Challenger Deep

4.5 stars

The book starts out very disconnected. There is a lot to take in. You have to spend some time with the book to figuring things out. It helps to know a little about the book is prior to delving in: it’s a first-person account of a teenage boy’s descent into mental illness. In the first few chapters, you will find that Caden is experiencing hallucinations and is having a difficult time discerning between those and reality.

The chapters seem so incohesive but the effect is compelling in that you experience the same confusion parallel to Caden’s at the onset of his mental illness.

Don’t give up on the book if you get frustrated -- it’ll start to make sense a few chapters in! By midway, you will start to piece together the allegory, so to speak, of the Challenger Deep through Caden’s hallucinations, and identities will be revealed through Caden’s bouts of lucidity.

It's a tough read in terms of the heaviness of material, but otherwise the chapters are short and the imagery is vivid; I had to take breaks throughout the book to allow my mind to digest and absorb the descriptions. I 100% recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a challenging, realistic, and honest book about complexities of mental illness.

SPOILER AHEAD....
Though it ended with a positive outcome for Caden, the book doesn't idealize mental illness. It's confusing and doesn't really go away permanently. It's unpredictable and impacts lives. The perpetual psychology student in me especially appreciate the last couple of paragraphs in which Caden talks about how the Captain will always be waiting and that there's a chance he may go with him again, whether he wants to or not.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An incredibly moving story on the progression of a teenage boy’s mental illness and the thinning veil between reality and make believe.

Opening Sentence: There are two things you know. One: You were there. Two: You couldn’t have been there.

The Review:

I have probably read more books on mental illnesses in the last few months than I have altogether! It’s not a conscience effort on my part, there just seems to be greater emphasis on such issues of late, and I’m glad of it because it brings to light a taboo subject. The problem with popular themes is that after a few books, they start to sound the same and become easily forgettable. However, I’m glad to note that Challenger Deep stands out from all the other reads, if not for anything else but for the unusual concept of using pirates to explain the story!

The story is told from Caden’s perspective, a smart 15-year old who spends an increasing amount of time in his fantasy world, where he is a crew member of a pirate ship on its way to Challenger Deep; the deepest known part of the earth’s seabed. The progression of his illness and how it affects his life before he is rehabilitated was scary to read. Caden’s condition deteriorates until he can’t tell the difference between what is in his head and what is reality.

They [the voices] linger there on the edge of your consciousness like the things you hear just as you’re walking up, before the dream collapses under the crushing weight of the real world. But what if the dream doesn’t go away when you wake up? And what if you lose the ability to tell the difference?

I particularly enjoyed the eccentricities of the pirate crew, especially since they were based on actual people in Caden’s life. For example, Calliope the mermaid figurehead of the ship is based on Callie, a girl Caden likes in his psychiatric unit. He helps set the mermaid free, just like he helps Callie to get better and leave the hospital. The links between his fantasy life and real life made his journey all the more interesting. Once I realised the crew was based on people Caden knew, it became a guessing game, although truth be told, everyone but the captain was easy to guess.

Challenger Deep is a thought-provoking book without being so intense that it becomes depressing. Despite the serious topic base, there was plenty of humour, especially from events on the pirate ship. The chapters were very short; only 1-2 pages long and I found that made it far easier to read.

Caden’s a fascinating character and surprisingly, I didn’t pity him like I probably should have. In fact, his smart and honest nature was more to be envied. Even in his medicated and drug induced state, his witty comebacks made me chuckle. His take on life opened my eyes, especially with comments like: ‘You don’t so much sleep as borrow eight hours from death.’

Overall, this was an excellently written book, with some bizarre characters and a most interesting take on coping with a mental illness.

Notable Scene:

You know the voices aren’t talking into your ears, but they’re not exactly in your head either. They seem to call to you from another place that you’ve accidentally tapped into, like a cell phone pulling in a conversation in some foreign language – yet somehow you understand it. They linger there on the edge of your consciousness like the things you hear just as you’re walking up, before the dream collapses under the crushing weight of the real world. But what if the dream doesn’t go away when you wake up? And what if you lose the ability to tell the difference?

Additional Notable Scene:

In addition to the occasional shot of Haldol, I now take four pills, twice a day. One to shut down my thoughts, another to shut down my actions. A third to address the side effects of the first two. And a fourth so the third doesn’t feel lonely. The result leaves my brain somewhere in orbit beyond Saturn, where it can’t bother anyone, especially me.

FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Challenger Deep. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

It's refreshing to see so many books in the YA genre pop up that mention mental illness. Considering the huge stigma surrounding mental illness and depression I feel like the first place anyone growing up will find themselves more exposed to it in its truest form is through a book. I feel like the portrayal through movies and television lose a little bit of that deep explanation since you're seeing it from the outside. Like in Glee with the counselor, she clearly had OCD and was obsessed with cleaning but instead of helping people develop an understanding of the illness it felt more like mocking it.

With YA books, it's hard to find one that accurately drops you into the mind of someone with a mental illness. The one I found so far that was extremely well done is Say What You Will. Challenger Deep takes us on a journey into the mind of a boy who suffers from a mental illness. It's hard to get people who have no idea how a mental illness works to understand exactly what it's like. I've read a lot of feedback on this title about how confusing it was to understand at times and although the book did do some explaining as well as provided extra material to support it, people still found themselves at a loss. Which is totally understandable since I doubt the character himself could explain it. But that's sort of the whole idea --- it's this complicated voice that follows us around that makes zero sense about 95% of the time.

I personally enjoyed this read and the journey we were taken on with Caden. I wouldn't suggest this as a fun summer beach read but I would highly recommend it!

Caden Bosch hasn't been himself lately. He goes for long walks, returning home with blistered feet and soaked through with rain. He can't sleep, and lays awake at night until sunrise and sunset are meaningless notions. He can't bring himself to stay in school, feeling that he was follow the directions of signs around town until he is hopelessly lost. After weeks of strange and erratic behavior escalate into something dangerous, Caden's parents take him to the hospital, where he is admitted to the juvenile psychiatric ward.

CHALLENGER DEEP is told entirely from Caden's perspective; sometimes Caden is in the real world, and sometimes he is on a pirate ship bound for the deepest part of the ocean, under the control of a one-eyed captain and his cruel parrot. The reader struggles to determine what is real, and what is not, just as Caden does.

What I loved: The balance between character development and an honest portrayal of mental illness.

Caden is a very well-developed character. It was clear from the beginning that he is a boy with a lot of different sides, and the reader gets to know them all.

Caden is a very sick boy. Shusterman modeled Caden on his own son, who has been treated for schizophrenia. The drawings scattered throughout the books were done by Shusterman's son, and are reflections of the boy's mental health. The unashamedly honest and necessarily accurate portrayal of mental illness from inside Caden's own head is so powerful.

We get to see Caden's thought processes, the effects of medication, or lack thereof, on his everyday functioning. We see his spiral into darkness, and his return into the light, and everything in between. Shusterman masterfully portrays the benefits and detriments of treatment, and how a lesser evil is often the only choice for someone at the end of their rope.

The verdict: A masterpiece of contemporary fiction, CHALLENGER DEEP brings to life the challenges of mental illness in a compelling and eye-opening story. This is a must-read for everyone who has struggled with their own mental health, or the mental health of a friend or loved one.

Fifteen-year old Caden is in two places: a comfortable home with his parents and younger sister, with friends and schoolwork - and also on the deck of a ship sailing for the Marianas Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean with a lively cast of characters. Chapters alternate between locations, and in many cases, blend into one place.

"Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug."

Caden, in first-person narrative, describes his psychotic episodes, and as readers, we follow along and see what is happening in his mind in real time. His story is engaging, heart-wrenching, but not hopeless. He has support - and it is intriguing to see how the people around him in reality take form in his mind.

Shusterman has written a deeply personal book, and one that deserves much praise. In his author's note, he describes his own family's history of mental illness and treatment. His son, who lives with mental illness, was a part of the book in more ways than one - he contributed details about his own story, but also contributed a number of sketches that appear in the book as Caden's.

