Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Harrowing true story of boy in Cambodia's Killing Fields.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Arn is a carefree 11-year-old kid, hustling money from the tourists with his younger brother and having good times in the city, when the Khmer Rouge take over his native Cambodia. Soon separated from his family, Arn learns to turn off the horrors around him and seize whatever opportunity he gets to survive -- the phrase \"never fall down\" comes from his quick discovery that anyone who does meets a quick death. Early on, Arn finds a way to survive by playing propaganda songs for the soldiers and workers -- music, he later learns, that's being used to drown out the sounds of mass killing. NEVER FALL DOWN is based on the real experiences of human rights activist Arn Chorn Pond, who now works to restore traditional music in Cambodia.
Is It Any Good?
Never Fall Down is a powerful, compelling story whose subject matter is both horrific and inspiring, since the narrator survived and went on to have a good life and do good things. Still, it may be too intense for some readers, as it takes place in a world in which deadly violence is an almost casual occurrence.
Author Patricia McCormick elected to tell the story in the broken English of the child narrator, Arn, which is at once effective and somewhat distracting.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Arn's aunt's advice: "Do whatever they say. Be like the grass. Bend low, bend low, then bend lower." In a world in which powerful people can kill you for any reason, is this good advice? Does it damage the person who takes it, even when they survive?
What do you know about life in Cambodia today and how the country has recovered from this chapter of its history?
Why do you think some people in Never Fall Down did some of the best and some of the worst things -- like the man who saved Arn's life several times but didn't hesitate to murder a baby?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Balzer + Bray
- Publication date : May 8, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 17
- Number of pages : 224
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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