![]() ![]() He is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images. Bosch is a brillant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior. ![]() Poetic, compassionate, and thrillingly inventive, Challenger Deep affirms the power of narrative to describe the indescribable and enlighten us all.Ĭaden Bosch is on a galleon that's headed for the deepest point on Earth, Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench. Summary: In high school student Caden Bosch, Neal Shusterman has created a young hero who finds a way not just to navigate his own schizophrenic breakdown but to ease the struggles of his fellow patients. I wish that more books like Shusterman’s were out there to debunk common literary stereotypes when it comes to mental illness, because they truly deserve to be.P ublication Information: New York : HarperTeen, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2015 I may never run out of words to describe what “Challenger Deep” made me feel. ![]() Shusterman takes care not to sensationalize or dramatize the concept of mental illness–he takes it very seriously, and in doing so, creates a novel that is thought-provoking without being unrealistic. Finally, Shusterman presents Caden’s parents and sister as loving family members that genuinely care about him and support him without relent–Caden’s parents take him to the mental hospital after his symptoms manifest and visit him frequently. ![]() A scene where Caden produces a drawing to capture the personalities of his friends in the hospital really stood out to me. Furthermore, Caden is defined by more than his illness he is an artist with an abstract and captivating style. Shusterman captures Caden’s paranoia and delusions with vivid clarity without placing him in a box or categorizing him with the name of a disease. I don’t feel qualified to speak with complete authority as to Neal Shusterman’s portrayal of mental illness throughout the book, but I did appreciate Shusterman’s reluctance to put a label on Caden’s symptoms. Shusterman took a considerable degree of care to intersperse Caden’s visions with reality in a manner that significantly enhanced the novel as a whole and allowed me to better understand what Caden was feeling. As Caden starts to improve, the chapters featuring Challenger Deep grow more sparse, and vice versa. Jarring experiences for Caden–a negative reaction to a medication, for example–are reflected as such in his parallel experiences–an invasion of slimy worms and his brain slipping out of his head. Events from Caden’s life influence his hallucinations the hospital room where he receives his medication is the Crow’s Nest cocktail bar that sailor Caden frequents, and a girl named Callie that Caden befriends becomes the bronze fixture Calliope positioned at the helm of the ship. “Challenger Deep” features two storylines moving forward consecutively, which was confusing at first, but Shusterman’s masterful command of the narrative allows each plotline to enhance Caden’s journey as a whole. Caden recuperates in a mental hospital, and his hallucinations blend together with his memories as he tries to get his head above the water. The book alternates between the perspectives of Caden interacting with his family and friends, struggling to gain a grasp of what’s real, and Caden as a sailor, who is embarking on a treacherous journey to the deepest sea trench. “Challenger Deep” follows Caden Bosch, a high school student who begins to experience hallucinations and lapses in reality. This book challenged, educated and touched me all in the same breath - and the only way to know exactly what I mean is to read it. I don’t know if I can find the right words to encompass the love and appreciation I have for “Challenger Deep.” I flew through this book, yet simultaneously felt the weight of every word. ![]()
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