I really loved reading this with all its depth. The multiple realities are intertwined in a way that is really interesting. To be able to watch Cayden come and go into his own reality is really cool. It gave me a neat perspective about mental illness and showed me how to not make assumptions. One part that really stood out to me was how he did not resist treatment, this is because I had read The Soloist by Steve Lopez and read about how he resisted treatment, but this just shows me how every case is different and to never make assumptions about mental illness. I really loved the symbolism and how there was a deep message in everything that happened. It was interesting to figure out how all of Cayden's different realities connected together. It also gives a really neat perspective on the process of getting treatment and how that feels. This book really stuck with me in a way that has not happened in a long time. There is a lot more that I want to say about it, mostly rambling and other aspects that I like about it, so I am just going to leave it at, everyone should read it. It gives a type of understanding that everyone should have.

Challenger Deep
By
Neal Shusterman

Just a brief summary...

Caden is the young narrator of this book. From what I have learned he is on the brink of crazy and the entire book is sad...incredibly sad. However...as a reader I learned from this sadness. Caden alternated between being on a ship...those were his paranoid times and being somewhat normal...going to school, having friends, talking to his family. But his slips into his mental illness were becoming more frequent. He would tell his dad that a boy at school wanted to kill him and then after being questioned by his dad...he would back off of his statement. So...his parents were forced to hospitalize him. Then he had to deal with various meds, various other patients and various doctors and therapists.

Just a few thoughts...

I truly didn't get this book at first...was it dystopian...was it real...what was happening? The times when Caden was on the ship were so real...his feelings and thoughts about what was happening were so freaky...and then his perceptions of his real life became just as freaky...and incredibly sad...especially when his friends drew away from him...and he was hospitalized.

Just a few reasons why you might or might not want to read this, too...

This book is based on the author's son and their experiences. It read like a novel with truth behind it. It was eye opening for me because Caden's trips into his madness were so real. This made this book both powerful and extremely sad for me.

Challenger Deep revolves around Caden Bosch, a high school student struggling with the realization that something is wrong. When it becomes blatantly obvious to those around him, his parents have him committed to a psychiatric hospital. This is Caden's journey, mostly through a world of his own making, as he tries to separate the real from the fiction.

The author does a great job of conveying Caden's descent into his fictional world, but is not successful in making the reader aware of what is going on until well into the book. As it is written from Caden's perspective, Challenger Deep is supposed to keep the reader off balance. It just made it too confusing to follow the story at the beginning, especially with the constant shifts between Caden's real and imaginary worlds. The end was definitely better than the beginning, as the reader becomes used to the writing style and can settle into the story more. Challenger Deep was a good book with a unique perspective. I would recommend the audio book, as it gives a strong voice to Caden.

CHALLENGER DEEP by Neal Shusterman plunges readers into the powerful and authentic world of mental illness through the perspective of a teen teetering on the brink of insanity.

Unlike works for young adults that view mental disorders from the outside in, Shusterman immerses readers into this disturbing universe from the very first page. Sensitively told through short chapters that flow between Caden’s imaginary world and his perceived reality, readers experience a young man’s ongoing struggle with sanity. This gripping prose will hold the attention of young adults from beginning to end as they grow to understand the stark reality of Caden’s condition.

The book is illustrated with amazing artwork by Shusterman’s son Brendan. The “author’s note” at the end of the novel explains the author’s close ties to this very personal story.

While some readers will empathize with Caden’s plight because of their own experiences with mental illness, others will gain new insights and compassion for those dealing with schizophrenia and similar disorders.

Librarians will find this to be an excellent selection for students interested in the psychology of mental illness. Young adults will appreciate the authentic characters and the author’s eye for detail.

This extraordinary work of realistic fiction has had lots of positive buzz. It’s likely to be on the “best of 2015” lists, so be ready for ongoing interest in the title.

To learn more about the author, go to http://www.storyman.com/.

Published by Harper Teen on April 21, 2015.

This is a very emotional and powerful book which I am not sure if the audience which it is supposed to address will fully understand it. This book starts off like a weird alternative reality world - an analogy to what a schizophrenic mind (mental illness) appears to comprehend.

This book is about a young boy, 15-year old Caden, who loves to go to school, hang out with his family, but then, he starts to think that someone in school is going to hurt him. At the same time, he dreams of a mysterious ship where he's under the orders of an erratic, one-eyed captain and an overly talkative parrot. Caden lost sight of what was real and what was imagined. Very little made sense any more while he became more paranoid and felt as if the world was going to swallow him whole.

