Book Review: A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

Title: A Child Called "It"
Author: Dave Pelzer
Date Published: September 1st, 1995
Pages: 184











Goodreads Synopsis: 
This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."

Dave's bed was an old army cot in the basement, and his clothes were torn and raunchy. When his mother allowed him the luxury of food, it was nothing more than spoiled scraps that even the dogs refused to eat. The outside world knew nothing of his living nightmare. He had nothing or no one to turn to, but his dreams kept him alive--dreams of someone taking care of him, loving him and calling him their son.

Initial Thoughts:

I started reading this book a long time a go, and for some reason i never finished. I bought the book a few days ago, and wanted to jump right in. I have always wanted to read it, and everybody said that it was really good.

After Thoughts:

This book was so good! Right from the beginning, it had me captured! I never wanted to put the book down, and i finished it in 2 days! (Which is fast for me). There were times that i found it difficult to read because of the things his mother made him do... It was terrible! As for the characters, i have mixed feeling about all of them. There were times in the book where you really liked them, and then there were times were you wanted to punch them in the face! This book put a lot of things in perspective for me. One is that I need to be  more grateful for my stuff and my family. I also learned not to judge people by there looks. You have to give them a chance because you never know there full story. I loved this book , and i gave it a 5/5 stars! I can't wait to read the next one!

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Book Review: The Cardturner By Louis Sachar

Title: The Cardturner
Author: Louis Sachar
Date Published: May 11th, 2010
Pages: 336











Goodreads Synopsis:

From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition.
 
How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules!
 
The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich.
 
But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him.
 
Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.
 
Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.

Initial Thoughts:
I went into the library not planning to pick up this book. I went to the library bookstore, like usual. Then, on a whim, i decided i wanted to check out some books. I wanted to do something different, so i decided to just take the first 3 books on the shelf. This was one of them. I had never heard anything about this book before, so i was excited to read it. 

After Thoughts:

I didn't have high expectations for this book because i didn't know anything about it. If you read the synopsis, than you know that the book is about bridge. Well, not the whole book, but it is centered around the game. Before this book, i didn't even know bridge was a card game, so i learned that right off the bat, lol! As for the story, i didn't really understand where it was going. It was kind of just going round and round with the same plot, just different locations. I also didn't understand the game of bridge, so whenever they talked about it in depth, i just skipped over it. Now on to the positives. I liked the main character, Alton, a lot. I felt the same emotions as him, and he did things that i would have done in certain situations. Now that i think about it, i actually liked most of the characters a lot. The author also makes you laugh a few times, which is always good. One thing i still don't understand after reading the book is what the cover means. Why is he laying on a bench with a book? Overall, it was a good book, and i suggest you read it. i gave it a 3/5 stars!

Purchase this book from the book depository, and i get a small commission: http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=bookreviewer21

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Introduction to my Book Blog!

 some of my books

Hello Everyone! Before i started posting book reviews on my blog, i thought it was appropriate to make an intro post. My name is Alyssa, and i am a 15 year old girl that loves to read! I mostly read YA, but i also enjoy some kids books, adult books, and classics. I got the inspiration to do this blog from by YouTube channel, ( click here to go to it.) I've had a YouTube channel for about 5 months now and have been so lucky to gain over 500 subscribers! The reason i started this blog was because i wanted one place to keep all of my book reviews. I have noticed over the past 6 months or so that book reviews VS. other book videos are not very popular. I decided to make this blog the location of my book reviews only.  I may also do giveaways, and guest posts, but mostly book reviews. If you want more than book reviews, check out my YouTube channel. I hope you follow this blog, i think it will be a lot of fun!