Review on 10th and 11th books for the year

Louise kindly lent me 3 books - "A child called It", "The Lost Boy" and "A man named Dave", all written by Dave Pelzer.

Dave was abused by his mother in what is apparently amongst the worst child abuse cases ever recorded in California. Between 5 and 12 his mother treated him as a slave, gave him impossibly short time limits to complete chores, and punished him with physical and mental abuse if he didn't complete the chores. He was made to swallow ammonia for being a "bad boy", for which his horrendous crime was things like stealing food from other children at school because his mother hadn't fed him for days, or for speaking to his mother before she had given permission to speak. Other punishment included regularly being starved of food, having to make himself throw up each day to prove he hadn't found food elsewhere, being beaten, kicked, punched, strangled and thrown around like a ragdoll on a daily basis. As a 5 year old (I think), his mother managed to pull his arm out of his socket during a beating. She didn't bother taking him to a hospital until the next day and claimed he fell out of bed. The cruelty shown to him is just horrible, and you wonder what can turn a human being into treating their own child like that. Especially as she had 4 other children who she treated like regular children.

Anyway, "A child called It" is about his life while he was with his mother, and the abuse he received up until age 12, at which point he was rescued by his school teachers, and put into foster care.

"The Lost Boy" picks up his life as he starts out in foster care, trying to regain self confidence, and work out who he is and where he belongs in the world.

These books were really interesting, and not the most pleasant things to read, especially if you think about a child that same age you know and imagine them being put through such horrible things. I still enjoyed them though, and how even as a young boy, Dave never let his mother win, in that while she was bigger and stronger, he had the mental capacity to improve himself once he got away rather than falling into the same abusive habits.

It's also interesting because he grew up in this part of the world where I am now. At one point, he lived in Menlo Park, which is only 2 cities away. It just makes it almost more "real".

I've just started "A man called Dave", which is his life from an 18 year old as he gets out of foster care and faces the "real world". Stay tuned for this review.