This is not the usual young readers book about an alternate world, but in fact a disturbing reality of a person suffering from schizophrenia. What makes this more heart rendering is that the author Neil Shusterman understands firsthand what it is like to watch someone you love through this mental illness as his son is the muse of this heart-wrenching story.

A modern day “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – Challenger Deep is a story of family, hope, heartache and Caden Bosch’s struggle with schizophrenia.
The story is told in layers. The initial layer of the story is made up of the thin veneer of reality, where Caden is starting to lose his tenuous grip on what is real. Caden’s friends and parents are growing concerned about his increasingly odd behavior.
Like his namesake Hieronymus Bosch, Caden is a talented artist. As Caden slips deeper into his delusional thoughts, he becomes the artist in residence on board the Challenger Deep where he is charged with documenting the exploration of the Marianas Trench.
Caden’s illness is told by overlapping story lines alternating between Caden’s reality in the hospital and his duties aboard the Challenger Deep.

Neil Shusterman is an awesome story teller. Challenger Deep is especially moving. He knows firsthand what it is like to help someone you love through bouts of mental illness, having gone through it with his own son (who is the illustrator of the book), and the way he tells the story is so unique. I just love it.

There is a certain beauty and brilliance to this book, even if it has an unexpected perspective. It takes on mental illness in a bit different of a way. Its not the first book that throws you right into the mind of someone mentally ill, but it is putting you in there when the character is in the middle of a psychotic break, which is confusing, difficult, and wrenching as a reader. This isn't a book tha eases the reader into things - instead, it throws you right in, and is one you have to "stick it out" with until things start to pull together. I often end up loving books that do exactly that. There is a certain morbid fascination that keeps me going early on, even if it's uncomfortable, with a fabulous payoff as things progress. It's that which makes this book have a quiet brilliance to it. This is not the typical kind of work Shusterman does, but I have to admit, it may be my favorite. It's intense, vivid, and phenomenally woven, even while testing me as a reader. It's a book that has certainly left a mark, and given me an interesting ride. It handles a rough topic in a bold way.

I really have no idea of how to review “Challenger Deep”, but I am going to try.

It is an extremely well-written book on mental illness, complete with drawings to accompany the story. The plot is very confusing, as it is meant to be, but all becomes clear in the end. If I try to describe much else it will spoil the experience for you, so I am going to stop there. It’s something that needs to be discovered on your own.

I would like to commend Brendan Shusterman, Mr. Shusterman’s son, for sharing his own story with us on the pages. It is not non-fiction, but his own struggles add a very personal touch. Also, his drawings are amazing.

I recommend “Challenger Deep” for anyone middle grade and up who wants to learn about, or is struggling with, any type of mental illness. While it may be difficult at points to read, please stick with it. It is worth it.

Book #92 Read in 2015
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (YA)

Caden Bosch is a high school student whose friends and family are beginning to notice something off about him. He has to walk miles and miles in a day. He believes that fellow students want to kill him. There are voices in his head telling him that his parents are imposters. Eventually, Caden's parents commit him in an effort to get him the help he needs. This is a honest portrayal of teenage mental illness. The author knows this personally as his son suffers from mental illness. While sometimes purposely disjointed to read, this book is powerful and its message gets through loud and clear. High school student and adults would be the ideal audience for this book. I received a copy of this book from the store Vine in exchange for a honest review.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Challenger Deep has it all: humor, rumor, consumer, bloomer. The story blooms into one of the most beautiful conclusions I have ever read. Don't worry, no spoilers here. Just know that the ending would redeem all sorts of poor writing. But this book doesn't have poor writing. It's a work of genius. I actually am going to re-read the book with the gorgeous conclusion in mind. If you are finding the beginning tough to navigate and spoilers don't concern you, read the last two chapters and then try again.

Caden is very human and very real. He's obstinate, lost, perceptive, funny, confused, and victorious. As the book has it all, so does Caden. He is completely engaging and the fact that the book never really mentions what he looks like makes him universal. Anyone should be able to picture him as a loved one.

This book is about reality, impracticality, probability, and possibility.

Like I said, I'm reading Challenger Deep again. And then probably again. Highly recommended!

