Description
A young readers' edition of the incredible true story of the Tham Luang Thai cave rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team. Portrayed in the major motion picture Thirteen Lives directed by Ron Howard and starring Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen and Joel Edgerton, and in the National Geographic documentary, The Rescue.
In June 2018, for seventeen days, the world watched and held its breath as the Wild Boars soccer team were trapped deep in a cave in Thailand. Marooned beyond flooded cave passages after unexpected rains, they were finally rescued, one-by-one, against almost impossible odds, by an international cave-diving team that included Australians Dr Richard 'Harry' Harris and Dr Craig Challen.
Harry and Craig were chosen for their medical expertise and cave diving knowledge, but this dangerous rescue asked so much more of them. They had to remain calm under extreme pressure and intense scrutiny, adapt to constantly changing circumstances and, most importantly, build trust among the rescue team and with the young boys and their coach, whose lives were in their hands.
An astonishing and moving story of courage, determination and compassion told by two Aussie heroes, who were made joint Australians of the Year for their key role in the rescue.
This Young Readers' edition has been specially edited and condensed for a younger audience and includes new maps and diagrams explaining the rescue as well as photographs, a timeline and glossary, and a new introduction especially for young readers written by the two authors.
Review
This is the true story of the young Thai soccer team, the Wild Boars, who found themselves trapped in an underwater cave for 17 days.
Writing a review on a true story, especially one that was given so much media attention at the time, isn’t easy as most people know how the story goes. But a book like this really puts into perspective how incredible it was to save the boys and their coach.
Told through the eyes of two Australians, Craig Challen and Richard ‘Harry’ Harris, who would ultimately play such an integral part of this operation, it highlights how selfless the rescuers were. Not only did their decisions impact the boys who were trapped, but the decisions could have cost them their own lives. They had to back themselves and believe in themselves, in circumstances that were unheard of, and there is so much to learn about human nature in times from crisis from their story.
It is an enthralling read for all secondary students.
Reviewed by Sam
