Never Fall Down (214 Pages)

Patricia McCormick has written several books that I may have mentioned in class, among them are Sold, Purple Heart, My Brother's Keeper, and Cut. Everyone of them have proven to be great for discussion. This book is no exception. It is historical fiction, although most of it is based on the memory of the main character, Arn Chorn-Pond. It is the story of the atrocities dealt by the Khmer Rouge on the Cambodian people, and in particular on the Cambodian children. Without knowing what he was sucked into, Arn finds himself in the middle of what has become known as The Killing Fields. The book is filled with gore, brutality,and horrific violence. It documents once again man's inhumanity toward man. It is an important read, I believe, and one that could be embraced by social studies teachers as well as English teachers.