A review by bibliophile1019
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

4.0

This book reminded me of Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone not only in its topic, but its straightforward and matter-of-fact voice. The main character, Arn, is a child when the Khmer Rouge take him to the Killing Fields. Arn's attitude toward the terrible treatment he and the other refugees experience under the Khmer Rouge was simple: no matter what, never fall down. This attitude serves him well, and he eventually becomes a musician in a band before he is sent to the front lines to act as bait in the Khmer Rouge's fight against the Vietnamese. At first I was put off by the simplistic nature of Arn's voice, but once I was immersed in the story, I appreciated it. McCormick has a knack for telling powerful stories in a deceptively simple way, and Never Fall Down was no exception.