Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Best of 2024 ezine!

What readers think of A Man Named Dave, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

A Man Named Dave by Dave Pelzer

A Man Named Dave

A Story of Triumph and Foregiveness

by Dave Pelzer
  • Readers' Rating (255):
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 1999, 284 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2000, 304 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 32 of 36
There are currently 281 reader reviews for A Man Named Dave
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

Ashley

A Man Named Dave is a great novel and I recommend all his books to those who are lost. I was beaten a bit as a child... not as bad as David and I have always been terrified that I would hurt my own child. Although I am confused about one thing in the book. In the first book David said that Kevin the youngest boy had bell palsy but then in A Man Named Dave it says that Stan was the slightly retarted child.
ben dover

awsome book dave it brong tears to my eyes
Jacqueline Reisdorf

Hi my name is Jacqui! i love your books! i use to hate reading until i read your books! thank you dave! your my reading hero! bye!
Lindsay

I am only in high school yet when I read this book my eyes were opened as to how much the human spirit can triumph throughout all their years. He helped me to realize that you can make a difference when you are a teen and when you work hard it pays off. I thank Mr. Pelzer so much for sharing his story with all of the world. He is an inspiration to so many, Thank You.
DeAnO CaIsIp

hi. that book is really nice. its perfect! i love it.
russ

...while the book is a harrowing read, you just can't escape the fact that it's extremely poorly written - schmaltzy, psycho babbly and with all the depth of a Channel 5 made for TV b-movie.
The story itself is a great one, but as the trilogy goes on, you can't help feeling that the story has been enormously embellished and also, Pelzer's failure to wrap the story up is ultimately deeply unsatisfying... what were his brother's reactions to the books? Where can they have their say? What about his granbdmother? The rest of his parents' family?
The third book is barely readable, and the comic book romance played out for Pelzer's second marriage is utterly excruciating. I kept expecting my eyes to become soft focus, and a symphony orchestra to break out into 'Love is a many splendoured thing' when I got to the end of the book.
John Bank

It was really dull and didnt have muchof a plot.
tina mahoney

After reading 'A child called It' what struck me most was the great contrast in sections. He describes things such as nature and smells with such idealism and accuracy. Then there are the sections where he describes the torturous life he led as a child with unflinching honesty. I believe his romantic take on things in certain parts of the book stem from how someone who was deprived of them for so long sees them. I do not believe this book has 'embelished' anything. It has shown that in the most desolate of exsistences there is opportunity for positivity to grow. It has highlighted the most fundamental things that children need. It cerainly opened my eyes, made me cry and made me believe in the human spirit. This book is educating, real and full of love.

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: James
    James
    by Percival Everett
    The Oscar-nominated film American Fiction (2023) and the Percival Everett novel it was based on, ...
  • Book Jacket
    But the Girl
    by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
    Jessica Zhan Mei Yu's But the Girl begins with the real-life disappearance of Malaysia Airlines ...
  • Book Jacket: Patriot
    Patriot
    by Alexei Navalny
    On the 17th of January, 2024, colleagues of Alexei Navalny posted a message to his Instagram account...
  • Book Jacket: Rental House
    Rental House
    by Weike Wang
    For many of us, vacations offer an escape from the everyday — a chance to explore new places, ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
In Our Midst
by Nancy Jensen
In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
Book Jacket
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl disappears, leaving a mystery unsolved for fifty years.
Who Said...

To win without risk is to triumph without glory

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Big Holiday Wordplay 2024

Enter Now

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.