A Child Called It Summary

The book, A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer, is a true story of a man’s childhood from the ages of 4 to 12 and how things went from good to bad in a matter of a few years due to his mother’s abusive tendencies toward him. It is a moving story of how this child mustered up the strength to keep living, despite his harsh circumstances. This book, for the most part, is in chronological order and each chapter is a significant event that happened throughout the few years he was under his mother’s care, before he was taken away by Child Protective Services. The first chapter is the only chapter that is not in chronological order, because it starts out with his rescue from his abusive household. Throughout the chapter, one can see the signs of obvious child abuse and neglect. His clothes have “more holes than Swiss cheese” (Pelzer, 1995, p. 6) and he notes that the school nurse go through a normal routine of checking his body for new bruises. He flinches when someone pats his head, which he has grown accustomed to because of being beaten so often, and jumps in his chair when someone raises their voice. He cannot look someone in the eye, even someone he trusts, such as the school nurse (p. 8). When he tries explain to the police officer why he thinks his mother does this to him, he replies that he deserves what he
The book serves as a message to those who have experienced child abuse, telling them that they are not alone. It also serves as a reminder to people like me that this is an occurring tragedy that happens and that we need to keep our eyes peeled for kids that are in distress. Dave had lived with this horrible lifestyle for years. He had burn marks, bruises, stab wounds, scratches, black eyes, and bloody noses, yet no one said anything. No one noticed. No one took action until he was so broken down that he was so close to losing hope in humanity. It is our duty as children of God to look out and care for each