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The Child Called It (Dave Pelzer #1)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 155,244 ratings · 8,647 reviews

This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to sur

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Hardcover, 97 pages

Published January 1st 1993 by Christie R N Communication Consultants (first published January 1st 1992)

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Mar 04, 2010 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: The very credulous

Shelves: fiction, overrated

This book is very likely made up from start to finish. The events in it read like Pelzer imagined the worst child abuse possible and then said, "And it all happened to me!" Yeah, right. His brother and grandmother said in an interview that it was all rubbish, too, which casts more doubt upon the whole thing. Pelzer also bought his own book in bulk so the sales numbers would put it on the bestseller list -- he just doesn't have a whole lot of credibility. Perhaps worse than the fact that Pelzer i...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Gavin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was horrible. Period. A waste of my time. You see, what really pisses me off with this book is this: I have known kids that have come from horribly abusive situations that are more genuine than Pelzer is in his "memoir."

The stories of his life in this book contradict one another, are extremely over-the-top and, dare I say, fabricated some. Now, before anyone wants to crucify me, look at the facts:

His family members were interviewed and stated that this was pure fantasy. (I can concede...more

63 likes · like · see review

Mar 10, 2008 Eric rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs, abuse, mental-illness, addiction

this book was the 'hostel', or 'saw IV' of memoirs. i don't really know why i read it. it was free, first of all. and, i guess like any normal human being, i cannot look away from a trainwreck.

'a child called it' is not very well written. you walk away with more questions than you do answers. you don't really learn anything. you do, however, come away with having read some very disturbing and disgusting passages that describe in detail a case of horrendous child abuse. i'm not exactly sure what...more this book was the 'hostel', or 'saw IV' of memoirs. i don't really know why i read it. it was free, first of all. and, i guess like any normal human being, i cannot look away from a trainwreck.

'a child called it' is not very well written. you walk away with more questions than you do answers. you don't really learn anything. you do, however, come away with having read some very disturbing and disgusting passages that describe in detail a case of horrendous child abuse. i'm not exactly sure what the book's intention is. it doesn't work very well as a memoir. there is no advice that would put this in any sort of self-help category. and if its intention is to provide hope to victim's of abuse, i don't know what the take-away is other than 'if i lived through this, you can live through just about anything'.

i really don't know what to make of this book, as a piece of literary work. it's not much of one -- i don't know if it ever set out to be one. you get little, if any, insight into the dynamics of the brothers. you read one moment that the narrator hates his father, then loves his father, then hates his father. you read that the narrator cannot remember the color of his mother's hair or eyes, yet he describes in great detail many settings, images, etc. you really don't get any insight into the mother's descent into mental illness and alcoholism. one day she's the best, most loving mother in the world, the next she is straight out of a bosch painting. you get a feeling that pelzer is being very selective with what he shares with us. characters are never anything but inherently good or inherently evil. he's either being abused horribly or being embraced lovingly. there seems to be very little grey area in pelzer's book. the grey area is exactly what needs to be illuminated in a book about abuse. we learn far more from a book about becoming an alcoholic than we do from a book about being a drunk. the latter is voyeuristic and exploitive, the former can illuminate and possibly save lives.

there has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the accuracy of this book. i can't speak to that. there is a blurb about the book being up for the pulitzer at some point -- pelzer submitted it himself, which anyone can do. details like this do nothing but add an aura of snake oil -- the dime-store self-help book jacket design doesn't help matters.

the last thing i'd want to do is come down on a dude who's lived through the type of hellish abuse described here. even if his descriptions were 1/10th true, it would still be more than any human being should have to endure. i am not claiming that this guy did not suffer, but we need more from books than a simple retelling of events. we get that in the newspaper every morning. (less)

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Jul 06, 2007 Maria M. Elmvang rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, biographies, not-owned, non-fiction, 1-star

I did not like this book. But that's okay. You're not supposed to like it. It's a horrible, horrible book. A trainwreck of a book. I wanted to look away, but just couldn't. I know it's the first part in a trilogy, but I doubt I'm going to read the other two books. It was too, too depressing.

Actually, the person I got most angry with was the father. The mother was obviously sick and needed help. There's no other explanation for the awful things she subjected her son to. But what's the father's ex...more

35 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2008 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

I've sat with this book on my desk for a couple weeks, unable to decide what I would write for a review. I'm wholly torn between this being one of my most-asked-for and least-favorite-ever titles. I wish the amount of times I heard "this was the first book I liked" (and the amount of times it's been billed/stolen from the library) corresponded to its quality, but I truly found it very short on redeeming qualities. Eric's Goodreads review says pretty much what I would say.

