t like books that are cheerful and happy but instead is dark and graphic. If you like reading books and include a catalogue of horrible incidents, then you’ll love this book.

A Child Called “It”, David Peltzer, September 1st, 157 pages, Non-Fiction