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All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team:
An account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.
On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon's adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. As the world sits vigil, people begin to wonder: how long can a group of ordinary kids survive in complete darkness, with no food or clean water? Combining firsthand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, author Christina Soontornvat--shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical in the life-or-death mission.
On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach enter a cave in northern Thailand seeking an afternoon's adventure. But when they turn to leave, rising floodwaters block their path out. The boys are trapped! Before long, news of the missing team spreads, launching a seventeen-day rescue operation involving thousands of rescuers from around the globe. As the world sits vigil, people begin to wonder: how long can a group of ordinary kids survive in complete darkness, with no food or clean water? Combining firsthand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, author Christina Soontornvat--shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical in the life-or-death mission.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published October 13, 2020
536 people are currently reading
7540 people want to read
About the author
Christina Soontornvat
41 books746 followersChristina Soontornvat grew up behind the counter of her parents’ Thai restaurant in a small Texas town with her nose stuck in a book. She is very proud of both her Thai and her Texan roots, and makes regular trips to both Weatherford and Bangkok to see her beloved family members (and eat lots and lots of Thai food!). Christina is the author of the fantasy middle grade series, The Changelings, and the early chapter book series, Diary of an Ice Princess. Her forthcoming books include the middle grade fantasy, A Wish in the Dark, and All Thirteen, a nonfiction account of the Thai Cave Rescue.
In addition to being an author, Christina holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Science Education. She spent a decade working in the science museum field, where she designed programs and exhibits to get kids excited about science. She is passionate about STEM (science, technology engineering, and math), and loves learning new things. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two young children, and one old cat.
In addition to being an author, Christina holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Science Education. She spent a decade working in the science museum field, where she designed programs and exhibits to get kids excited about science. She is passionate about STEM (science, technology engineering, and math), and loves learning new things. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, two young children, and one old cat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,540 reviews
March 14, 2022
This book was so incredibly interesting and intense! You know right from the title that it's all going to be ok, but there were some moments I was questioning how on earth it was going to happen. I love how Soontornvat included so much information about Thai culture and customs, Buddhism, the cave itself and the water problem. The book is designed to look like a text book with a bunch of pictures from the event as well as side bar information sections. But it was not dry like a typical textbook. It was informative and incredibly interesting. What a wonderful read, a remarkable group of boys, and an amazing team of thousands who played a part in this rescue. Highly, highly recommend!
February 23, 2023
Two Newbery Honors for an author in the same year? It was almost unheard of before Christina Soontornvat did it in 2021, an accomplishment all the more impressive because of how she won: for both a novel (A Wish in the Dark) and a nonfiction book, All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team. To perform at the highest level in both categories is an incredible feat, and as I started All Thirteen, I wondered: could it live up to the hype? June 23, 2018, is a typical Saturday in Mae Sai, Thailand. The Wild Boars, a youth soccer team, are having practice this morning; aside from schooling and family time, soccer is the main passion of these boys, under the tutelage of twenty-five-year-old assistant coach Ekkapol Chantawong (known as Coach Ek). The twelve Wild Boars—Note (age fourteen), Night (sixteen), Thi (sixteen), Tern (fourteen), Mix (thirteen), Nick (fifteen), Adul (fourteen), Titan (eleven), Mark (thirteen), Pong (thirteen), Dom (thirteen), and Bew (fourteen)—are a close-knit group, often socializing in their free time. After practice today, the boys and Coach Ek bike to Tham Luang, a massive underground cave complex in the Nang Non mountain range. Night's birthday party is this evening, so they can't explore the caves for long. As the boys and their coach enter the dark, craggy interior of Tham Luang, they walk right over parts of the rocky floor that flood for months at a time during the rainy season. The Wild Boars aren't worried; the heavy rains that cause Tham Luang to flood should be weeks away. There are still areas in this cave complex that have never been visited by a human, and the possibility of discovery is a palpable thrill.
Dark clouds above Tham Luang don't seem like a major source of concern, but the Nang Non mountains are made of karst limestone. This allows rainwater to quickly filter through the rock and form gushing rivers in Tham Luang's caverns. Unaware of the severe storm outside, the Wild Boars take a left turn at the crucial junction at Sam Yaek, where the passageway narrows considerably. Small as they are, the twelve Thai kids and Coach Ek sometimes barely fit through the tunnel, occasionally having to crawl on hands and knees. Even if you're not claustrophobic, the limited ability to move your arms and the millions of tons of rock hanging inches above you are uncomfortable, but the boys are hearty explorers and feel secure with Coach Ek. They've spent a few hours inside Tham Luang and need to head back soon for Night's party, but the temptation to venture further proves irresistible. This decision to linger comes at a devastating cost: by the time they return to Sam Yaek, the junction is full of dirty, rushing water, blocking access to the tunnel leading out of Tham Lang. The Wild Boars are trapped underground in a cave system that is rapidly flooding.
Hours pass before Night's family begins to worry that he hasn't shown up for his party. The Wild Boars regularly go on outings with Coach Ek, so they didn't notify their parents before biking to Tham Luang, and it takes a while for Night's mother and father to figure out where he must be. Rain pours from the sky in heavy sheets by the time Sangwut Khammongkhon of the Siam Ruam Jai Mae Sai Rescue Organization receives a phone call asking for his help to lead an extraction mission. Sangwut leads a group of trained cavers into the complex network of tunnels at Tham Luang, but he realizes the rescue is more than they can handle as soon as he hits the flooded area at Sam Yaek. It's overflowing with silty, turbulent water currents, enough to kill a grown man. The distraught parents grow more agitated when the rescuers emerge without their sons, but Sangwut promises to try again tomorrow. For tonight, they need to rest and prepare for that second attempt. Only Sangwut knows the truth: the flooding is a sure sign that the rainy season has come early, and the waters are unlikely to abate before season's end. The Wild Boars can't survive the wet, cold, lightless cave for four to six months, but who can rescue them under these conditions?
