ALA Booklist (Tue May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

In September 2010, the San José copper mines sustained a serious but not unpredicted cave-in. The title of each chapter in this inspirational book, which recounts the harrowing entrapment and eventual rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, includes the word together. While the trapped men were of all ages and came to work in the mines for different reasons, unity became the crux of their survival. In spite of initial divisions, the men were able to keep food rations fair and ate all of their meals together. They worked to maintain their tenuous refuge area below 2,300 feet of the hardest rock in the world and to devise a method of fairly managing their precious resources for light. Above ground, families comforted each other while engineers frantically collaborated with experts all over the world to provide an escape plan. Under tremendous amounts of stress, groups can either fall apart or find solidarity in the midst of misfortune. This dramatic account is a rock-solid case study in the power of a collaborative frame of mind.

Horn Book

Using quotes liberally, Scott chronicles the 2010 San Josi Mine accident, favoring the human drama over the more technical aspects of the story. The book has a large trim size and numerous full-color photographs of the mine site, the families who waited there for weeks, the equipment used to rescue the miners, and ultimately the miners themselves. Bib., glos., ind.

Kirkus Reviews

On August 5, 2010, a copper mine in Chile collapsed, trapping 33 miners nearly half a mile underground. Shifting the focus back and forth between the plight of the buried miners and the rescue efforts underway at the surface, Scott creates a riveting tale. She describes the choices the miners' strong leader advised that prolonged their survival long enough to be rescued and the creative solutions that effected that rescue. They drilled through over 2,000 feet of especially hard rock, delivered supplies to the trapped men through a tiny bore hole and then invented a way to carry the men, one at a time, to the surface in a very small capsule. Evocative color photographs on almost every page enhance the brief text. The narrative moves step by step through the events that led up to the collapse, follows the efforts of the trapped miners to sustain life by rationing their extremely limited resources and describes the effect of the accident on their families. It also covers the development of a vibrant tent city at the rescue location, the ingenious strategies developed by the rescuers and finally the lasting impact on the survivors, many of whom remain unemployed. An engaging, suspenseful look at a tragedy averted that also provides a glimpse of a challenging way of life. Pair this with Marc Aronson's more in-depth Trapped (2011). (glossary, author's note, additional websites) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

School Library Journal (Tue May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

Gr 5-8 On August 5, 2010, a massive collapse at the San Jos&3; mine in the Chilean desert left 33 miners trapped more than 2000 feet below the Earth's surface. Scott alternately tells the stories of the miners, their families anxiously waiting in the camp above, and the rescuers drilling through some of the hardest rock in the world to try to reach them. Frequent color photos, maps, and diagrams, in addition to plentiful white space, make the book visually appealing and increase browser interest. An author's note explains how Scott conducted her research. A short list of sources is included, but individual quotes contained in the text are not sourced. In the afterword, readers get an update on the miners' lives since the rescue and learn that the story doesn't necessarily end "happily ever after" for all of them. This title is for a slightly younger audience than Marc Aronson's Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert (S &; S, 2011). It contains less background information on mining, metals, and the drilling process, but has more visual support and a greater focus on the personal stories of the miners and their families. Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR