All Thirteen (2020) by Christina Soontornvat

I must start by saying this:  I didn’t want to read this book. 

Ok, that’s not exactly true.  I heard an interview with the author on KidsAskAuthors podcast, and I really, really wanted to read this.  I’m usually pretty out of the news loop as it is, but in summer 2018, I was in complete parenting survival mode.  So, I wasn’t experiencing this on the news or on social media the way that apparently the whole entire world was.  No, the interview on Grace Lin’s show was honestly the first I’d heard anything about it.  And I wanted to hear more.  And I could tell Christina Soontornvat had done an amazing job, because, well, I could just tell she was awesome by her interview. 

But….I am TERRIFIED, I mean terrified, of small, enclosed spaces.  I’m a claustrophobic, panic attacker to the Nth degree.  So, reading a story about 13 people trapped in a cave for 18 days?!  Well, sounds kind of wussy after reading this incredible story, but I just didn’t think I could do it.  So, I did the next best thing.  I ordered the book from the library to assign to my husband to read and tell me about it.  (Shameless, I know.)  But then, I picked it up one night.  Just to read the opening, y’know.  And that was it.  I was hooked.  I had to go tend to a child soon after and didn’t get too far, but the next morning I read the entire rest of the book.  There was zero way to put it down.  Zero.

So, in case you, like me, were in some sort of metaphorical cave of your own when this all happened, the basic story is this:  12 boys and their soccer coach decided to go explore a cave after practice one day.  Only, when they go to leave, they discover they are trapped by rising water.  They find a small place to shelter deep within this cave and there they wait.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, their rescue becomes an international mission.  Groups and individuals are brought in from all over the world to help rescue these soccer players.  People are glued to their screens (except, apparently, me) wondering what will happen.  How will this end?

I think what I loved so much about this story and what drew me to overcome my claustrophobic fears about reading it, was seeing how many people worked so hard and risked so much to save people they had never met.  It was 10 days before anybody even knew if these boys were alive.  To have that much faith and that much determination in order to save these precious lives just makes my heart overflow with hope for humanity.   And I love that the author doesn’t ignore that this was the work of so many more people than just the incredibly brave heroes who were in the cave.  With any big event, there is food that is needed and clothes to be washed.  Sometimes I’m a bit cynical about news reporters, but I loved hearing how news stories brought the supplies that were very much needed.  I can also be a bit hesitant about new technologies.  But to hear how they are used in a situation like this is sobering.  And just think of the translators needed…

I’m just in awe of everyone involved in this event.  The soccer players who were able to wait in a small, dark, trapped space without food or any reassurance that they’d be rescued.  It’s a huge inspiration for finally starting meditation, because, Wow.  And then the people who came to the site, whether from town or from halfway across the world.  Who worked together and worked through cultural differences to come up with a solid plan to save these precious human lives. 

This story is one of hope and good.  Of faith and trust.  Of the strength of the human spirit and of the truly miraculous things we can do when we work together. 

I read much of this through blurry tears.  And whether you were involved in the story as it was happening or not, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.