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 and the "plot" moved along by way of "one day," "one Sunday," or "later." There was never any explanation attempted for the mother's instant transformation from idyllic homemaker to savage abuser (unless you are supposed to infer that it's alcohol's fault, in which case, talk a little about alcoholism). There is absolutely no process of recovery or explanation or psychological background, and the book leaves huge questions open, saying "Please understand that many of your questions will be answered in the next two books in the trilogy series." That made me want to throw it across the room. It's a great marketing gimmick for fiction, but not for a supposedly true story. That kind of self-exploitation leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 
 As for "truth," the NYTimes article "Dysfunction for Dollars" sheds some very interesting light on Dave's story: 
 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage... 
 All that being said, I am going to try to take this book for what it is: an excellent awareness-raiser about child abuse; a survival story that may help many think "if he can get through that, I can get through anything"; and a simple, quick, can't-look-away-from-the-train-wreck read that kids and teens have given a cult following. May they then move on to something better.