Line #19 Literature/AChildCalledIt


1	[[quoteright:237:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dave_pelzer_6075.jpg]]
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3	The autobiographical story of Dave Pelzer (called David in the books), victim of one of the worst cases of child abuse in California history. The first in a series of books based on his life, ''A Child Called "It"'' documents his life from the beginning of the abuse at age five, to age twelve. Not for the faint of heart.
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5	It was published in 1995, followed by ''The Lost Boy,'' which chronicled Dave's teen years, ending with ''A Man Named Dave,'' about his adulthood.
6	It was later followed up by a biography his brother Richard wrote about how ''he'' became the Scapegoat after David was taken away, ''A Brother's Journey.''
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8	In the years following its publication, the books' veracity has been called into question. David and Richard Pelzers' other relatives have stated that the books weren't accurate, with another brother stating that ''A Child Called "It"'' is a lie and that David was taken into care for starting a fire and shoplifting..
9	Critics have also called the books into question, noting that despite Catherine's abuse of David being known as "the worst case of child abuse in the country," there are very no outside sources describing the events described apart from the books themselves.
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11	----
12	!!These books provide examples of:
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14	* AbusiveParents: Catherine fits this trope to a T, being a ''very'' emotionally and physically abusive (as well as neglectful) one.
15	* AdultsAreUseless / UselessBystanderParent: Dave Pelzer's father didn't make any effort to stop his wife.
16	* AffectionateNickname: David's father called him "Tiger," eventually using it as an attempt to comfort him during the abuse. Sadly, it didn't last.
17	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Not only is David abused at home, but his classmates shut him out for stealing their lunches.
18	* AxCrazy: Catherine, again.
19	* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: Zigzagged. The rest of David's RealLife family (namely, his maternal grandmother and younger brother Stephen) have stated that the books are, at best, a major exaggeration, or, at worst, downright untrue. David's counterargument is claiming his brother's cerebral palsy discounts what he says because he's "semi-retarded" and is blindly devoted to their mother. His brother Richard has ''also'' written several books chronicling the abuse he suffered in earnest after David was removed by child protective services. That being said, there are several discrepancies between both books, such as when he recalls being stabbed in the stomach while Richard says that it was in the heart, plus the fact that several incidents could have been made up or exxagerated, as it's unlikely someone, especially not a little boy, would be able to survive them. That being said, it's nearly impossible to tell who is ''truly'' lying, as the parties refuting David's claims are unreliable for different reasons; [[UnreliableNarrator His maternal grandmother lived in a different state when the abuse was occurring and had no contact with David's immediate family, casting doubt to her claiming the abuse didn't happen.]] Stephen is also the only one of the siblings to publicly defend their mother, which would make his own claims one hell of a CassandraTruth if he was ever proven right, and, [[JerkassHasAPoint while what he said horrifically ableist and mean, David's statement does hint that Stephen has his own unresolved codependency issues]] towards their mother [[UnreliableNarrator that are clouding his judgement.]] It is likely that the real truth will never be known.
20	* BlatantLies: It is scary the lies the police believed, one example being Catherine telling them that David's injuries are self-inflicted due to his jealousy over his infant brother. This is despite the fact that many of the injuries are in places a child cannot feasibly reach on their own, and the school had been documenting signs of abuse well before Russel was born.
21	* CutHimselfShaving:
22	** David tells his school nurse that various bruises are from walking into a door. She reveals she has a ''file'' of his excuses and points out he used that one a week ago.
23	** Catherine yanks David's arm out of his socket, and when she takes him to the [=ER=] she says he fell out of bed. Goes a step further than usual examples, however, as Catherine actually ''pushed David out of his bed in the middle of the night'' so they could both truthfully say it happened.
24	* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: Starving David for weeks on end and then giving him food not even the ''dogs'' eat is one of Catherine's methods. One particular moment near the end also sees her taking the boys out to [=McDonalds=] while David is left in the parked car with the knowledge that they're all eating without him.
25	* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Overlaps with DoWrongRight. Catherine went through the trouble of weaving lies and making up stories, so she doesn't want to get caught, but was very careless about the physical evidence she leaves on the surface. There is no way a well-looked after child would constantly chip his own teeth, be dotted with bruises or hurt himself so severely and often that he has regular absences from school.
26	* DissonantSerenity: After Catherine stabs David in the stomach, he wakes up with a bandage around his middle and Catherine with a blank look on her face, calmly telling him to go finish the dishes.
27	* DontCelebrateJustYet: The second book in the series details various David’s troubles in the foster care system; despite being free of his mother’s abuse, he still has many other hardships.
28	* EnfantTerrible: David's younger brother Russel, whom Catherine trains to be "her little Nazi" and delights in torturing David as well.
29	* FatBastard: Later books describe Catherine as being overweight.
30	* HenpeckedHusband: Dave's father. All sympathy will be lost when he leaves his family.
31	* HopeSpot: Dave has a few of these, but each of them fall through the cracks before it could be cemented. One example is when Catherine actually treats him kindly, but it is a trick when it is discovered that she is just faking so the social worker could leave her alone.
32	* HowWeGotHere: The book begins with the teachers calling the cops on Catherine and David being taken into care.
33	* ItIsDehumanizing: David's mother takes to calling him "It" both to his face and in casual conversation. It first appears when she tears up a letter the teacher wrote praising David's participation in school, and screams that he's "an 'it.'"
34	* {{Jerkass}}:
35	** No prizes for guessing [[Main/AbusiveParents who it is]].
36	** Possibly Dave himself, if his book really is a lie, as this would mean he lied about his mother stabbing and starving him just for attention and money. However, even if the book is true, one cannot deny that his response to his brother calling him out was absolutely disgusting.
37	* KarmaHoudini: Despite her abusive nature, Catherine never gets any comeuppance for abusing poor David.[[Main/JustifiedTrope Justified]] since child abuse laws were nonexistent in the 70s.
38	* MiseryLit: One of the best-known in the genre. And like many works in this genre, there's been some debate about how truthful it is.
39	* ParentalNeglect: David's mother may be horrifyingly abusive, but David's father isn't totally innocent himself. He doesn't lift a finger to stop his wife abusing his son and eventually runs off.
40	* PoliceAreUseless: No matter how often Catherine is suspected of abuse by the school, the police always buy her lies. Also, in ''The Lost Boy,'' David runs away from home and is taken in by the police. He tries to tell them what's happening, and they call his father...who tells them that David is a liar and just ran away because he wasn't allowed to go bike-riding. ''And the police believe it.'' Justified, in that child protective laws were far less strict back in the 70s, and even to this day claims of child abuse are often swept under the rug.
41	* WouldHurtAChild: Catherine has no qualms about hurting David to the point of almost ''murdering'' him.

Context Literature / AChildCalledIt