Never Fall Down By: Patricia McCormick

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• Title: Never Fall Down
• Author: Patricia McCormick
• Publisher: Baltzer + Bray
• Publication Date:  May 8, 2012
• Pages: 216
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Recommended Age(s): 16+
• First Read: 2015
• Source: Library
• Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 stars

I'm so glad I found this book because it has become one of my favorites for sure. This novel is based on the true story of Arn Chron-Pond and his experiences during the Cambodian genocide of 1975-79. It follows Arn's story of survival from the labor camps of the Khmer Rouge, working in the rice fields and becoming a musician and part of a dance troupe to the refugee camp in Thailand where his future ultimately begins.

Told from his perspective as a child, the novel eloquently captures the sights and sounds of Arn's journey. It is a young adult book that deals with incredibly mature themes in an incredibly tactful way, though there are many instances of graphic depictions, in order to reiterate the horrors of the situations Arn faces.

Before reading this book, I had almost no information about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge, so it was an incredibly eye-opening read. The language in this book contains no complex descriptions or sentences, as it is told from Arn's childhood perspective when he hadn't quite mastered the nuances of the English language. But the simplicity of the writing style brought a greater weight to the story being told and I just couldn't put the book down.

Though a novel, it is heavily based on Arn's life and reminds me once again just how resilient the human spirit is, and how an imperfect person can go on a quest to create a more perfect world. Arn wasn't anyone particularly special, but his kindness and will to help others strengthened his will to live another day. 

I read this book in one sitting and couldn't find any faults with it. It's simple yet complex, with the most important aspects about Arn's character shown indirectly through his deeds. It's a book I soon won't forget.

The end of the book includes additional information about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge, and though I'm not sponsored in anyway to mention this, I encourage anyone interested in finding out more about Arn and his humanitarian projects to visit Cambodia Living Arts as a starting point. I also found this Tedx video of Arn, recorded in May 2015, talking about how music saved his life, so I encourage you to check that out as well. When I watched it, after reading about his story, I cried when he played the flute at the very end.

You could say that Arn's just a little bit famous.