** spoiler alert ** 
 GENRE: Non-fiction: Self-help, psychology, inspirational. 
 SUBJECT/THEMES: Child abuse, survival, abnormal family dynamics. 
 SUMMARY: In this book, Pelzer tells the story of a few years of his childhood during which he was horrifically abused by his mother. We know Pelzer experiences a happy ending, for the first chapter of the book has him at school, explaining to a police officer what his mother does to him, and then being taken away to a foster home. The rest of the book details how his mother used to be kind and loving, and Pelzer and his two brothers felt they had the best family in the world. Then the mother turns to a darker place, and begins pushing Pelzer out of the family. He may not look or talk to his brothers. He may not eat with his family; in fact, he rarely gets food at all. He does the family's cleaning, and lives apart from them. He is dirty and wears tattered clothes to school, where he steals whatever food he can find from lunch boxes and other places. We follow Pelzer all through his nearly impossibly difficult journey to escaping from his abusive mother. 
 EVALUATION: A Child Called "It" is as shocking as it is difficult to read. The words and the writing themselves are easy enough to process, yet Pelzer's treatment is so unfathomable as to make it difficult to read. Pelzer's mother starved him, stabbed him, hit him, and spoon-fed him ammonia, among other atrocities. She only singled him out and shunned him from the rest of the family. She did not seem to physically mistreat his brothers, and went on to have two other sons after Pelzer's abuse began. This is something I wanted to better understand, and the only thing that lacked for me in the telling of this boy's childhood. Yet I suspect he does not know why either. I was also frustrated with Pelzer's father, who stood by and let the abuse occur. 
 WHY I WOULD INCLUDE IT: Although there may be fewer teenagers being abused than children, teens can still learn from Pelzer's tale. Pelzer was shunned at school, the same place where he remembered having lots of friends and enjoying the experience. Yet when his mother did not let him bathe and sent him to school in worn clothing, his previous friends left him, and he could not make new ones. One may not fully understand the circumstances behind someone's misfortune, so I would hope that teens would learn compassion and empathy by reading this book. Beyond this, seeing the strength in such a young boy, and watching him triumph against the odds is indeed inspirational. 
 ITEMS WITH SIMILAR APPEAL: 
 *	Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous. 
 *	They Cage the Animals at Night, by Jennings Michael Burch. 
 *	Ghost Girl: The True Story of a Child in Peril and the Teacher Who Saved Her, by Torey Hayden. 
 *	Other books in this series, by Dave Pelzer. 
 *	A Brother's Journey: Surviving a Childhood of Abuse, by Richard Pelzer.