SHSU Book Review forAll Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by: Christina Soontornvat

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by: Christina Soontornvat

ISBN : ‎ 978-1713547808

Bibliography: 

Soontornvat, C. (2020). ALL THIRTEEN: THE INCREDIBLE CAVE RESCUE OF THE THAI BOYS’ SOCCER TEAM. First edition. Somerville, Massachusetts, Candlewick Press.

Plot Summary: 

On June 23, 2018, twelve young players of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach entered 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? Luckily, the Wild Boars are a very extraordinary "ordinary" group. Combining first hand interviews of rescue workers with in-depth science and details of the region's culture and religion, author Christina Soontornvat―who was visiting family in Northern Thailand when the Wild Boars went missing―masterfully 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. Meticulously researched, this page-turner includes an author’s note describing her experience meeting the team, detailed source notes, and a bibliography to fully immerse readers in the most ambitious cave rescue in history.

  

Critical Analysis:

Soontornvat writes an intense, nerve-racking story and although the reader knows they will be rescued, they still can live and feel the emotions in the story. The author included so much information about the setting of the story and also added some history to enhance the credibility and make the story more believable.  In order to add to the veracity, Thai culture was a big part of the story, and the author did a great job describing Buddhism and how it is the driving force behind the Thai people. The photographs in the book added a great deal to the story as the reader was brought in and got a taste of what exactly the author was writing about. The author’s help in explaining vocabulary such as “hypothermia” helps the readers understand more of the terminology and explains what was happening in more detail.  This feature is excellent for those readers who have some trouble understanding texts due to unfamiliar vocabulary.  The story’s problem-solving situations and examples of bravery make it a great book to do a lesson with students. This book would be suitable for 5th grade students and up. 

Review Excerpt(s): 

“In lucid prose written in third-person-present tense for a heightened sense of immediacy, Soontornvat gives readers a journalistic account of the difficulty and complexity of the rescue effort. Using interviews and other primary sources, she keeps a tight focus on the unfolding story, with its inherent edge-of-your-seat, heart-in-your-throat drama, adroitly juggling a parade of characters, clearly laying out the technical and engineering challenges, and judiciously parsing out expository information in the occasional sidebar.”

―The Horn Book (starred review)

“An in-depth account of a harrowing real-life mission that succeeds against all odds...Masterful storytelling fleshes out the complex human emotions behind key decisions, illuminates diplomatic and political negotiations, and underscores an unwavering faith―in maintaining hope and in harnessing powers of the mind. Thoughtfully researched, expertly crafted.

―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Soontornvat’s narrative nonfiction account shares these events and those that led to the rescue along with intricate details about caverns, sump diving, and other scientific details that emphasize the harrowing conditions of the rescue. She also touches on Thai culture, immigration issues, Buddhism, and religion...This stellar nonfiction work reads like a heart-pounding adventure story. Every library should have a copy.”

―School Library Journal (starred review)

Connection:

*Students can write about the bravery the soccer team faced.

*Students can do some research reports on Thailand.

Other similar books:

THIRTEEN LESSONS THAT SAVED THIRTEEN LIVES: THE THAI CAVE RESCUE  by: John Volanthen 

ISBN: 978-0711266094