A Child Called It Review

A Child Called It, is a book in which the author tells of his life from the ages of around 5-9 while being abused by his alcoholic mother. In this story Dave is stabbed, forced to breathe ammonia and bleach, told to eat feces, and is considered the slave child of "The Family". This book was very interesting and has won several awards. It will leave you interested at every page as well as having mixed emotions. Since this book was written from the perspective of a child, important details such as what caused the abuse were left out. One of the more confusing elements of this story is that it seems as if it does nothing but document the abuse...nothing more. One page he's being slammed against countertops and the next he is forced to lay in cold water. This book is very explicit, but as far as being interesting is concerned...it definitely fits the bill. One actually becomes so shocked at the levels of abuse Dave describes that you begin to question whether it was exaggerated or not. Critics have claimed that the times listed contradict one another and that the brothers of Dave have denied his abuse. It's also worth stating that Dave claims in his book that his brothers were often times his abuseers as well.

What doesn't add up from this story is why after these reported cases of severe abuse (Dave claims to be one of the worst in California) was his mother not punished? Little details such as these is what makes the story simply not add up. One things for sure, whether you believe it to be true or not...this book will NOT leave you bored or disinterested.