A Child Called "It" discussion

A Child Called “It” – David Pelzer
Reviewed by Caley Whitner

This non-fiction book is about a child named David who gets severly abused by his mother. We meet David in the nurse’s office at school because everyday when he got to school, the nurse would search his body for cuts and bruises. We find out his mother is abusive when the school nurse finally gets David to admit that his mother had stabbed him in the past. The schools calls in the police and starts a report, as well as taking David to the county’s jail. From this point in the book forward, it talks about all of David’s tragic events leading up to this point. The moments that David talks about are horrifying and absolutely mind blowing, ranging from having to sleep on a cot in the cold basement to even eating his brother’s soiled diapers.

This book was very interesting, and kept me wanting to read because I knew the stories were real and I could feel the author’s emotion in retelling his story. It was easy to read because the author introduced us to the ending and then gave us the backstory. However, this book was hard to read because of the events that took place, but my mind was at ease knowing that in the end he would be safe and get rescued. He suffered not only physical abuse but mental abuse as well. For example, I suggest for people to read this book because it opened up my eyes to the realness and severity of child abuse that happens behind closed doors.