Point of View

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick is a story written entirely from the first person perspective of the main character, Arn Chorn-Pond. The story follows his life from the age of 11 until the age of 20, and chronicles his experiences beginning as a boy in Battambang, Cambodia. The story follows Arn through his family's evacuation of Battambang and on through the time he spends as a captive of the Khmer Rouge. Arn speaks of the atrocities he personally experienced or witnessed as the Khmer Rouge kept him during a four-year period, and describes his eventual freedom from them.

Arn's point of view gives the reader an intimate look at the casualties of war and the atrocities committed by both sides. Arn reveals how his life changed when the Khmer Rouge came; how he and his family were taken, separated and worked almost to death, all in...