All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team

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.

Author: Christina Soontornvat
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 10/13/2020
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.5lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.80w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781536209457
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.2
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 510084 / All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team


Award: Yalsa Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults - Finalist
Award: Newbery Medal - Honor Book
Award: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Golden Kite - Winner
Award: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards - Honor Book
Award: Kirkus Prize - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 08/01/2020 pg. 50
School Library Journal 09/01/2020 pg. 109
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2020
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2020 pg. 120
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2020
Shelf Awareness 11/24/2020
Publishers Weekly 11/09/2020
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2020 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style

About the Author
Christina Soontornvat grew up in a small Texas town, where she spent many childhood days behind the counter of her parents' Thai restaurant with her nose in a book. She is the author of many books for young readers, including The Last Mapmaker, a Newbery Honor Book as well as a Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Teen Readers. She is also the author of the Newbery Honor Books A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team, also a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults finalist. Christina Soontornvat lives in Austin, Texas.