Coach Ek and the boys are stranded are only a mile from the entrance, but many of Tham Luang's cramped passageways have morphed into sumps, sections of whirlwind rapids that even a professional cave diver could get lost in. The water is swiftly rising, so Coach Ek gropes through the dark with the boys until they reach a high, relatively dry area to wait and hope someone will attempt a rescue. As it happens, just such an attempt is in the works. Sangwut Khammongkhon contacts Vern Unsworth, a world-class cave diver from Great Britain who moved to Mae Sai seven years ago. Vern is a master of navigating the world's most obstreperous cave sumps. As he racks his brain to figure out a plan of action, he's joined by the Royal Thai Navy SEALs, who lack experience diving in caves but possess all the grit a rescuer could need. With oxygen tanks strapped to their backs, the SEALs tackle Sam Yaek head-on and somehow manage to get through to a partially dry chamber on the other side, but there are worse sumps beyond Sam Yaek, and the SEALs don't have the air supply to continue on. Grim reality sets in: no one has a prayer of locating the Wild Boars unless the water levels in the cave decrease, but with rain still falling and feeding the underground currents, that seems improbable. The odds of the boys exiting Tham Luang alive get dimmer by the hour.
Vern Unsworth wants to convince the Thai government that the enemy isn't the cave, but the water. Saving the boys will require a plan of attack on the water itself. As U.S. Air Force Major Charles Hodges arrives with the American military, Vern pleads with the Thai minister of tourism to enlist the aid of the world's two greatest cave dive rescuers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen from the United Kingdom. They fly to Thailand without hesitation, the crisis at Tham Luang having grown into an event of worldwide interest. If anyone can wend their way through the filthy sumps that separate rescue workers from the Wild Boars, it's Rick and John, but after an initial dive to assess the situation, the two men have no positive news. The sumps are the most lethal they have ever seen, too fierce for a dive rescue to be feasible. The water levels must be lowered if any plan to extract the boys can succeed, and unbeknownst to the UK divers and everyone else, the perfect man for that job has recently arrived at Tham Luang.
Thanet Natisri lives in Marion, Illinois, but was born in Thailand and works there now. He heads to Tham Luang as soon as he hears about the trapped kids. Thanet is a groundwater expert, but has difficulty getting anyone on the scene to listen to him. He isn't military, or even a certified scientist, but he recognizes the need to lower the water levels inside the cave, and believes he may be able to do so. No pump apparatus can suck enough water directly out of Tham Luang to make a difference, but many cave systems have external apertures; if Thanet locates one, he can set up his pumping equipment and redirect the water flowing into Tham Luang for just long enough to mount a full rescue. He gets his big break when he finds a pond at Sai Tong park; judging from the brownish water gurgling up through the pond, Thanet deduces that it's connected to Tham Luang. He forms his own team of unoccupied groundwater engineers to operate the equipment, and they go at the job almost without cease for days as the cave divers, U.S. military, Royal Thai Navy SEALs, and others work on the problem inside of Tham Luang.
A respite from the rain, coupled with Thanet's tireless pumping efforts at Sai Tong, results in a lowering of the water levels at Sam Yaek and beyond. The rain will return soon, and Thanet can't guarantee his complicated system of pumps will continue working without fail, but a small window of time exists for an evacuation mission. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen survived an exploratory dive through the sumps and found Coach Ek and the malnourished Wild Boars all miraculously still alive, but a major obstacle stands in the way of an extraction attempt: convincing Thai authorities to sign off on a rescue dive that will likely end in the deaths of at least half the children. Communication gaps between the British rescue divers and Thai officials have led to the latter being uninformed about the risks of waiting to get the boys out until after the rainy season, but Major Hodges and Thanet now calmly present them with the facts: dive teams won't be able to continue bringing food to the Wild Boars once the rains intensify and the water levels rise. Hypothermia, diminishing oxygen levels in the cave, and infection will soon kill the twelve boys and Coach Ek. A dive rescue is the only course of action that Major Hodges and Thanet believe can save the Wild Boars, and the Thai governor reluctantly agrees. The riskiest phase of the last few weeks is about to begin: getting the boys out alive and well.
Under normal conditions, cave diving can be deadly for even experienced practitioners. It's easy to get turned around underwater, or for an oxygen tank to puncture, or a face mask to stop functioning. The sumps at Tham Luang are not normal conditions; the water moves in unpredictable, aggressive currents and is so dark with silt that divers require a guideline to keep from getting lost. Professionals are prone to panic attacks under such conditions; how much more so a group of frightened boys? Rick Stanton and John Volanthen demand that the Wild Boars be sedated for the trip out, fitted with customized oxygen masks so they can breathe easily as a rescuer hauls them back to the mouth of Tham Luang, a trip that will take about three hours. Dr. Richard Harris, a cave diver and anesthesiologist from Australia, is flown in to supervise the endeavor, but everything will need to go almost perfectly if the boys are to survive. International triumph or tragedy rests on a knife's edge as an adventure sequence begins that no movie or book plot could surpass. The hopes of a nation and world for the lives of twelve innocent boys and their young coach will ride on the shoulders of cave divers Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Jason Mallinson, and Chris Jewell. Only a miracle could save all thirteen, but the boys happen to be in the hands of four bona fide miracle workers.
