Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick which tells the story of Arn, a young Cambodian boy who finds himself trapped between two warring factions, changing his life forever. Arn is only eleven years when the Khmer Rouge first arrived in his village of Battambang in 1975. He and his family are forced to leave their home and, like the rest of his village, are soon rounded up in large groups from the Khmer Rouge. Say no to plagiarism -essay written on "Why violent video games should not be banned" Get an original essay First they are cataloged, during which all those who might rebel are taken and slaughtered, left in piles barely covered, if at all, those who remain after this selection are expected to work in the rice fields for the good of all, with little or nothing to eat and constantly fed with the fear that they will be next to being beaten or worse. They are hungry and are expected to continue working. Children are taken from their parents, boys go to one camp and girls to another. Arn has no idea if any of his family survives. When the Vietnamese arrive to help Cambodia liberate the country from the Khmer Rouge, Arn has been with them so long that it's easy to convince him that the Vietnamese are the threat. He and the other children who do not run into the woods in the confusion are given weapons and sent to discover the location of their "enemies". Arn manages to survive all this and eventually makes it to the border with Thailand where he is found and taken to hospital. Sick and malnourished, he spends weeks there, befriending a man who often comes to visit him: Peter Pond. Peter takes a special interest in Arn and eventually takes him and two other children to New York where he adopts them and gives them a new life. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom Essay The transition is far from easy, and Arn struggles with the things he saw and was forced to do in Cambodia. Peter gives him a purpose: a reason to live. He teaches Arn that he was chosen to survive and tell the story of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge to the rest of the world. In this way perhaps he will save many. Now, the struggle to survive becomes the desire to live.