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A Child Called ‘It’ By Dave Pelzer This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine.


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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.

David was renamed “It” by his evil mother. His childhood begins as the life everyone hopes for. He enjoyed visits to the zoo, lake trips with family, and being cuddled by his mom while listening to a great book. David's life drastically changed when he became a first-grader. His mother and father developed drinking problems. It's very hard to read about all the sadistic “games” his mother dreamed up.

When you read some of what happens, you'll wonder how anyone could even think of ­doing such things to their own child. Pelzer is a strong man to write about his childhood when he was almost beaten to death. This book really makes you wonder how many other children suffer such abuse.

As his teachers and principal, neighbors, and even his father stand by and let the abuse happen, it makes you wonder what you would have done. This book is extremely well written. All of the gruesome details help you to visualize what he went through. There are more books in this series, and you'll want to read them all once you begin. This book is for mature readers only.

This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. This piece has been published in Teen Ink’s monthly print magazine.




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This article has 110 comments. Post your own!

HGfan1This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 26 at 9:21 am:
I have read this book about 3 times because I just needed to get a better understanding of what was really happening and how other people would react to what David was dealing with. I cried everytime at the same parts I've read it and it's just such a tragic story, it is amazing that he actually wrote this book knowing that a lot of people who go through this type of issue don't speak out and I think he has really inspired a lot of people.
 
tori26shippThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Apr. 12 at 8:53 pm :
the saddest part  is that to this day his siblings deny it happened
 
BlackClouds1This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Apr. 18 at 12:55 pm :
Ya, I agree! It's just horrible that his own family did this to him:(
 
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liarslol said...
Mar. 21 at 2:03 pm:
his teachers do not let it happen just saying i don't want to ruin the book for people who haven't read it but they don't let it happen
 
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MonkeyChunkThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 8 at 2:56 pm:
I've read this book before... It honestly made me cry a few times. You'd never think a kid such as David could experience and survive things like that. Such a tradgic, yet inspirational story. <3 Awesome review.
 
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R.C.irca_6 said...
Mar. 5 at 1:14 am:
Must be quite a tragic story, and for it be true, that puts a lot of weight into the words Pelzer writes, doesn't it? I would understand how this could be quite a tear-jerking series
 
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R.C.irca_6 said...
Mar. 5 at 1:14 am:
Must be quite a tragic story, and for it be true, that puts a lot of weight into the words Pelzer writes, doesn't it? I would understand how this could be quite a tear-jerking series
 
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ReadWriteBreatheThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Feb. 11 at 12:35 am:
I absolutely love the book. I cried the first time I read it. I couldn't imagine being in that situation.
 
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Abfab said...
Jan. 10 at 10:47 pm:
David Pelzer is a narcissistic liar. His accounts are fabricated, he's nothing more than a juvenile delinquent turned con man.
 
I.WhiteThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 4 at 2:09 pm :
how do you know that?
 
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CicichildressThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Jan. 9 at 9:45 am:
When I first started this book I was in self-pity because I have 4 siblings and life is hard in todays economy. When I got into the book I relized how gratefull I should be that i had a family who loved me. I cried every time I opened this book and it is such an inspiring story.
 
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Mrs.LOver said...
Dec. 26, 2011 at 10:47 am:
the first time i read this book i cried its a very tragic book but a great one at that to go through what this boy went through was heartbreaking but to finally see him end up in a better place was a great ending
 
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madeofstardust said...
Dec. 19, 2011 at 12:48 pm:
My first reaction to the book was before I read it, &i thought 'gosh wat a miserable life' but then after i read it i couldnt help but feel that he holds so much hatred for the woman, that he had to write3 or 4 books about the miseries she caused him. dnt u think hes a little bitter? i mean, ive had some horrible things been done to me, but i learnd that i had to forget the person...&wat they did.
 
callie15This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Dec. 29, 2011 at 1:26 pm :
Well, have you been through such horrible things as he has? It's really hard to judge a person if you haven't been through the same struggles as they have. And maybe he didn't write the books out of anger. Maybe he wrote them for awareness .
 
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joanne Rivera said...
Dec. 12, 2011 at 10:40 am:
than you should read it...
 
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jordiebell555This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 20, 2011 at 11:22 am:

it is an AMAZING book!!! i cried a few times because of it.

 

 
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jordiebell555This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 20, 2011 at 11:22 am:

it is an AMAZING book!!! i cried a few times because of it.

 

 
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jordiebell555This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Nov. 20, 2011 at 11:20 am:
i love this book and the rest of the series. it really touches you and shows you that other people have it worse then we do.
 
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lit.roxThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. said...
Oct. 31, 2011 at 6:54 am:
wow!the book seems to be very interesting.like to read it.
 
Tornado M. This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Mar. 4 at 6:12 pm :
jinx
 
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Cheeseburger said...
Oct. 14, 2011 at 10:53 am:
I've never read this book, but I want to.
 
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Elyssa A. said...
Oct. 2, 2011 at 11:30 am:
I also read the book and it was so good but also so sad. I agree with the review too.
 
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star said...
Sept. 16, 2011 at 1:54 pm:

wow...i mean who every thought that a mother can do that to her own child for no reason at all.

I was shock when i read this and i root for him for diding so strong, brave and bring able to find happyness and not leting it control his life

 
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Jessss said...
Sept. 3, 2011 at 10:02 pm:
Good review, I agree completely.
 
