Author Christina Soontornvat virtually visited Gilman Middle School on Wednesday, October 13. Her book “All Thirteen” (subtitled “The Incredible Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team”) tells the true account of 12 boys and their soccer coach who went hiking in a cave in the mountains of Northern Thailand in 2018 and then, due to heavy rain and a massive flash flood, became trapped there for 18 days. The book was on the summer reading list for Middle School.

Soontornvat usually writes fiction books, but this unplanned project came about because she was visiting family in Thailand when the unbelievable story was unfolding in real time. “It made me really passionate about it … it made me think I’ve got to tell this story for kids,” she said. She didn’t know what would come of her book, which includes a lot about the people and culture of Thailand, but she got to work researching right after the group was rescued. “It turned out to be one of my favorite books I ever worked on.”

Soontornvat commented that looking out at all the boys in the auditorium reminded her of when she met the boys from the soccer team during her research; they were ordinary boys just like the ones she was talking to at Gilman. “What they went through was really, really difficult,” she said. “But if they could do it, any of us could do something like this.”

At the end of the Q&A, Soontornvat posed a question to the audience of middle schoolers:

“If you were trapped in a cave for 18 days and you nearly didn’t make it out, would you ever go back inside the cave?” A mix of responses included enthusiastically raised hands and fervent head shaking. Then she reported that after a period of time had passed, half of the boys who had been rescued had gone back inside the very cave where they had been trapped (with the help of a knowledgeable guide and during the dry season).

Head of Middle School Armond Lawson gave closing remarks, emphasizing what stood out for him during the author’s talk: the importance of the Thai boys sticking together as a team, being strong for each other, and keeping a positive attitude through challenging times.

photo credit: Sam Bond Photography