David J. Pelzer

When I finished this book, there was one clear thought in my head.

Why the hell didn't Mom go to jail? I mean, seriously.

As I read this story, I wondered how Mommy could have transformed into 'Mother' and then 'The B*tch'. I don't care of she was an alcoholic or had mental problems, treating a child like this is simply inexcusable, and that Dad passively stood by just made me want to cry and rage. It's simply heartbreaking to see how Dave was singled out and his brothers treated normally. show more What twisted logic brought Mother to single David out. Heck, when he gets stabbed in the chest, she doesn't take him to the hospital!

I'm glad that David was eventually rescued, but the severity of his case should have caused the police to investigate the home. Sure, it was a different time (1970's) but if I were one of the people working with/rescuing David, I would be wondering if his siblings were being treated the same. It just disappoints me that even today, some parents can still get away with abusing their children. I'm surprised that David didn't go after his mother when he became an adult, but that's just me. And the sad thing is, while David got rescued (eventually) some other children don't, and they die without any justice or hope. That parents could ever do this to their children (or owners to their animals) still disgusts and saddens me even today, nearly ten years after I read this book. show less

A Child Called "It"
While reading this book I had a hard time not throwing it against a wall or out of a window. All of this reaction, not because I didn't like it, but because, I was absolutely appalled by what this man's mother did to him as a child. I read this as someone who suffered abuse when younger, thinking that I would be able to relate. I am now ever so much more grateful that my abuser was stopped when I was still very young. This was one of the most heartwrenching and troublesome show more books I have ever read, but I would recommend it to everyone. I am looking forward to reading the other books that Pelzer has written, I am anxious to see the journey that turned him into the man he is today.

The Lost Boy

I read this immediately after [A Child Called "It"] and found it almost as sad. I am so glad that David Pelzer shows the positive side of the foster care system and lets everyone know just how important that institution is. Even after David escaped the physical abuse his mother exacts on him in the first book, he has to undergo continuing mental abuse from her. She goes so far as to try and get him institutionalized for the rest of his life in an insane asylum. With everything she does to this poor child I got so mad that she wasn't somehow punished that I wanted to scream. Overall I think this is by far the best set of books that I have ever read. The series David Pelzer wrote is truly life altering for, what I guess is, very many people. show less

David Pelzer continues the story he began in A Child Called It, picking up from the time he entered foster care. A very confused boy who wants to be 'good' and be loved, he seeks out approval in sometimes disastrous ways.
I found this very true to the lived experiences I've witnessed as a social worker. These days, David would have been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder and provided additional services, as well as his foster parents would have been. Taking place in the early days show more of the child protection and foster care system, it was evident that all the people involved were doing the best they could with what they had to work with. I commend Pelzer, his workers and his various parental figures for their fortitude. People who call Pelzer's memoirs unbelievable or unrelatable have no idea what they're talking about. show less

While this book wasn't as graphic as the first novel, " A Child Called IT", it was heart-breaking nonetheless. I cannot believe the strength that Dave Peltzer demonstrated throughout his young life, and the "problems" that he had as far as his struggles seemed mundane compared to what he went through. It irked me to the core that his mother was not thrown in jail for the rest of her life, regardless of her "mental illness", so should have been tossed in jail, or even a mental institution for show more the remander of her life for what she did to her own child, but instead she walked free.

This story goes into depth looking at the trial between the state and Mrs. Pelzer, as well as Daves journeys through different foster families and trying to find his place in the world, as well as his on-going struggles to fit in and live a normal life. Not only did his mother torment him, but the kids in his schools as well as his foster families tormented him as well, and it goes to show that you should NEVER pick on another child, because you NEVER know what they are going through. My heart absolutly broke for this little boy, and at an age when kids are going to be a reality to me in the near future, it breaks my heart even more to know that a parent can subject there child to such a horrific childhood.

Everyone should read this book, it's not going to make you happy, or uplift you, but it's still essential to read if only to open your eyes to the realities of child abuse and the need for not only foster parents, but for exceptance for children that are different, and for the parents that foster them. show less