A book that easily pulls on the heartstrings is "A Child Called It." It is an autobiography by David Pelzer and it will easily make you feel incredibly sad for how he grew up.

David Pelzer’s life started out better than some. His family consisting of his dad, mom and brothers always went on day trips or vacations together and had a lot of fun. That was until David’s mom started drinking and became depressed. She started taking her anger out on David. Punishment for not doing his chores were things like no food, laying in a bath that was filled with cold water for hours, cleaning the bathroom while a mix of ammonia and Clorox made the air toxic to breathe, or standing down in the cold basement until the next set of chores.

One day while his mother was threatening his life with a knife, she accidentally slipped and stabbed David to where he was bleeding and almost on the verge of death. His mother showed no sympathy. David went days at a time without food and started stealing from lunch boxes at school and even from a grocery store. When his mother found out, he was abused and punished even harsher than before (if that was even possible). His father was sometimes his only savior.

He would try to sneak food to him and tell him that they were going to get out of the horrible home, but like all joy in David’s life, his dad left. "A Child Called It" is David Pelzer’s inspiring story of going through very harsh, abusive time as a child up until adults at the school found out more about what was happening at home, but are they enough to help David be set free from his horrible, abusive mother?

I recommend this book to everyone over probably the age 13. It isn't very long and it is such an easy read. When I read it, I never wanted to put it down. There are parts of it that younger kids should not read, but if you older and mature enough to handle reading about David's abusive life, then you should definitely give it a chance and read it.