The writing was cliched...more

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Nov 24, 2008 Jennifer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2002, biography, bad-bad-bad

Why the hell did I pick this book up? It was depressing as hell and it was poorly written. It chronicles the abuse this little boy named David went through as a child. And I think abuse is too mild a term for what he went through. It was horrible. Reading the torture he endured at the hand of his own family was painful.

I came away from this book depressed. And I had several thoughts that kept running through my head. What was the point of this book? It almost seemed like a shrink told him to wr...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Kohei rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: school-year-book

A Child Called "It" HCI, 1995 $9.95
By Dave Pelzer ISBN 1558743669
One very common issue that goes around in our world is child abuse, it happens everywhere and it is something that is horrible and cannot be stopped. Dave Pelzer, the author of the autobiographical book, A Child Called It, shows the very dark corners of child abuse by viewing to the readers his horrific life as a young boy living with his mother that constantly abused him.
Dave Pelzer, who lived with his unstable, disturbed, alcoh...more

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Jul 19, 2007 Briynne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Easily the most terrifying book I've ever read. I think I had literally repressed the memory of it, until I randomly happened across the title this week.

I experienced this book in a fairly odd way, during a week-long cheerleading camp my sophomore year of high school. My coach was reading it and somehow ended up reading the entire book aloud to my squad during breaks and at night. Once she started, we were all addicted and spent every free moment listening with rapt and horrified attention.

I r...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Serina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: high-school

*1.2

Recommended by a friend in orchestra, this book is supposed to be "really really good".

I finished it in 3 hours because it was short and to the point. Yet I must say this book is extremely poorly written. It is structured in a sense similar to a pointless shopping list: so first my mother did this to me, then she did this, I was starving, afterwards she did this and I felt so terrible. Pelzer basically just described, no scratch that, he stated the unfortunate things that have happened to hi...more *1.2

Recommended by a friend in orchestra, this book is supposed to be "really really good".

I finished it in 3 hours because it was short and to the point. Yet I must say this book is extremely poorly written. It is structured in a sense similar to a pointless shopping list: so first my mother did this to me, then she did this, I was starving, afterwards she did this and I felt so terrible. Pelzer basically just described, no scratch that, he stated the unfortunate things that have happened to him in sequence. There are no character traits or branches of the story. Everything revolves around his mother and punishments; the book touches on nothing else. There are also no literary devices. Normally I don't really care about that, but the lack of writing skills has, honestly, made this book quite bland.

A little synopsis of the book: Dave Pelzer was born the third of five children. His mother, one day, suddenly changed into a completely different person: from a kind and lovely mother, she transformed into one who starved and tortured Dave.

What bothers me the most is the improbability of Dave's statements. These punishments Dave had gotten since four years old or so are so radical and crude that I am skeptical of what have really happened. Of course, I have no rights to judge. Pelzer's account is just way too farfetched. These things *did* happen to him, just not to this extent.

These are reasons for my claims:
1. The mother treats all of her children but Dave compassionately and motherly, yet Dave is singled out. The book has never explained why the mother suddenly turned crazy and why Dave was the hapless scapegoat. Update: That is a likely situation, so I no longer doubt it.
2. The father and brothers at first sympathized with Dave. Towards the middle, they just all pretended Dave was their slave, as their mother has said.
3. The unusualness of Dave's punishments. His mother had starved him for more than ten days, made him eat soap, forced him to inhale a mixture of ammonia and bleach, attempted to burn his arm over a gas stove (or to be precise, asked him to lie down on it), smashed his head into his baby brother's diaper (with feces on it), stabbed him in the stomach with a knife, strangled him, submerged his head under water, etc. And by the frequency of these punishments inflicted on Dave, it is almost impossible that Dave is still alive today, living well in good mental and physical health.
4. The response from Dave's family after the book was published.(less)

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May 03, 2009 Laurel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, psychology, memoir

YIKES. This is a man's account of the severe abuse he suffered as a young child through the hands of his mother. Apparently, there is some doubt on whether the story is actually true, or whether the author merely made the whole thing up. I don't know enough about the controversy to speculate, so I will just give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume this is indeed a factual memoir of his childhood. If that is the case, then he most certainly deserves major admiration for having overcome...more

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Mar 13, 2008 sandiie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: future/present psychologists, caring people <3

A Child Called "It":One Child's Courage to Survive
Dave Pelzer
Health Communications, Inc., 1993, 153 pp., $9.95
ISBN 1-55874-366-9

Have your parents ever abused you? In The Child Called "It", a true story that can bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a beating heart, Dave, the protagonist, is abused in the most horrifying ways possible. What kind of mother would want to hurt their own little child? David's mom's actions can prove that wrong.
"Once, I ate some leftover pork. Hours later I bent o...more

25 likes · like · see review

Sep 28, 2007 Nate83 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book about a child his name is David. He is telling about his life when he was young. He had three brothers and mom and a dad. His dad was a local firefighter and his mom was a stay at mom kind of person.
They had a really good life they went on vacations and had picnics.
He looked up to his dad and loved his mom very much. He use to been able to play with his brothers but his dad stared to not come home because of his job he had to stay there 24/7. So his mom started to take out her fr...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Whitney rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Someone unbelieveibly gullible.

