Bringing Them Home

 Occasionally I get review copies of books. I feel a bit guilty about this, because I do not have a very wide readership and I'm not sure I should be on that list, but I love getting the books and I do try to read and review them. This one makes me very glad I'm on Candlewick's list.

I remember the news about the soccer team trapped underground when it happened, but I didn't pay much attention. It was far away and there was nothing I could do to help, so I would mentally send them good wishes and move on to the next headline. Didn't Elon Musk show up or something? And then I heard they got out, which was great.

I learned more about it while on the Cybils nonfiction team last year, because there were some good books there. I remember the afterward in one about how to write a book to match a headline, which was an interesting look at speed writing and publishing. So when Candlewick sent me this, I figured it would be entertaining enough and I'd be mostly reading it dispassionately and deciding where and if to gift it along.

I love it when a book blasts my expectations out of the sky. This was interesting on several levels, taking the time to explain parts of Thai culture so I understood things I wouldn't have wondered about, correcting assumptions I didn't know I had about the relationship among the boys on the team, the role of their coaches, their expectations from each other, their families, and their future. But it was all done with clear prose and well placed illustrations, pictures that told the story even though I saw them in black and white rather than in full color. And after I understood much better where things were and what the stakes were, the suspense rally started building.

The story is told in a straightforward chronological way, but Soontornvat is following several different points of view. There's what is happening inside the cave of course, but also the different people who are working on the rescue, some of whom were misunderstanding or not hearing from each other. There were stories I had heard nothing about, such as the people working to divert water from trickling into the cave, making it safe for the cave divers. There were the misunderstandings, cultural and personal, between different groups who were all trying to focus on the same goal, but coming from different perspectives -- military, avid cavers, Thai, American, British, and many mixtures above. And I found myself engrossed and deeply worried, which is incredible since I knew they would be safe. 

I think this would be a great addition to school libraries, and I plan to share it with kids in the local fifth grade if they ever allow visitors again. Good elementary readers would enjoy it, but it would also work in junior high. I would have handed it to my boys through high school (and probably college but they aren't around to be handed things).

I also reviewed it on Goodreads and LibraryThing, and tweeted about it when I read it.

Thanks to Candlewick Press for sharing this ARC with me.