Never Fall Down: A Novel by Patricia McCormick

Arn knows his aunt cannot afford to send him and his five siblings to school as well as feed and clothe them, so he has dropped out of his elementary school to sell ice cream on the street when one day the teenage soldiers of the Khmer Rouge roll into town and order everyone to follow them into the countryside.  What follows is a tautly paced first-person narration of the Cambodian genocide from the perspective of an eleven-year-old character whose story, while presented as a novel, is based on the true tale of Arn Chorn-Pond.  A powerful tale on its own, in McCormick’s expert hands, Chorn-Pond’s story has been transformed into brilliant YA literature.  Students living in detained settings may not find this book immediately relatable because the narrator’s voice belies his relationship to English as a secondary language. Intrepid readers (or those with the support of a teacher) will be rewarded by McCormick’s exploration of how adults in powerful positions manipulate young people to achieve their goals.  While Post-traumatic stress disorder is not named, the text’s empathetic portrayal of a teenager surviving years of trauma and opening a new chapter in his life are realistic and ultimately heartening.  Recommended for more experienced high-school-aged readers who have enjoyed The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Sold.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

McCormick, Patricia.  Never Fall Down.  New York: Balzer + Bray, 2012.

The publisher has made a brief teaching guide available here.  A wonderful interview with the author is available on her website here.