The story brims with suspense and powerful emotion, but is also packed with wisdom and original thought. Coach Ek had a traumatic childhood growing up in authoritarian Myanmar, where his parents died of disease before he crossed over into Thailand. He's quick to laugh and have fun with the Wild Boars on and off the soccer field, but the boys deeply respect the young man, who acts as an older brother to them all. The Wild Boars are spunky and love adventure, which might worry their parents if Coach Ek weren't always around to supervise. "Ek believes that his duties don't end on the field. He feels that in order to be a good leader, he needs to understand the boys as individuals. In turn, they sometimes listen to their coach more than they do their own parents. But rather than being annoyed, their parents are grateful that their sons have such a good influence. They trust Ek deeply...he is young enough to feel like another son or nephew to the boys' families, but he carries the wisdom and maturity of someone who has been through too many of life's hardships. They hope their sons can learn to be like him. Luckily, the boys want the same thing." A mentor like Coach Ek is irreplaceable: friend and parent, accomplice and leader, he's uniquely positioned to help the boys grow into good, kindhearted people. Trapped for weeks in the absolute darkness of Tham Luang, the Wild Boars might have fallen into despair and lost the will to live, but Coach Ek is there to remind them of the adversities they and he have overcome in life. They aren't pleasant at the time, but these adversities build character so you can weather whatever storms lie ahead. The boys' discipline on the soccer field plays a role, too: competition has prepared them to play hard but win and lose graciously, to be a good teammate, and to perform well under pressure, all of which is crucial to their current task of survival. Religious convictions also play a part, offering a way for the Wild Boars to cleanse their minds of negative emotion and panic, to enjoy the simple gift of life and togetherness with friends even while shivering on the slimy rocks of Tham Luang. Their entire lives thus far have prepared them to meet this moment.
Inspirational figures are also found outside the walls of Tham Luang in this story. Thanet brings with him the know-how and equipment to render the cave accessible to rescuers, but everyone is so busy advocating their own solutions that they brush aside his ideas. Sometimes in life, your chosen area of contribution will be undervalued by those who can't envision your dream the way you do. At other times, you'll find your niche overcrowded with ambitious people, and you'll struggle to gain attention among the fray. But you mustn't let discouragement derail your future; if you have something valuable to contribute, forget about persuading the bigwigs and find your own way forward, as Thanet did. Without his discovery at Sai Tong and subsequent pumping at the site, the cave divers could not have accessed the interior chambers of Tham Luang, and the Wild Boars likely would have died. No one believed in Thanet at first, but he proved to be as vital to the rescue as anybody. People from all walks of life, ones with diverse skills sets, cultural values, and emotional ties to the situation, pitched in and contributed at Tham Luang, sacrificing their own comfort, resources, and normal lives to help thirteen young people at risk of drowning in a Thai cave. It wasn't primarily government that led the rescue, but civilians willing to mobilize to save these scared kids in the bowels of the earth. It's a strong statement of what individuals are capable of purely as concerned citizens wanting to help our neighbors, without compulsion or manipulation driving our involvement. There's no limit to what we will give to help the vulnerable when they need it most.
I loved Christina Soontornvat's A Wish in the Dark. To me, it was good enough to win a Newbery Medal. Yet the author's All Thirteen, published the same year, is even better, a tour de force of fascinating science, scintillating action scenes, and emotion that will echo inside me for the rest of my life. Many times I was brought to tears, and the story gets into philosophical concepts I don't even have space to fully address here, such as the Thai ideal of having a "cool heart" in heated situations, deliberately smiling and projecting a relaxed disposition as a courtesy to help others stay calm. It's a cultural discipline that Westerners often lack, but would do well to emulate. Another important concept? The value of rehearsal, of training rigorously so when the big moment arrives, optimal performance comes naturally. Undertakings such as the climactic cave rescue only work because individuals dedicated themselves to comprehensive rehearsal. All Thirteen is one of the best nonfiction books I've read; if A Wish in the Dark didn't vault Christina Soontornvat to legendary status as a children's author, this book should. I urge you to cherish it.
Dark clouds above Tham Luang don't seem like a major source of concern, but the Nang Non mountains are made of karst limestone. This allows rainwater to quickly filter through the rock and form gushing rivers in Tham Luang's caverns. Unaware of the severe storm outside, the Wild Boars take a left turn at the crucial junction at Sam Yaek, where the passageway narrows considerably. Small as they are, the twelve Thai kids and Coach Ek sometimes barely fit through the tunnel, occasionally having to crawl on hands and knees. Even if you're not claustrophobic, the limited ability to move your arms and the millions of tons of rock hanging inches above you are uncomfortable, but the boys are hearty explorers and feel secure with Coach Ek. They've spent a few hours inside Tham Luang and need to head back soon for Night's party, but the temptation to venture further proves irresistible. This decision to linger comes at a devastating cost: by the time they return to Sam Yaek, the junction is full of dirty, rushing water, blocking access to the tunnel leading out of Tham Lang. The Wild Boars are trapped underground in a cave system that is rapidly flooding.
