A Child Called "It"

Annie Period 6 9/15/09     The title of the book I read is, A Child Called "It".  The author of this book is Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer is also the main character in the book. I actually selected this book because I took advice from a friend. I came up to my friend and asked her about a list of books that included children that were troubled while growing up. The first few words that came out of her mouth were the title of this book. I knew that I had to read at least the first chapter of the book to figure if I was interested in what it had to say. After reading the first chapter, I knew that it was the right book for me. This book was really inspiring and made me realize how lucky I am to have the life I have.  The main characters in this book are Dave Pelzer and his mother. This is a brutal story of a young boy who got abused every moment of his young childhood. Dave Pelzer was only a child when his alcoholic mother abused him. She made him do shocking things like forcing him to burn himself on the stove or things like barely feeding him. When she did feed him, she gave him frozen foods. Dave Pelzer spent every waking moment obeying his mother's ridiculous and mind-blowing demands. On top of all that she timed Dave on his chores. One day in particular, the family finished their dinner and Dave's mother called him up from the dirty and filthy basement he lived in so he can clean up after them. Dave's mom told him that he had 20 minutes to clean the entire bathroom. She told him that if he was one second late, she would kill him. After saying that, she got the knife and stabbed Dave with it. He was bleeding and all his mother did was put a towel over it. Dave's mother also stopped calling Dave his son; instead he was known as "the boy". Dave also had to do things like eat his own waste. One time, she made him clean the bathroom tub but she also placed a bucket filled with a mixture of Clorox and ammonia right next to him and locked the door. He used to torture and at times felt like he was about to cough up his intestines. This is why this is called one of the worst child abuse cases in U.S. history. Dave Pelzer, a child in need in desperate times, always prayed to the lord and tried to make the best out of the worst situations. He mentioned a quote in the book which reads: "I am the king". I think that this is a very empowering statement. He was not treated like a king at all but his positive attitude towards things made him the winner in his mind and in all of our minds as well. I think that having the courage to share his story itself is phenomenal but  to have the courage to survive this life was mind-throbbing. I can't feel the exact same pain that he has felt and I don't think that anyone else can either, but I feel so bad that no one was there when he needed someone to talk to or get advice from. I loved this book.  This is a New York Times Bestseller and I think that it deserves many awards of recognition. For my symbol I chose two hands reaching for each other. I think that this symbol represents courage and it also represents one child's courage to survive.   I gave this book  4 out of 4 stars because I think it is absolutely brilliant. It shows that people can express their emotions in so many different ways. Even though Dave went through all that, he now share's his story with the world and inspires people everywhere.     I would really recommend this book to a lot of people. I would specifically recommend this book to children ages 11 and up. The reason for this is because the book gives full detail of torture and abuse. I think that it would be inappropriate for young children to hear about them. I would recommend this book because children can see how lucky they are to live their everyday lives and feel thankful for what they have. I also think that this book shows that if people share their stories they can always relate to each other one way or the other. I truly think that people should know that the text or information in this book is really brutal and it's hard to get out of your head. I loved this book and I think you will like it too. This is not only a story of abuse, it is a story of one child's courage to survive.