A review by chyreads29
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

5.0

There are a few books that I encounter that take hold of me, refusing to let me go, altering the very way that I look at life. Never Fall Down is one of those books. Arn Chorn-Pond's story is disturbing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and something no child should ever have to go through. The language itself is simple. Patricia McCormick writes in the voice of Arn as a young boy. The sentences are fragmented and incomplete, mirroring Arn's true voice, as English is not his first language. This makes the story seem all the more real and believable. Although the sentence structure and vocabulary are accessible, the content makes the story very difficult to get through. While reading, I took many breaks, usually sitting in silence and processing what I had just read. There are pretty horrific, graphic, and traumatic moments in this story that are really hard to digest and work through. However, just like Arn's adoptive father told him, he was chosen to use his voice to bring light to what happened to the people of Cambodia and help the world see them after years of being forgotten. I believe this novel is powerful enough to do just that.