Hours pass before Night's family begins to worry that he hasn't shown up for his party. The Wild Boars regularly go on outings with Coach Ek, so they didn't notify their parents before biking to Tham Luang, and it takes a while for Night's mother and father to figure out where he must be. Rain pours from the sky in heavy sheets by the time Sangwut Khammongkhon of the Siam Ruam Jai Mae Sai Rescue Organization receives a phone call asking for his help to lead an extraction mission. Sangwut leads a group of trained cavers into the complex network of tunnels at Tham Luang, but he realizes the rescue is more than they can handle as soon as he hits the flooded area at Sam Yaek. It's overflowing with silty, turbulent water currents, enough to kill a grown man. The distraught parents grow more agitated when the rescuers emerge without their sons, but Sangwut promises to try again tomorrow. For tonight, they need to rest and prepare for that second attempt. Only Sangwut knows the truth: the flooding is a sure sign that the rainy season has come early, and the waters are unlikely to abate before season's end. The Wild Boars can't survive the wet, cold, lightless cave for four to six months, but who can rescue them under these conditions?
Coach Ek and the boys are stranded are only a mile from the entrance, but many of Tham Luang's cramped passageways have morphed into sumps, sections of whirlwind rapids that even a professional cave diver could get lost in. The water is swiftly rising, so Coach Ek gropes through the dark with the boys until they reach a high, relatively dry area to wait and hope someone will attempt a rescue. As it happens, just such an attempt is in the works. Sangwut Khammongkhon contacts Vern Unsworth, a world-class cave diver from Great Britain who moved to Mae Sai seven years ago. Vern is a master of navigating the world's most obstreperous cave sumps. As he racks his brain to figure out a plan of action, he's joined by the Royal Thai Navy SEALs, who lack experience diving in caves but possess all the grit a rescuer could need. With oxygen tanks strapped to their backs, the SEALs tackle Sam Yaek head-on and somehow manage to get through to a partially dry chamber on the other side, but there are worse sumps beyond Sam Yaek, and the SEALs don't have the air supply to continue on. Grim reality sets in: no one has a prayer of locating the Wild Boars unless the water levels in the cave decrease, but with rain still falling and feeding the underground currents, that seems improbable. The odds of the boys exiting Tham Luang alive get dimmer by the hour.
Vern Unsworth wants to convince the Thai government that the enemy isn't the cave, but the water. Saving the boys will require a plan of attack on the water itself. As U.S. Air Force Major Charles Hodges arrives with the American military, Vern pleads with the Thai minister of tourism to enlist the aid of the world's two greatest cave dive rescuers, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen from the United Kingdom. They fly to Thailand without hesitation, the crisis at Tham Luang having grown into an event of worldwide interest. If anyone can wend their way through the filthy sumps that separate rescue workers from the Wild Boars, it's Rick and John, but after an initial dive to assess the situation, the two men have no positive news. The sumps are the most lethal they have ever seen, too fierce for a dive rescue to be feasible. The water levels must be lowered if any plan to extract the boys can succeed, and unbeknownst to the UK divers and everyone else, the perfect man for that job has recently arrived at Tham Luang.
Thanet Natisri lives in Marion, Illinois, but was born in Thailand and works there now. He heads to Tham Luang as soon as he hears about the trapped kids. Thanet is a groundwater expert, but has difficulty getting anyone on the scene to listen to him. He isn't military, or even a certified scientist, but he recognizes the need to lower the water levels inside the cave, and believes he may be able to do so. No pump apparatus can suck enough water directly out of Tham Luang to make a difference, but many cave systems have external apertures; if Thanet locates one, he can set up his pumping equipment and redirect the water flowing into Tham Luang for just long enough to mount a full rescue. He gets his big break when he finds a pond at Sai Tong park; judging from the brownish water gurgling up through the pond, Thanet deduces that it's connected to Tham Luang. He forms his own team of unoccupied groundwater engineers to operate the equipment, and they go at the job almost without cease for days as the cave divers, U.S. military, Royal Thai Navy SEALs, and others work on the problem inside of Tham Luang.
A respite from the rain, coupled with Thanet's tireless pumping efforts at Sai Tong, results in a lowering of the water levels at Sam Yaek and beyond. The rain will return soon, and Thanet can't guarantee his complicated system of pumps will continue working without fail, but a small window of time exists for an evacuation mission. Rick Stanton and John Volanthen survived an exploratory dive through the sumps and found Coach Ek and the malnourished Wild Boars all miraculously still alive, but a major obstacle stands in the way of an extraction attempt: convincing Thai authorities to sign off on a rescue dive that will likely end in the deaths of at least half the children. Communication gaps between the British rescue divers and Thai officials have led to the latter being uninformed about the risks of waiting to get the boys out until after the rainy season, but Major Hodges and Thanet now calmly present them with the facts: dive teams won't be able to continue bringing food to the Wild Boars once the rains intensify and the water levels rise. Hypothermia, diminishing oxygen levels in the cave, and infection will soon kill the twelve boys and Coach Ek. A dive rescue is the only course of action that Major Hodges and Thanet believe can save the Wild Boars, and the Thai governor reluctantly agrees. The riskiest phase of the last few weeks is about to begin: getting the boys out alive and well.
Under normal conditions, cave diving can be deadly for even experienced practitioners. It's easy to get turned around underwater, or for an oxygen tank to puncture, or a face mask to stop functioning. The sumps at Tham Luang are not normal conditions; the water moves in unpredictable, aggressive currents and is so dark with silt that divers require a guideline to keep from getting lost. Professionals are prone to panic attacks under such conditions; how much more so a group of frightened boys? Rick Stanton and John Volanthen demand that the Wild Boars be sedated for the trip out, fitted with customized oxygen masks so they can breathe easily as a rescuer hauls them back to the mouth of Tham Luang, a trip that will take about three hours. Dr. Richard Harris, a cave diver and anesthesiologist from Australia, is flown in to supervise the endeavor, but everything will need to go almost perfectly if the boys are to survive. International triumph or tragedy rests on a knife's edge as an adventure sequence begins that no movie or book plot could surpass. The hopes of a nation and world for the lives of twelve innocent boys and their young coach will ride on the shoulders of cave divers Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Jason Mallinson, and Chris Jewell. Only a miracle could save all thirteen, but the boys happen to be in the hands of four bona fide miracle workers.
