Child Called It One Childs Courage Survive review summary

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

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, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, 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.

Price: $11.95
Published by HCI on 1995-09-01.

Average rating (1868 reviews):

Rating: 9.0

Recent reviews:

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-10-16: I have read this book and others by Dave Peltzer, he is one of my heroes because he came back from such incredible odds not only to survive, but to make a difference. I recommend reading this book and all the (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-10-15: I always assumed this title was an unremarkable addition to the intelligence-starved self-help/shock memoir genre that has plagued bookstore shelves for two decades now. When I began student teaching, though, I met one English teacher after another who used it in (read more ...)
Rating: 2.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-10-01: A Child Called "It" is an amazing book about the struggles of a young boy and his abusive mother. Though this book was disturbing and cruel, I thought it was very well written and the author had a great writting style. (read more ...)
Rating: 8.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-10-01: A Child Called it is and insperational true story about a young boy named David Pelzer being physically abused in his own home by his own Mother. The book shows how David made his way through life dealing with his horrific (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0

Reviewed by anonymous on 2007-09-27: I could not put this book down I read it in an hour and a half without stopping for anything. This story although so heart breaking needed to be told.. For the man who wrote this telling book 5 STARS and (read more ...)
Rating: 10.0