“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul,” for Dave Pelzer from A Child Called “It”, this was a reality he had to face. In this autobiography, Dave tells the audience how his family was almost like The Brady Bunch, loving, together, and a great family. But after his parents get a divorce and his mother, Catherine Pelzer, turns from a respectable, kind lady, into a horrible, alcoholic, slave driver to Dave. The “punishments” to Dave range from not eating or eating what the dog does not want to having his arm burned over the stove. Although his mother does everything to try to break him, Dave just won’t let up.

I can not relate to Dave and I sincerely hope no child ever has too. The abuse done to him went further than what I initially could have imagined. Child abuse is a crime that should not go unpunished. I have never felt the same pain other than never giving up, because in the end, that is the least you can do. Dave even saw how his mother changed when friends came over back into the cheery woman she once was, but she did not treat him the same as before. Unfortunately child abuse is real and we can not afford to ignore it. Our children are our future.

I did enjoy reading A Child Called “It” because it showed the never ending human spirit to fight until you can not stand, and still continue to kick. It portrayed that even the smallest of ants, David, can over come a lion, Catherine. One of my favorite parts was when David was reminiscing about the way his family used to be. Every family should be that way, cheery and loving. The one thing i did not enjoy was, of course, the abuse done to David. It was extremely dangerous and, in most of the cases, he should have died. Yet his fighting attitude is what kept him alive.

I would highly recommend A Child Called “It” to people who enjoy tear jerkers of triumph. The struggle David goes through is inspiring and can make you feel like anything is possible,because everything is. Everyone could easily enjoy A Child Called “It” and if you are really into it, you can feel David’s pain. It was a great book and the two other books written by David Pelzer of his adolescence and his adult years.