Summary:
Dave Pelzer wrote about his life growing up. When he was really young he noticed his alcoholic mother treated him worse than his other siblings. At first he didn't really think anything of it. He thought it was just chores and punishment, but then it got worse. His mother would starve him, and sometimes he wouldn't get fed for days. When he did get food it was scraps of food that had gone bad. He would steal food from children at school. When he got caught, his mother's punishments or "games" were way out of proportion. These "games" would leave him nearly dead. He had many chores to do in a certain amount of time, when not completed there would be a punishment. The things she did to him were awful. When people at school asked him about his cuts, bruises and burns, he would lie and make up stories. He wore torn clothes and slept on an army cot in the basement. Dave's father was afraid of his wife and did nothing to stop her.
Review:
This is a really good but extremely sad book. I couldn't even imagine anyone treating someone like this, never mind their own child. I usually get bored with books but I couldn't put this book down. Every page kept me wanting to find out what happened next. It will make you really appreciate everything that you have and how your parents treat you. I would definitely recommend reading this book.
Quote:
"During one period of time when Father was away, Mother starved me for about ten consecutive days. No matter how hard I tried to meet her time limits, I couldn't make it. And the consequence was no food. Mother was completely thorough in making sure I was unable to steal any food. She cleared the dinner table herself, putting the food down the garbage disposal. She rummaged through the garbage can every day before I emptied it downstairs." I picked this quote because I thought it really showed how awful the mother is. She didn't feed her son for ten days and made sure there was no way for him to get food.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I read this book over the summer it was very good. I could not believe it was a true story. I felt so bad for the boy to have gone through the gruesome experiences. I also read his other books after this one they were also very good.- Samantha Holt
ReplyDeleteI have heard a little bit about this book, and never really knew what it was about. It seems like a good book from your review, although heartbreaking, to think that a mother could treat their own children so cruel. The quote you chose, also kind of scared me, to think that after all his mother had done wrong to him, he's able to still call her mother.
ReplyDeleteThis story is so good but also very sad. His childhood was horrible, but he still overcame all of the odds. I felt so bad while reading the description of this story because the boys mother didn't care about him or anybody but herself. This is a great story but if you don't like sad and horrifying stories then this isn't the one for you
ReplyDelete-Malik