Challenger Deep is a book about a young boy suffering from a mental disorder, though it takes a while for that to become apparent. Caden is having a difficult time discerning between what's real and what is in his head. For a while, he's able to keep his condition a secret but soon his parents become aware that something is very wrong and Caden is committed to a mental hospital.
The chapters of the book alternate between the world in Caden's head and what is happening in the hospital. Though the chapters of what's going on in Caden's head are very imaginative, I liked the chapters about his real life a lot more, maybe because of the prevalence of mental illness within my own family. Overall, the book was very good and left me with a feeling of hope, that things would get better for Caden and his friends from the hospital.

It seems that morons in high places are often the ones who run things in life, though that may depend on the type of tie you wear. This is a puzzling book written from the point of view of the young man who knows what his name means even though he doesn’t know what language that is. There is a dreamlike quality to it and it is metaphoric but not only metaphor. Deep as an ocean trench but real as a psychiatric hospital. Are you now, or have you ever been? Captain Ahab, we have references here but real life – is it really one out of three? And how do you really feel when on meds? Not clearly black or white but like a knot… So I presume this is for teens who may or may not be in the one third category or worried they might be. In which case I suppose it may be reassuring. I am normal!

‘Sometimes the darkness beyond is not glorious at all, it truly is an absolute absence of light. A clawing, needy tar that pulls you down. You drown but you don’t. It turns you to lead so you sink faster in its viscous embrace. It robs you of hope and even the memory of hope. It makes you think you’ve always felt like this, and there’s no place to go but down, where it slowly, ravenously digests your will, distilling it into the ebony crude of nightmares.’

Caden Bosch’s descent into schizophrenia takes readers on an unforgettable adventure that blurs the line between what’s real and what’s mere fantasy. Caden is a gifted artist at the age of fifteen years old yet he possesses an inner drive, a compulsion, that he can no longer keep quiet. His art becomes frenetic and he begins walking his town for hours based on a uncontrollable desire to fill the empty sidewalks with his presence. And sometimes his mind takes him elsewhere, where he’s a part of a crew on a galleon and their mission is to reach the deepest point of the Marianas Trench, a place called Challenger Deep.

‘The things I feel cannot be put into words, or if they can, the words are in no language anyone can understand. My emotions are talking in tongues.’

Ironically, this was my first read in my National Book Award experiment, yet it’s the last one I sat down to review. This was such a staggering read for me that it really took me some time to fully process Caden’s story and how it made me feel. I suppose the expected response is sadness and pity, but it was so authentically told that it transformed this story into something truly substantial for me. Despite the fantasy world that Caden lived in, his struggle becomes something real. We glimpse just enough of the outside world to realize how much his loved ones are also impacted and how they struggle to understand his inner turmoil. How his parents plead with him to change his behavior when it’s well past the point of his ability, so he’s placed in a mental institution when they don’t know what else to do for him. Almost in defiance of such a melancholy story, is the subtle (yet effective) humor that is laced throughout.

“If you continue making progress,” one of the nurses told me earlier today, “I see no reason why you shouldn’t be going home in a couple of weeks.” Then she added, “But don’t quote me on that.” Noncommittal is rampant among the committed.

Sprinkled throughout this story are various pieces of art which are original pieces from the authors son, Brendan Shusterman. The story itself exists solely because of the experiences of Brendan who has personally struggled with mental illness, which makes sense as to why this story rang so true for me. Challenger Deep will certainly leave readers who haven’t suffered personally to gain more of an understanding and compassion for those that do.

I have very mixed feelings on this one. It's a story worth telling to be sure, and perhaps one that a younger audience could find compelling (perhaps told in sections as a bedtime reading or something?), but it's just so difficult to read.

Often books written for a younger audience will employ simplistic storytelling devices and nonsensical plot to entertain, and this is done here quite well. But the thing about that sort of thing is, as a book on writing sci-fi once explained, if you don't set and follow rules, you get lost. And if you you stray too far from actual reality, you become lost.

Even worse though, a style of writing can be appealing or interesting, but if it isn't written in such a way as to compel you and draw you in, it becomes a slog through a swamp as you are spending more time trying to decipher the story than enjoy it.

Yes, this unfortunately is that kind of book. It has a story worth telling, but not one that I enjoy reading or could recommend to anyone sadly. Perhaps a younger audience can enjoy this book more than I did.