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ambnycThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Aug. 19, 2011 at 9:06 pm:

The book isn't well-written. I get the feeling that people feel obligated to call it "well-written" because of its sensitive subject matter. It's basically one long account of gruesome torture that his mother put him through, not particularly well-written, no plot, just gripping because of the sheer atrocities he suffered.

I feel like people need to differentiate between well-written and "can't stop reading because it's so gruesome" (much like not being able to look away from a terribl... (more »)

 
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Ladywarrior123This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Aug. 19, 2011 at 3:26 pm:
I read this book when I was about ten. I loved it. Amazing story that is amazingly written.
 
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Whittney said...
Aug. 4, 2011 at 5:47 pm:
I checked this book out when I read the back and saw that it was about child abuse, but at that time I didn't know it was really. I couldn't put this book down even though I was cryin because his mother was completely horrible to him. I would hate to be called it by my mom and would hate to feel like an outcast. I am hopin to see an end to child abuse (well any ind of abuse) in the future. I read this the complete series and cried during them all.
 
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midniteprowlThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Jul. 6, 2011 at 2:35 pm:

cool. im always on the lookout for good books. and do u think its mature enough fr 16-yr olds?

and please  will you chck out my stuff? thank you mucho

 
jessicaah replied...
Aug. 19, 2011 at 2:06 pm :
It is intended for a mature audience but I read it when I was ten or eleven and I still enjoyed it. It is a good book and you should really give it a try! :)
 
amigasr4evrThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. replied...
Aug. 20, 2011 at 11:51 am :
ok i will. thx :)
 
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freeflow23This teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Jul. 6, 2011 at 10:23 am:
Nice review. It makes me want to read this book.
 
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Ellimee Pawn said...
Jun. 14, 2011 at 2:42 pm:
Great reflecting... A Child called 'It' really is one of the best books when it comes to sorrow and understanding the difficulty of living alone/
 
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my lyf said...
Jun. 7, 2011 at 2:04 am:
This is such a gr8 bk...the determination, hope and the need to live jst inspires me lyk hell. Wht his mom did 2 him was horrible, but the way he survived it is perhaps a wonder
 
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k101hninxox said...
Jun. 3, 2011 at 9:43 pm:
Le me get this straight about this book. Its awesome. Its intresting & of course sad. I was really crying on the last part of the chapter. No, not the flashback part but the last page. How sad, Dave's faher left him & lied. I would have kill myself than be that woman's slave !
 
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sarah4president said...
May 23, 2011 at 10:27 pm:
this is one of the best books i've ever read. good review but i think it needed a few more details.
 
k101hninxox replied...
Jun. 3, 2011 at 9:44 pm :
No  frigging detail was needed !!
 
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alexa!3 said...
May 16, 2011 at 3:49 pm:
this story is a great book it make many people cry. it is a boy that needs a better life
 
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JusticeH said...
May 2, 2011 at 8:21 am:
This is a very nice book. Sadly, this stuff happens. I'm glad he had the courage to write this.
 
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naynay said...
May 1, 2011 at 8:26 am:
how could anyone treat a child so cruel? his mother was sadistic. i wonder if i knew that something like this was happening, could i look the other way
 
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jb_hater;btr_lover said...
Apr. 28, 2011 at 4:34 pm:
I have not read A Child Called "It", and i never wanted to until I read this review. I never knew it was a true story about the author.
 
My_own_thoughts replied...
May 1, 2011 at 9:46 pm :
It's a great book, brought me to tears.
 
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peace_love_beautyThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Apr. 27, 2011 at 11:33 am:
I loved this book. It was so powerful and sad. In this book, Pelzer takes his readers into his world, where they, page by page, begin to feel and go through his horrible pain. This book made me cry, and stayed on my mind long after I'd read it. I've gone on to read the rest of the series' books, and I loved them. He has brought to light the horrible issue of child abuse.
 
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khayie96 said...
Apr. 22, 2011 at 10:11 am:
Dave im glad u rote this book it means so much to me. it mad me notice that there are people who need help.when i get oder im going to help people who have been in your situation and trying to call for help. thanks Dave Pelzer
 
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Taneei said...
Apr. 8, 2011 at 7:00 pm:
Your reiview was exemplary. It not only establishes a voice, but a tone as well. It gives graphic and vivid images of the trials and tribulations faced by thr persona. Additionally, it planted  the seeds of sympathy in my mind and opened my mind to a myriad of other things. There is no doubt in my mind that I will definitely be reading this book.
 
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VKarcich said...
Mar. 24, 2011 at 12:44 pm:
i have read this book,  and it is VERY sad and emotional. I would suggest it to many others, this review discribes this book very well. the review is wonderful :)
 
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jhkghtfhtyu said...
Mar. 18, 2011 at 12:06 pm:
this book sounds great i think i will read it
 
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desmiree said...
Mar. 18, 2011 at 11:59 am:

That sounds very intersesting and I wanna read it because it is hard for a person to tell about their abuse.

 

 
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chevyThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. said...
Mar. 10, 2011 at 7:24 pm:
this book shows you that most of us have a wonderful life compared to some strong children who get the bad end of the stick.
 
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amzazinLily said...
Feb. 24, 2011 at 11:49 am:
I LOVED this book. Very emotional!
 
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MeganSeesStarsThis teenager is a 'regular' and has contributed a lot of work, comments and/or forum posts, and has received many votes and high ratings over a long period of time. This work has been published in the Teen Ink monthly print magazine. said...
Feb. 2, 2011 at 6:45 pm:
I LOVE THIS BOOK. everytime i went to the bookstore i read a litttle bit and finished it, very touching
 
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