All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
Readers rate it 4.3 (4 on Hardcover)
289 pages · Released Oct 13, 2020 · Candlewick
Content report card
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team parent’s guide: what’s inside
Violence
Language
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
A note for parents
This Newbery Honor-winning nonfiction account of the 2018 Thai cave rescue is well-researched, age-appropriate, and deeply engaging. While the situation itself involves danger and distress (boys trapped underground for 17 days), the book handles it thoughtfully, emphasizing survival, resilience, and the global effort to help rather than graphic details. It combines compelling storytelling with genuine science education and cultural insight, making it ideal for upper elementary and middle-grade readers interested in real-world adventure and problem-solving.
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From the publisher
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... 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. 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.
Shelved under
- Juvenile Nonfiction
- hopeful
- Science
- True Stories
- Young Adult
- Adventure
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ISBN 9781536209457 · Candlewick