The story brims with suspense and powerful emotion, but is also packed with wisdom and original thought. Coach Ek had a traumatic childhood growing up in authoritarian Myanmar, where his parents died of disease before he crossed over into Thailand. He's quick to laugh and have fun with the Wild Boars on and off the soccer field, but the boys deeply respect the young man, who acts as an older brother to them all. The Wild Boars are spunky and love adventure, which might worry their parents if Coach Ek weren't always around to supervise. "Ek believes that his duties don't end on the field. He feels that in order to be a good leader, he needs to understand the boys as individuals. In turn, they sometimes listen to their coach more than they do their own parents. But rather than being annoyed, their parents are grateful that their sons have such a good influence. They trust Ek deeply...he is young enough to feel like another son or nephew to the boys' families, but he carries the wisdom and maturity of someone who has been through too many of life's hardships. They hope their sons can learn to be like him. Luckily, the boys want the same thing." A mentor like Coach Ek is irreplaceable: friend and parent, accomplice and leader, he's uniquely positioned to help the boys grow into good, kindhearted people. Trapped for weeks in the absolute darkness of Tham Luang, the Wild Boars might have fallen into despair and lost the will to live, but Coach Ek is there to remind them of the adversities they and he have overcome in life. They aren't pleasant at the time, but these adversities build character so you can weather whatever storms lie ahead. The boys' discipline on the soccer field plays a role, too: competition has prepared them to play hard but win and lose graciously, to be a good teammate, and to perform well under pressure, all of which is crucial to their current task of survival. Religious convictions also play a part, offering a way for the Wild Boars to cleanse their minds of negative emotion and panic, to enjoy the simple gift of life and togetherness with friends even while shivering on the slimy rocks of Tham Luang. Their entire lives thus far have prepared them to meet this moment.
Inspirational figures are also found outside the walls of Tham Luang in this story. Thanet brings with him the know-how and equipment to render the cave accessible to rescuers, but everyone is so busy advocating their own solutions that they brush aside his ideas. Sometimes in life, your chosen area of contribution will be undervalued by those who can't envision your dream the way you do. At other times, you'll find your niche overcrowded with ambitious people, and you'll struggle to gain attention among the fray. But you mustn't let discouragement derail your future; if you have something valuable to contribute, forget about persuading the bigwigs and find your own way forward, as Thanet did. Without his discovery at Sai Tong and subsequent pumping at the site, the cave divers could not have accessed the interior chambers of Tham Luang, and the Wild Boars likely would have died. No one believed in Thanet at first, but he proved to be as vital to the rescue as anybody. People from all walks of life, ones with diverse skills sets, cultural values, and emotional ties to the situation, pitched in and contributed at Tham Luang, sacrificing their own comfort, resources, and normal lives to help thirteen young people at risk of drowning in a Thai cave. It wasn't primarily government that led the rescue, but civilians willing to mobilize to save these scared kids in the bowels of the earth. It's a strong statement of what individuals are capable of purely as concerned citizens wanting to help our neighbors, without compulsion or manipulation driving our involvement. There's no limit to what we will give to help the vulnerable when they need it most.
I loved Christina Soontornvat's A Wish in the Dark. To me, it was good enough to win a Newbery Medal. Yet the author's All Thirteen, published the same year, is even better, a tour de force of fascinating science, scintillating action scenes, and emotion that will echo inside me for the rest of my life. Many times I was brought to tears, and the story gets into philosophical concepts I don't even have space to fully address here, such as the Thai ideal of having a "cool heart" in heated situations, deliberately smiling and projecting a relaxed disposition as a courtesy to help others stay calm. It's a cultural discipline that Westerners often lack, but would do well to emulate. Another important concept? The value of rehearsal, of training rigorously so when the big moment arrives, optimal performance comes naturally. Undertakings such as the climactic cave rescue only work because individuals dedicated themselves to comprehensive rehearsal. All Thirteen is one of the best nonfiction books I've read; if A Wish in the Dark didn't vault Christina Soontornvat to legendary status as a children's author, this book should. I urge you to cherish it.
April 27, 2023
Read Around the World Challenge 2023 -- Read a book set in or written by an author born in each of 50 countries on the Asian continent: Book 12 / 50: Thailand 🇹🇭
ALL THIRTEEN tells the amazing story of the survival of twelve young Thai soccer players and their coach, who became trapped in a submerged, underground cavern in 2018. Keeping them alive and then rescuing them required significant specialized intervention, and leaders far and wide sent resources to help. The story itself is exciting, deeply suspenseful and dramatic!
I didn't enjoy the style of this one very much though. It reads as though it were written for younger readers, in some ways.
Rating: 🏞🏞🏞 / 5 submerged caverns
Recommend? Yeah, it's not bad
Finished: April 16 2023
Read this if you like:
🧐 Nonfiction
🌪 Stories about natural disasters
👩🚒 Rescue stories
🩸 Survival stories
ALL THIRTEEN tells the amazing story of the survival of twelve young Thai soccer players and their coach, who became trapped in a submerged, underground cavern in 2018. Keeping them alive and then rescuing them required significant specialized intervention, and leaders far and wide sent resources to help. The story itself is exciting, deeply suspenseful and dramatic!
