Against All Odds is about 12 boys and one coach who survived being trapped in a flooding cave located in Thailand. It was Peerapat Sompiangjai’s (nicknamed Night) birthday, turning 17, when all 13 of them got trapped in a cave in the Doi Nang Non Mountains, Northern Thailand.

Since it was only June, they thought they would be able to explore the cave before the Monsoon season, which normally starts in July but when it started raining outside some of the chambers began to flood. They were very deep in the cave system, chamber 9, but luckily this did not flood. After hours the boy’s parents began to worry.

People from all over the world were recruited to save the boys and two of those people were Craig Challen and Richard Harris from Australia. Richard Harris is an anaesthesiologist in Adelaide, South Australia, and Craig Challen worked as a veterinary surgeon in Western Australia. Both were expert cave divers.

My favourite part of the book was when all the divers from different countries were discussing how to get the boys out of the cave, because it was interesting seeing everyone’s theories and what they thought was best. I also enjoyed when they were diving through the chambers because I liked hearing about what each chamber was like, which ones were flooded, and which ones were a tight squeeze. I have heard of the story before, but never read or watched it, so this was a super cool book to read for me!

Reviewed by Olivia, Year 7
Cammeraygal High School, Crows Nest NSW
Age Guide 13+