I'm pretty sure that the book should have been called.
A Child Called "It”: One Child's Courage to Survive...to Write a Craptastic Book.

Call me heartless, but I hated the book. Not because it was sad, because it obviously bullshit. I don't really see the point of writing this book, the only thing I can think of is publicizing his past child abuse... and the point of that is? Well to make money, he didn't attempt to write a book that's going to help anyone, he wrote it so people would feel bad for...more

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Apr 08, 2008 `. kateelynn * rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh my god, what can I possibly say about this book? When I first started reading this book last year, I was just so hooked to it and I just wanted to know everything about this book. It was all about this author's childhood gone horrible with the extreme abuse, the torture and suffering. I really couldn't believe my eyes, the author described like, everything he went through, all the pain he had to go through, how he felt and everything. I could really understand how he felt but one thing about...more Oh my god, what can I possibly say about this book? When I first started reading this book last year, I was just so hooked to it and I just wanted to know everything about this book. It was all about this author's childhood gone horrible with the extreme abuse, the torture and suffering. I really couldn't believe my eyes, the author described like, everything he went through, all the pain he had to go through, how he felt and everything. I could really understand how he felt but one thing about this book I don't get at all is how his own mother transformed from a loving mother to a nightmarish, abusive mother so quickly. I mean, the author was only, like a little boy when his mother started abusing him.

This book is extremely emotional and can make you feel so bad for the author and even cry so. This book was all about the author's childhood and how he survived through such abuse, starvation, and neglect. This also showed how bad things happen to good people - the author's own father didn't even help out at all - he was once a fun, loving fireman, turned into an alcoholic, carless father.

The only way for the author to get help was through school but the only thing that kept him from telling the school the truth was his fear of his mother going after him and make his life last through hell forever; even though the school sort of already knew, from all the bruises on him, him stealing the children's food because of hunger, from his mother starving the author and how he constantly uses identical/unreasonable lies about his bruises and wounds. He was pratically stabbed in the belly and had to go through such pain. His faith and hope kept him going & he never let his mother win this sick game.

In the end, he told the school the truth and he was finally taken out of the horrible home, with the abusive mother, two brothers that weren't treated horribly at all and the careless, alcoholic father - and put into a much better home - foster home. I loved this first book so much that I even continued on to the next book!
A lot of thanks goes to my teacher, for lending me the books - it's one of my most favorites!(less)

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Mar 27, 2008 Sammy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: a-the-best

Okay, this is going to be a short and sweet review since it's a non-fictional autobiography and you can't really critique things like characters and story. But I'm going to say what I can...

This book was a hard one to read yet I couldn't put it down. There's a different something in Dave's story that will keep different people reading. Mine was: Why? I wanted to know why his mother did this. I wanted to know what made her do it. I wanted to know how she could to it. And I wanted to know why it w...more Okay, this is going to be a short and sweet review since it's a non-fictional autobiography and you can't really critique things like characters and story. But I'm going to say what I can...

This book was a hard one to read yet I couldn't put it down. There's a different something in Dave's story that will keep different people reading. Mine was: Why? I wanted to know why his mother did this. I wanted to know what made her do it. I wanted to know how she could to it. And I wanted to know why it was Dave she picked out of him and his brothers. What made Dave the one she singled out for such monstrous torture. But that's something people involved in child abuse cases ask themselves every day.

You really do feel for Dave. You don't feel with him because there are moments so bad that he has to disconnect himself. I couldn't do that while reading it though. I almost felt that if I could send my anger and frustration and sadness and hope out there it would stop. Of course it was foolish of me seeing as it happened many years ago and he's a grown man who escaped his mothers claws.

I was only annoyed by the fact that the book was too short and that dividing his story into three seperate books seemed unnecessary. Especially because by the end the reader has become so invested in Dave and feels like they're such a part of his life, they want to go with him as he continues on to the next, hopefully happier chapter in his life. Perhaps it was a publishers marketing scheme to get more money or something. Goodness knows it wasn't Dave's. His goal was to tell his story, thank those who helped him, and open a door to shed light on an issue that is often hidden away. All of which he accomplished magnificently.

What we learn in Dave's story is that child abuse is real. It comes in many forms, but it's out there and it's up to those of us in the lives of children to stand up and be the voice for the abused. Another thing we learn is to not back down in that fight, of course there will be road blocks, but if you champion for a child as those special people in Dave's life did, you can help. You can save a life, heart, and soul. You can give a child hope.

This book is a must-read I'd say. I of course went out and got the follow-up (I hate to use the word sequel with something like this) and read it right away. That's a review to follow later. If you are debating about reading this book I will just say that it is a hard read. If you're a mother it will probably be especially hard. If you have a deep compassion and love for children it will probably be hard. If you yourself have experienced abuse it will probably be hard. If you just have a heart it will be hard. But don't give up. It would be even harder to just quit in the middle, trust me on that. It's that end, despite being a beginning, that will bring tears to your eyes and a much needed smile to your face.(less)

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Jun 25, 2012 M rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's such a devastating true story, despite on occassions some of the abuses Mr Pelzer edured were too disturbing to be true. This book is an amazing memoir written from the viewpoint of a child who has endured one of the worst case in the state of California. I couldn't help but to flinch, to feel the pain and disappointment the author sought to convey from page 1 until the end. It's even more saddening to think that David Pelzer is actually one of the few who survived and not to fall into the...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2008 Lei rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes to read

Recommended to Lei by: my drama teacher

This book was really sad. The fact that it was a real story made it way sadder. At one point when i was reading the part about the bathroom and mirror treatment, i almost cried. I can't believe that anyone would do such things to their own flesh and blood.If i was David, i would have tried to run away or tell somebody at my school of the things that were happening at home.
The person that i actually hated more that the mother in the book was David's father.How can you sit around watching a sick p...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Shy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, books-i-own, genre_nonfiction

When I first picked up this book, I never know that reading it would be this traumatic. It is a very short read but I seriously have to say that it is not the kind of book that you read for pleasure. Some parts of it were very disturbing, which when coupled with vivid details of the abuse that the author had to endure, making it one of the most depressing books I ever read.

A Child Called “It” portrayed the childhood life of Dave Pelzer, where he was severely abused by his own mother. The way it...more When I first picked up this book, I never know that reading it would be this traumatic. It is a very short read but I seriously have to say that it is not the kind of book that you read for pleasure. Some parts of it were very disturbing, which when coupled with vivid details of the abuse that the author had to endure, making it one of the most depressing books I ever read.

A Child Called “It” portrayed the childhood life of Dave Pelzer, where he was severely abused by his own mother. The way it was done was very sickening to the point where I feel like vomiting and crying. What kind of mother that willing to let her own son sleep with an empty stomach? What kind of mother that has a heart to beat her son till he passed out? What kind of mother that so sick till she can feed her son with poisonous stuffs? I cannot help thinking about all these questions throughout the book. The thing that I feel disturbing most was the fact that his father witnessed his son being abused but never once stood up for him. The way the author described his feeling towards his father’s indifferent behaviour was really heartbreaking. I cannot imagine myself living in his shoes and even if I do, I don’t know if I would ever make it out of it alive. The way that the author prevailed through this adversity was utterly amazing.

With that being said, the high points given for this book is not because it was excellently written but more to the message that the author tried to convey in between the lines. I understand that there are some who question the credibility of his story as a whole but all I can say is that just because these heartbreaking events didn't occur in your life it doesn't mean that it won't happen to others. To me, this is a very good read in a sense that it makes me more appreciative of life and every other thing that have been trusted to me.

Heartbreaking quote:
Get one thing straight, you little son of a b*tch! There is nothing you can do to impress me! Do you understand me? You are a nobody! An It! You are nonexistent! You are a bastard child! I hate you and I wish you were dead! Dead! Do you hear me? Dead! (less)

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Jun 23, 2008 Carrie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: my friends

Recommended to Carrie by: Ron

Shelves: effed-up-memoirs, book-club

I know it's not nice to burn, stab, poison, starve or otherwise torture your kid, but damn! If THAT can't motivate a boy to do the dishes in less than half an hour, how's he ever gonna learn?!

Seriously, though. I'm enjoying this short little autobiography from a "glad it wasn't me" perspective. The only problem is I can't believe a book so poorly edited became a New York Times Bestseller. The man uses commas like they're going out of style and uses "everyday" instead of "every day." [Everyday i...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Hildur rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-memoir, books-read-before-2009, read-in-icelandic

This was read to me when I was about 10 years old (maybe a year or two older).