I didn't enjoy the style of this one very much though. It reads as though it were written for younger readers, in some ways.
Rating: 🏞🏞🏞 / 5 submerged caverns
Recommend? Yeah, it's not bad
Finished: April 16 2023
Read this if you like:
🧐 Nonfiction
🌪 Stories about natural disasters
👩🚒 Rescue stories
🩸 Survival stories
October 17, 2020
What an incredible tribute this book is to an event that captured the attention of people the world over. Never having visited Thailand or its caves, I was unable to comprehend the level of expertise and innovation that was needed to rescue those thirteen boys and their coach. Soontornvat's book is an incredible combination of human interest story, photo documentation, Thailand geography source, and tribute to the rescuers. The Sleeping Lady, the mountain that housed the Tham Luong cave was filled with up to 10,000 people during the rescue operation. There was even a team of dedicated volunteers whose focus was diverting water that would otherwise flow through the rocks of the mountain down into the cave. The scope of this operation was well beyond my imagination and I am so glad I was able to read about it and see bits of it in pictures. The lives of so many have been forever changed by this experience and this story needed to be told. Well done!
Thank you to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Candlewick Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
April 15, 2022
Finished this book in 1 day. It was so well done and easy to follow. The rescue of these boys is a miracle.
July 11, 2021
This book was SO GOOD: https://everyday-reading.com/all-thir...
June 23, 2020
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
This book was intriguing to me as I remember the impossible rescue of these boys and their soccer coach from the news so I jumped at a chance to read this and learn more.
This book surpassed my expectations and I truly felt as though I was there with the boys and their rescuers through the harrowing rescue mission to save them. This book shows in words and photographs the true dedication of all the people involved in rescuing these boys from start to finish and the obstacles they faced and the decisions they had to make.
I enjoyed how the author also touched upon the Thai culture and mentioned the boys families and even accounts from the boys themselves too.
This is a fantastic account of the cave rescue and all those involved.
This book was intriguing to me as I remember the impossible rescue of these boys and their soccer coach from the news so I jumped at a chance to read this and learn more.
This book surpassed my expectations and I truly felt as though I was there with the boys and their rescuers through the harrowing rescue mission to save them. This book shows in words and photographs the true dedication of all the people involved in rescuing these boys from start to finish and the obstacles they faced and the decisions they had to make.
I enjoyed how the author also touched upon the Thai culture and mentioned the boys families and even accounts from the boys themselves too.
This is a fantastic account of the cave rescue and all those involved.
August 8, 2020
Twelve members of a boys' soccer team and their coach decide to spend a day exploring a cave in Thailand. They do not realize that the cave is flooding with water as they explore, and when they decide to exit, they quickly learn that they are trapped inside, with no way to communicate with the outside world.
Christina Soontornvat tells the true story of the cave rescue of the boys and their coach. I was taken with the research Soontornvat did on the story and the beautiful and thorough way she told what happened. An incredible story of danger and rescue.
Christina Soontornvat tells the true story of the cave rescue of the boys and their coach. I was taken with the research Soontornvat did on the story and the beautiful and thorough way she told what happened. An incredible story of danger and rescue.
January 23, 2022
I really enjoyed Christina Soontornvat's novel, A Wish in the Dark so wanted to read her book on a story that caught international attention: twelve soccer teammates and their coach, who were trapped in a cave when the rainy season started three weeks early. She has done amazing research, including interviews with many of the people who collaborated to rescue these humble kids and their monk-trained coach. The coordination of the Thai SEALs, British cave divers, environmentalists, farmers, and volunteers was truly awesome, as they worked tirelessly to develop a viable rescue plan. The pictures and illustrations were also very helpful to understanding the challenges faced and long odds of success. 4.5 stars.
April 2, 2022
WOW!! What an amazing story of survival. Two books in a row I’ve cried at the end. This time tears of awe at the bravery of these 13 boys and all their many rescuers. ❤️❤️❤️
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March 19, 2021What an incredible tribute this book is to an event that captured the attention of people the world over. Never having visited Thailand or its caves, I was unable to comprehend the level of expertise and innovation that was needed to rescue those thirteen boys and their coach. Soontornvat's book is an incredible combination of human interest story, photo documentation, Thailand geography source, and tribute to the rescuers. The Sleeping Lady, the mountain that housed the Tham Luong cave was filled with up to 10,000 people during the rescue operation. There was even a team of dedicated volunteers whose focus was diverting water that would otherwise flow through the rocks of the mountain down into the cave. The scope of this operation was well beyond my imagination and I am so glad I was able to read about it and see bits of it in pictures. The lives of so many have been forever changed by this experience and this story needed to be told. Well done! *Review by Darla from Red Bridge*
March 15, 2022
In June 2018, twelve members of a Thai soccer team and their coach explore a cave, planning to
return in time for one team member’s birthday party. The plan is to return after an hour or so in
the cave. They turn back from their explorations only to find the only way out is flooded. What a book! What a book! Even though I “knew” the outcome, the book reveals all that went into the
heroic rescue of those boys. Heroic is too gentle a word. Suitable for readers 5th grade and up, I highly recommend it to any adult even though it’s in the children’s department. My 25-year-old son
read it in about six hours, and he says he wants to own it! I call that a good review!
