about the book
Arn Chorn-Pond was just a kid when the soldiers took over his hometown in Cambodia. His life consisted of dancing to rock-and-roll, playing in the streets, hustling people for change, and selling ice cream with his brother.
The soldiers changed all that.
The Khmer Rouge rounded up the whole town and forced them into the countryside. There Arn, separated from his family, was forced to work in the rice paddies—the sun blazing all day—surrounded by armed soldiers. Sometimes the soldiers would take people into the nearby mango grove, and those people would never be seen again. Arn learned how to be invisible to the Khmer Rouge, and stayed alive, even as sickness and starvation took the lives of other kids around him.
One day a change comes: the soldiers ask the kids if any of them knows how to play an instrument. Arn didn’t, but he said that he could. He was taken from the rice paddies and told to learn how to play the songs of the Khmer Rouge revolution. He learned how to play, and then was given a gun and made to be a soldier.
All the while, Arn’s rule helped him stay alive: “Never fall down.” Based on the true story of Arn Chorn-Pond.
about the author
Patricia McCormick grew up in a bland suburban neighborhood feeling lonely and out of place. This feeling of being misplaced is a central theme in her books. Even in fourth grade, she knew she was going to be a writer. She used to trudge back and forth to school, carrying her dad’s old briefcase stuffed with the plays and stories she had written.
Patricia received a bachelor’s degree from Rosemount College, a master’s in journalism from Columbia University, and a Master of Fine Arts from The New School. She has taught after-school literacy classes at a public school in Queens, as well as creative writing and journalism classes.
Besides teaching, Patricia penned an entertainment column for The New York Times, was a contributing editor for Parents Magazine, and wrote articles for several other magazines. She has published six novels for young adults.
The parents of two grown sons, Patricia and her husband live Manhattan with their two nosy cats. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, modern dance, and biking.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview : Publishers Weekly
Author biography: Harper Collins
Also by Patricia McCormick:
Purple Heart. Harper Collins. 2009.
Sold. Hyperion Press. 2006.
My Brother’s Keeper. Hyperion Books for Children. 2005.
Cut. Front Street. 2000.
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