I am about halfway through in A Child Called It by David Pelzer. I am absolutely in love with this book! It gives me a taste of what other people are going through. I could never imagine being beaten by my mother till I bled, burned alive, or starved to death! That is very hard for my mind to even comprehend! How could someone be so cruel. She scarred Dave's life and if I were David, I would never be able to forgive her.

David is only in elementary school and he is struggling for food. His mother usually doesn't give him breakfast or dinner and only very little lunch. David is so desperate to eat. He thinks about food, dreams about food; food has taken over his mind. He starts stealing food from his piers, neighbors, or anyone else. Of course, his mother finds out and beats "the boy" to a pulp, then she feeds him nothing the whole day. One day, David went a full five days without eating. Once, when David was begging for food, his mother granted his wish and made him eat... his own throw up!

David was washing the dishes being a good boy, but his mother got infuriated because he was not going fast enough (in her mind). Her eyes were full of anger and David knew something bad would happen. Mother picks up a knife and starts swinging it around. All of a sudden, Mother accidently lets go and the knife stabs David in his upper stomach. He tells his father about the incident and he does not do a thing about it. Father is no longer his refuge. He too has become Mother's slave. David says, "Of all Mother’s punishments, I hated the gas chamber game the most” (Pelzer 109). The gas chamber is Dave’s name for the punishment in which his mother placed a mixture of ammonia and Clorox in a bucket in the bathroom and locked the door with Dave inside. The noxious fumes make it almost impossible for him to breathe. He nearly dies and Mother doesn't even care.

STARVING CHILD

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Starving-Child-In-Ethiopia-Photo-by-Cate-Turton-Department-for-International-Development.jpg

I am currently on chapter four in A Child Called It by David Pelzer. I really like how David was so descriptive when writing this! He used lots of imagery to describe Mother's appearance when she was angry. David describes that "Mother's eyes were blood shot and her voice sounded as if she were possessed" (Pelzer 40). I also thought that the author did a very good job of keeping the book moving. It never got boring! Everything that happened was so shocking! I do love this book; although I think it is a pretty easy read. I think this book was meant for anyone from 5th grade to adulthood!
 

In chapter two, it talks about how marvelous David's early childhood was. When he was very young, David, his Mom and Dad, and brothers Stan and Ron, were an actual family! They loved each other so much and were happy. Mother would take them on picnics and to the aquarium. Mother used to go all out for Christmas! She would set up amazing Christmas decoration the day after Thanksgiving and she used to get the boys dozens of gifts. Mom would also cook extravagant meals and tell David how much she loved him. One day, when David was very little, his family watched the sunset together... but then Mama started to cry. David asked her why and she responds, "Mom told me she was crying because she was so happy to have a real family" (Pelzer 23).
 

In chapter three David describes how things quickly changed, "My relationship with Mom drastically changed from discipline to punishment that grew out of control" (Pelzer 29). David all of a sudden became a "bad boy" in her eyes. She always summoned him to the corner of his room for hours for no reason. After a while, she decided that the corner treatment was no longer effective, so she turned to the mirror treatment; she smashed Dave's head against a tear-streaked mirror, and he wasn't aloud to leave the mirror when she was done unless she told him otherwise. When Dave's father was home, he was safe; Daddy was his refuge. But one day Father wasn't home. Mother started to smack David until he crumpled to the floor. She yanked his arm and they both heard a pop. David cried himself to sleep that night; cradling his dislocated arm. Another day his Mom got really, really mad at David. She wanted blood and death. She told David to strip off his clothes and climb on to the hot stove. She nearly burnt him to death, but thankfully Stan opened the front door, and David was saved! Mom would never act that crazy around the other boys. David felt that he had finally won.