— Darcey
return in time for one team member’s birthday party. The plan is to return after an hour or so in
the cave. They turn back from their explorations only to find the only way out is flooded. What a book! What a book! Even though I “knew” the outcome, the book reveals all that went into the
heroic rescue of those boys. Heroic is too gentle a word. Suitable for readers 5th grade and up, I highly recommend it to any adult even though it’s in the children’s department. My 25-year-old son
read it in about six hours, and he says he wants to own it! I call that a good review!
— Darcey
June 6, 2020
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy via netgalley!
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this book. I was intrigued. Would this just be a summary of what we already knew from the news? Would it keep my interest for over 200 pages? It wasn’t and it did.
This book does such justice to this amazing rescue that happened because amazing people put their lives on hold until each boy was out of that cave. This book also wonderfully explains Thai culture and resilience, while also drawing attention to the plight of many stateless individuals in Thailand. As if that wasn’t enough, it also educates you on a vast amount of other subjects that are key to understand in order to grasp the extent of this impossible mission.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect from this book. I was intrigued. Would this just be a summary of what we already knew from the news? Would it keep my interest for over 200 pages? It wasn’t and it did.
This book does such justice to this amazing rescue that happened because amazing people put their lives on hold until each boy was out of that cave. This book also wonderfully explains Thai culture and resilience, while also drawing attention to the plight of many stateless individuals in Thailand. As if that wasn’t enough, it also educates you on a vast amount of other subjects that are key to understand in order to grasp the extent of this impossible mission.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2025
Simply put: one of the best nonfiction stories I have read in quite sometime. I highly recommend this book!
February 21, 2021
Could NOT put this amazing story down!! Stayed up late to read it in one sitting.
January 8, 2021
I could not put this NF book down! If you have students who like survival stories or feel-good human interest books, give them THIS one.
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Inspirational, action-packed, and THRILLING, this book details the 18 days the Thai boys soccer team was trapped in an underground cave and the amazing people involved in their rescue.
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A truly international effort, the rescue required much more than I ever realized (pumping water out! sedating the boys 😱! engineering face masks that would fit! complex communication issues that involved cultural differences!).
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Everything you could possibly want to know about this event is told in full detail, full color, and with background on issues ranging from meditation to Buddhism to Thailand’s stateless people.
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Must read, must buy for all elementary and middle school libraries!! @csoontornvat has written a NF thriller that will be immensely popular with students.
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Thx to my friend @childrensartlab for insisting I read this immediately and to @dartmouthpublic for the book! Treats by @asitcrumblesbakingco 🍪
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#middleschoollibrarian #middleschoollibrary #library #librarian #futurereadylibs #iteachlibrary #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #librariesofinstagram #librariansofinstagram #librariesfollowlibraries #librarylife #librarianlife #schoollibrarian #middlegrade #middlegradebooks #iteach #librarylove #booksbooksbooks #amreading #bibliophile #schoollibrariansrock #bookreview #bookrecommendation #igreads #malibrary #msla #mediaspecialist
.
.
.
Inspirational, action-packed, and THRILLING, this book details the 18 days the Thai boys soccer team was trapped in an underground cave and the amazing people involved in their rescue.
.
.
.
A truly international effort, the rescue required much more than I ever realized (pumping water out! sedating the boys 😱! engineering face masks that would fit! complex communication issues that involved cultural differences!).
.
.
.
Everything you could possibly want to know about this event is told in full detail, full color, and with background on issues ranging from meditation to Buddhism to Thailand’s stateless people.
.
.
.
Must read, must buy for all elementary and middle school libraries!! @csoontornvat has written a NF thriller that will be immensely popular with students.
.
.
.
Thx to my friend @childrensartlab for insisting I read this immediately and to @dartmouthpublic for the book! Treats by @asitcrumblesbakingco 🍪
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.
.
#middleschoollibrarian #middleschoollibrary #library #librarian #futurereadylibs #iteachlibrary #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #librariesofinstagram #librariansofinstagram #librariesfollowlibraries #librarylife #librarianlife #schoollibrarian #middlegrade #middlegradebooks #iteach #librarylove #booksbooksbooks #amreading #bibliophile #schoollibrariansrock #bookreview #bookrecommendation #igreads #malibrary #msla #mediaspecialist
April 28, 2022
This is an amazing book! The physical book has tons of pictures of Thailand, the cave, volunteers and the rescue mission plus tons of information about Thai culture, cave diving, etc that really adds to the book. The whole story was amazing and reading about it made me in awe of the people, tools, cost and sacrifice that were a part of the rescue.
January 24, 2022
Superb
January 20, 2021
I stretched out on the couch by a fire late this afternoon to get started on this book, thinking I’d read a few chapters. And I just finished it. Literally, I could not and did not put it down. In addition to the riveting details of the harrowing rescue, Soontornvat includes just the right amount of back story when needed—how caves are formed, info about Thai Buddhism and young monks, even a helpful chart of human responses to levels of oxygen concentration (towards the end, the team was getting into a danger zone at 19%.) A truly incredible story of “extraordinarily ordinary” teenage boys, a kind and dedicated coach, hundreds of rescuers and a whole world praying for their safety. Hooray!
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December 21, 2022I already knew most of the details of the rescue of the Wild Boars team from Tham Luang, but I liked that this book offered more insight on the Thai community’s contributions to the rescue efforts, rather than focusing on the Westerners like most Western media did/does. The tidbits about Thai culture and how they affected interactions during the rescue showed that there was a lot more nuance to certain things than a Westerner might expect. Very informative book, great for any age despite it being aimed toward children!
