Basic book review rough draft

“A Child Called It”

"A Child called It", by Dave Pelzer, depicts his tragic childhood where he was constantly and relentlessly abused by his mother, for almost no reason. When David was a young child, he was respected by his mother. But when he got around the age of 1st grade, he devilish "games" began. She would constantly be beaten for no reason, to the amusement of his mother. Throughout the book, Pelzer describes many of the bad things that have happened to him. At one point, she tells him to lay on a burning stove. I think that this book successfully depicts what happened to him and how he  reacted.

In this book, Dave Pelzer writes from the viewpoint of himself as a child going through these horrific events. He also emphasizes the fact that food is scarce for him and not so much for others in his family. In many parts of the book, he describes how much he would like to eat, and be accepted as a member of the family.

"Sitting there on my hands, I could hear my brothers opening the refrigerator to get their desserts, and I hated it. I looked at myself. My skin had a yellowish tint., and my muscles were thin and stringy. Whenever I heard one of my brothers laugh at a television show, I cursed their names."

Throughout the book, he has many of these occurences. He is sitting in the garage in the prisoner of war position, listening to his family eat. I have noticed in Pelzer's style of writing that he does not show that his mother does bad things, but that his father and brothers also lack compassion for him. I liked his style of writing. not only did it show that his mother did horrible things to him, but his father did not show any sign of helping him, and he just left. Also, his brothers were pretty rude to him. This leaves less room for wonder in the plot.
What surprises me in this book is that his brothers also are brainwashed by their mother to do mean things to their brother. They kick him and help their mother with her devilish games. I realize that some may not know better but they should be able to distinguish right from wrong.
I think that Dave Pelzer wrote this book very well. Barely any questions remained in my mind when I finished. Also, I like that the ending was put at the beginning so there was hope in the book.

The author of "The Child Called It", Dave Pelzer, actually experienced these horrible events described in great detail. He had to endure his mother's crazy, messed up, satanic games. I am glad that he wrote this book because he seemed to have a clear purpose in mind. To educate the reader about the horrors of child abuse and gain national attention on the subject. Throughout the book, he is hurt and abused and goes through many cruel and unusual punishments for things that he was pushed to do by his crazy mother. For most of the book, he relies on his father, who is fully aware of what happens, to save him from his mother. Filled with false promises, David's father does little to fight for David. "Father stood lifeless as mother fed me another dose of ammonia. But this time, I fought back. She had to pry my mouth open, and by thrashing my head from side to side, I was able to make her spill most of the cleaner on to the floor. But not enough." (76) As the book progresses, David begins to realize that his father will not help him. He has to fight back himself. This quote makes people realize that even if they do not know much about child abuse, horrible things happen to children every day. I think Dave Pelzer is very successful in his purpose in this book. This bestseller depicts in great detail what happens to kids who are abused.  What is extremely sad is that throughout the book, people knew and did little to prevent it. I think he also achieves his purpose by showing that there was no justification for the abuse. For example, multiple times in the book, when the Mother is punishing David, she says that he is a bad boy, and nothing more. "And she never beats you? The lady asked. No...uh... I mean, only when I get punished... when I'm a bad boy, I said trying to cover up the truth." Here, he is talking to a social services worker. After this, his mother beats him because she does not want to get in trouble. Also, she claims that he is a bad boy and should be beaten and never gives any other reasons. It is because of her beatings and her starving him that he steals food. It is for stealing food that she beats him. It is a never ending cycle.

“A Child Called It”, in my opinion, successfully educates readers on the horrors of domestic child abuse. I believe that Dave Pelzer definitely achieved his purpose. Also, I like his first-person style of writing and I like the description he uses to paint a picture.