"I am the Avenger," he whispered to the night. "And I will avenge this house and what has happened in it."

Jane Jerome and her family return home to find their house trashed and Jane's sister, 14-year-old Karen in a coma at the bottom of the cellar stairs. The only witness is "The Avenger," a deranged neighbor, Mickey Looney, who believes he is 11 years old. No one knows that he has seen the boys who did this.

As Karen slowly recovers, Jane meets and falls in love with Buddy Walker, who unknown to her, is one of the trashers. However, Mickey sees them together. What will he do now that he has discovered one of the trashers?

Again, Robert Cormier has explored the twisted corners of people's minds as he studies the effects of random violence on his characters. Can WE ALL FALL DOWN have a happy ending despite the horror that precedes Jane and Buddy's romance?

   --- Reviewed by Audrey Marie Danielson

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