I generally don't like books where people tell you how horrible their life was. Why would you willingly want to read about other people's misery? I at least don't get any satisfaction from it.

Misery and abuse can work in a story if it's well told and has something in it besides descriptions of torture. As far as I remember this was one of those that didn't have anything extra about it.

I don't really get why my teacher...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Neaka rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody under the age of 11

Recommended to Neaka by: my aunt. even though she didn't know what it was about.

I really don't know what to say about this book. It was amazing, depressing, horrible and heartbreaking all at the same time. I remember when I read it too. I was at my cousins house in LA, and I was bored, so my aunt when into my cousin's room and found me some books. A Child Called "It" was one of them. I still recall how I sat there in my other cousin's room, completely devoured in it. I was in fourth grade, so I don't think I fully comprehended the severity of what happened to David in the b...more

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Dec 13, 2008 Trevor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Shelves: book-club

I read A child called "It" for my fifth book report. This is a heart wrenching true story about the author of the book when he was a kid. His name is David Pelzer and he is the main character in the book. He gets abused by his mom everyday without a break. She takes her frustrations out on him for no reason. It is one of the saddest books I have ever read. In parts it is so sad you hardly hold back the tears for the pain that this little kid is feeling. It is even more sad because it is real. He...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Zainab alshakarchi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dave Pelzer the author of the book " A child called it". The character was the victim of his mom agony.In the beginning plezer life was alright every thing was normal he and his family always were going on trips having fun together but suddenly ever thing start to change.He started to struggle when he started elementary school. The book was professionally expressing the life and the feeling that the character lived and felt like alien in his own house, the house that no person has pity on him ex...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Audreyparra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

Wow this book was amazing! I think.. well I know this is the best book I have ever read. Its about a six year old boy that lives with his mother, father, and two brothers. His dad, a workign guy barlety at home. His brothers are older then him, so he got teased. His mother was a good mother at first, in his early ages. As he grow up she started to beat him and scream at him. He goes through this for many years, adn sometimes his mothjer went to far. I Liked this book because it shows you what mi...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Sam Ciuffardi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first found out about this book when I saw my mother reading it. She was making weird faces and sometimes crying. But when she finished is when I realized why she made those faces and why she cried.

"A Child Called 'It'" really is my favourite book. It's a book about a child's worst nightmare. What he goes through is something no child should go through.....

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Mar 30, 2012 Claudia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book about a year ago. I look back on how i was really sad because I moved away from my old school back from across the bay area(SF bay area) in Daly City, but then I outgrew it and I began to read this book. I had absolutely nothing in common with it, but I had always known about the subject of this book without even knowing the book itself. David Pelzer shows us all how a little boy so young was abused emotionally and physically throughout a long period of time. As I read I found o...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Kristen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

A truly inspiring book. I loved it. An amazing true story of a boy who had the courage to overcome abuse by his own mother. I think that everybody should read this book and learn that yes, child abuse is very real and it teaches an important lesson. Highly recommended.

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Jun 01, 2008 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i totally cried on every page it's a sad and horrifying story. But the way it's written makes more of an inspiration than a "sob story". it gives you hope and makes you appreciate the life you have. It also reminds people that there are abusive parents out there so we should all have our eyes open for the signs.

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Feb 14, 2013 Amy G rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The “Child Called It” its a very good book in this story there was little kid that his mom didn’t treat him good he was always abuse by his mother and treated like crap but his mother didn’t care “It” always had bruises created by his mother ,at school everybody would ask him “what happened”!!? “are You ok”?? but he would lie and say that he's ok or that he fall in the ground ,the problem he had was that he wouldn’t let no one hurt his mother he really loved her he didn’t want nothing to happene...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Arrianne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Written from the point of view of the abused who writes a first person narrative with an adults comprehension of events that happened to him as a child.
Whether or not the account is exaggerated or not, the way this book is written makes it very tiresome.

I think this book has gotten a lot of people's attention and I feel that's definitely a positive thing, but the downside for me is the book accomplishes little else. It just seems like a very public rant or "dump" for the author regarding their...more

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About Dave Pelzer

An author best known for his 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called It.

At the age of 12, Dave was removed from an abusive home and placed in a series of foster homes. In 1979, he joined the Air Force and later became an author of memoirs and self-improvement books.

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Books by Dave Pelzer

The Lost Boy: A Foster Child's Search for the Love of a Family

A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness

The Privilege of Youth: A Teenager's Story

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Trivia About A Child Called "It"

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Quotes from A Child Called It

“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.” — 111 people liked it

“One could come from less than humble beginnings, to become a winner from within.” — 60 people liked it

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The Child Called It (Dave Pelzer #1)

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