All 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

(a True Story of Survival, Teamwork, and Global Rescue Efforts - for Kids Ages 9-12 in Grades 4-7)

Christina Soontornvat

Candlewick Press · Print & ebook · October 13, 2020

Winner of the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Young People's Literature A 2021 Newbery Honor Book A 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book A 2021 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist A 2021 Orbis Pictus Honor Book A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.

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Who it’s for
A cave rescue unfolds through suspense, science, and the people caught in its stakes.
Themes
Survival and teamwork, Cave rescue operation, Science and cultural insight
Pacing
Fast

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About this book

Winner of the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Young People's Literature A 2021 Newbery Honor Book A 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book A 2021 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist A 2021 Orbis Pictus Honor Book A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.

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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? Luckily, the Wild Boars are a very extraordinary "ordinary" group. Combining firsthand 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 and generously illustrated with photographs, 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.

Suspense, Carefully Told

A cave rescue unfolds through suspense, science, and the people caught in its stakes.

Come here for

  • Urgency shaped by science, teamwork, and northern Thailand’s cultural context
  • A real-life rescue with human stakes and complex engineering

Expect

  • Firsthand interviews, photographs, and detailed source notes
  • Engineering above ground, endurance in darkness below

Where it sits

Adventure & Explorers83%
Exploration & Discovery34%
Asia for Kids27%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Adventure & Explorers
  • Asia for Kids
  • Buddhism
Authors
Christina Soontornvat
Publisher
Candlewick Press
Published
October 13, 2020
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Survival and teamwork · Cave rescue operation · Science and cultural insight
Reading lane
Adventure & Explorers