May 22, 2020
Full of tension and emotion, even knowing ahead of time the outcome, I could not put this book down. I have so much awe for the #ownvoices author for telling this story with such respect, understanding, and emotion. She obviously put her heart and soul into researching and crafting this book.
December 16, 2020
The writing is gripping and breathless, even knowing the outcome. I want to talk and talk about this with my students. Such a depiction of problem solving, negotiation, bravery and using the best knowledge to get an outcome.
November 1, 2021
This book was amazing. I knew of the cave rescue, but I had no idea all the work, people and various behind the scenes stuff that occurred to get the twelve boys and their coach out safely. I know this is a children's book, and I am no longer a child, but I will definitely be buying a copy for my own personal collection because it was just so good. This book really showcases humanity at its best and you can tell that the author did loads of research (plus, there were pictures!).
March 8, 2022
This was AMAZING. I loved it.
May 22, 2024
I would give this more than 5 stars if I could. Absolute excellence in nonfiction writing. Riveting narrative nonfiction that inserts background information about so many topics: Buddhism, Thai culture, caves, engineering, diving, communication and challenges between cultures cooperating and communicating, medical issues, mental side of survival situations, horrific status of being stateless and so much more. This would be a great book to pair with Trapped!, about the 33 Chilean miners rescue- to compare and contrast. So glad the Newbery committee recognized a nonfiction book- we need more great nonfiction books to keep middle schoolers as engaged readers in this genre. I’d have to say after reading nearly 50 juvenile books published in 2020- this is my top pick.- 2024- 2nd read with a class- just as great the second time through. Such a well written and researched book!! Love this author!!
March 7, 2021
Christina Soontornvat was visiting family in Thailand in June 2018 when thirteen members of the Wild Boars soccer team became trapped by floodwaters deep in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave. Like the rest of world, she became caught up with the boys’ plight.
All Thirteen tells the story of the heroes who contributed to the safe rescue of the boys and their coach – the divers from around the world, the volunteers who provided food and medical service for the rescue team, and especially the Thai people for their generosity and their willingness to do whatever needed to be done.
Chapter by chapter, Soontornvat builds the tension – Will the boys run out of air? Will the rainy season start before the boys are rescued? Although I knew the outcome of the situation, I was on edge until the last person was out of the cave.
The book is well-researched, the story is riveting and the supplemental information is accessible for young readers. I recommend this book.
All Thirteen tells the story of the heroes who contributed to the safe rescue of the boys and their coach – the divers from around the world, the volunteers who provided food and medical service for the rescue team, and especially the Thai people for their generosity and their willingness to do whatever needed to be done.
Chapter by chapter, Soontornvat builds the tension – Will the boys run out of air? Will the rainy season start before the boys are rescued? Although I knew the outcome of the situation, I was on edge until the last person was out of the cave.
The book is well-researched, the story is riveting and the supplemental information is accessible for young readers. I recommend this book.
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October 16, 2020Six word summary: A stressful account of cave rescue!
Loved: I loved all the great details presented in this book. I new of this rescue mission, but I really didn't know much about the people involved, the work involved, or the massive amounts of volunteers that spent weeks helping.
Recommend for: Fans of adventure stories and true stories of survival and rescues.
Reminds me of: A real life version of an I Survived book, but with more details about all the players involved in the rescue.
Verdict: Add it to your TBR!
*Disclaimer: I received an early copy of this title for review. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.*
Loved: I loved all the great details presented in this book. I new of this rescue mission, but I really didn't know much about the people involved, the work involved, or the massive amounts of volunteers that spent weeks helping.
Recommend for: Fans of adventure stories and true stories of survival and rescues.
Reminds me of: A real life version of an I Survived book, but with more details about all the players involved in the rescue.
Verdict: Add it to your TBR!
*Disclaimer: I received an early copy of this title for review. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.*
May 12, 2020
Thai-American author Christina Soontornvat has meticulously researched the harrowing rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave for over a week before they were found. Drawing on first-hand accounts from rescuers, family members, and the boys themselves, as well as background information on Thai culture, the history of cave diving, the medical risks involved, and the science of the rescue, she crafted a perfectly paced account that will make readers feel like they're right there with the boys and their rescuers.
(NOTE: I received an ARC from Candlewick.)
(NOTE: I received an ARC from Candlewick.)
March 26, 2021
I took wayyy too long to read this. It was meticulously researched and compelling. It is a tough read -not due to vocabulary- but due to how harrowing and dangerous this rescue mission truly was.
August 1, 2021
This was an easy read. The story was written in a simple style. As I was reading it I started to equate the writing to be done in a style to match with my perception of Thai people, calm and easygoing.
There were a ton of photos in the book, it almost seemed like too many.
(Which also means I should have finished reading this a lot faster than I did.)
There were a lot of infographics of the more technical items in the book, like the aspects of cave diving, and medical situations, like hypothermia. These were a nice touch in terms of making the material accessible and understandable to a wide variety of age ranges.
Not a spectacular book or anything, but definitely worth the read.
*Please note, I won a copy of this book via librarything
There were a ton of photos in the book, it almost seemed like too many.
(Which also means I should have finished reading this a lot faster than I did.)
There were a lot of infographics of the more technical items in the book, like the aspects of cave diving, and medical situations, like hypothermia. These were a nice touch in terms of making the material accessible and understandable to a wide variety of age ranges.
Not a spectacular book or anything, but definitely worth the read.
*Please note, I won a copy of this book via librarything
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