Book Review of All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Soontornvat, Christina. ALL THIRTEEN: THE INCREDIBLE CAVE RESCUE OF THE THAI BOYS’ SOCCER TEAM. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN
9781536209457.       

 

PLOT SUMMARY

Twelve boys and their soccer coach take an impromptu field trip into a local cave. There, they are caught by an unexpected rainstorm that threatens their lives as they are trapped underground with no way out. Many government workers and civilians work together to get them out safely.        

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS                                           

This book won the accolade of being a 2021 Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and it definitely meets the standards for earning this award. The accuracy and organization of the story are outstanding. The author, Christina Soontornvat, researched the event diligently. Throughout the book are anecdotes that she confirmed through numerous interviews and other research. Her author’s note at the end of the book describes how she was originally involved through being in Thailand while it was all taking place. Her Thai heritage adds to her credentials. The source notes that she includes provides additional veracity to the gripping narrative she weaves. The photographs throughout the text and the author notes, source notes, and bibliography at the back of the book are excellent supportive features that helped the story be named a 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. Christina Soontornvat infuses the book with the spirit of the people of Thailand, and the reader comes away with a respect for this resourceful and, most of all, loving culture.         

 

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2021 Newbery Honor Book
2021 Kirkus Prize for Young People’s Literature

HORN BOOK MAGAZINE starred review: “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.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 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.”

 

CONNECTIONS

Lessons on Thailand would benefit from including this book in the readings.    

* Books similar to this one include:

Hood, Susan. TITAN AND THE WILD BOARS: THE TRUE CAVE RESCUE OF THE THAI SOCCER TEAM. ISBN 9780062907721.

Aronson, Marc. RISING WATER: THE STORY OF THE THAI CAVE RESCUE. ISBN 9781534444133.

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