Challenger Deep is an emotionally powerful novel that will engage young readers with it's unflinching portrayal of mental illness. Shusterman never shies away from important issues, and Challenger Deep plunges right into the schizophrenic mind without hesitation. Interestingly enough, the very thing that makes this book ring so true also makes this book not quite as readable as his other offerings. There are many confusing, surreal moments that left me wondering where we were until I could get a handle on this story.

Challenger Deep is an important story and a challenging read that will captivate those teens interested in the subject matter. A cautious recommend for the right audience.

Two years ago, I wouldn't have given this book a try. But then my sophomore daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia, after suffering paranoid episodes and psychotic breaks that we tried to rationalize as stress or the pressures of school.

It's a realistic portrayal of the gradual and often overlooked slide into psychosis. It was hard to read it and relive those horrible days, but I'm glad Schusterman had the courage to create this look at mental health issues.

The only piece he glosses over is the scarcity of adolescent psychiatric services. In our state, the nearest available in-patient hospital is often three hours away. Oh, and the horrendous cost of the antipsychotics ($1500/month) and hospital stays ($4500/day). A little of the pirate booty would come in handy.

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

“Count your blessings,” the captain says, “And if you count less than ten, cut off the remaining fingers.”

This story was just plain weird, and while I figured out after a while that it was actually about mental illness, it was still pretty weird.

“Where does this hallway go?”
She looks at me with suspicion. “It doesn’t go anywhere, it stays right here.”

Caden was a boy who had obviously got problems, the hallucinations that the was experiencing were so vivid that he actually believed that they were really happening to him, and his delusions about a boy at school who he had never spoken to wanting to kill him, did come across as a symptom of possible schizophrenia.

“well, it’s just that… there’s this kid at school.”
“Yes?”
“Of course I can’t be sure…”
“Yes?”
“Well… I think he wants to kill me.”

The storyline in this was split in two, half of the time we were following Caden as he lived on a ship (which was very strange), and the other half of the time we saw Caden at home with his family, and experienced the strange ideas he came out with, and his admission to a mental health care facility. This was all a bit confusing though, and after a while I started to get a bit sick of the repetativeness of the story.

“Cartilage of cow,” he tells, “and spine of black beetle.”
“Beetles have no spines,” I point out. “They’re invertebrates.”
“Exactly. That’s why it’s so rare.”

The ending to this was okay, and I appreciated what the author had tried to do with this story, I just struggled to really enjoy this though.
6 out of 10

Karen at For What It's Worth and Mary at The Book Swarm occasionally post twitter-style reviews. Karen calls hers Short and Tweet, and I am going to borrow that review style here.

Tweet Review: (okay, okay, it would really be two tweets, forgive me?)

Intense dive into one young man's battle with mental illness. Through our unreliable narrator we journey on a vessel called Challenger, into the hospital and on his journey to decipher what is reality and what are delusions. Though I was a bit confused at times and skimmed a bit.

I wanted to read Challenger Deep as soon as I heard a rumor of it through fellow book lovers. The entire premise of this book is unique. It is basically a journey through the mind of a mentally ill teenager. Neal Shusterman was able to portray mental illness without it being dumbed down for the reader. What I mean by that is that .... you are really entering the thoughts and confusion that this character goes through. It's confusing and frustrating and at points, I had no idea what was going on... but that's what made it realistic. I absolutely loved this book and I know that it will stay with me for a very long time. Shusterman is an amazingly talented author.

Wow. This is one amazing novel. Gives amazing insight into the experience of mental illness. Although I can't really & truly understand what it's like to struggle with a mental illness, I feel like I have more empathy for friends & patients who live with it after reading this. Well done.

I found this to be an intriguing read. Caden is a teenager that slowly starts to behave and think oddly. It spirals out of control until his parents have him committed. It comes across very real and scary in that there did not seem to be anything to set him on this downward spiral. Sometimes the side story with the ship got in the way as I wanted to follow Caden through his treatment and recovery quicker than the book allowed yet it was interesting and helped highlight Caden's thoughts. I liked the writing style, I would be interested in reading more from this author.

Shusterman puts us into the mind of a fifteen year old schizophrenic. In first person this book is particularly effective. The author blends real with delusional worlds as he takes us on his surreal journey. One can never be sure what to believe is real.

This is a good read for those interested in teen schizophrenia.

I had to read Challenger Deep for school, and I'm sorry, but if it wasn't required I probably wouldn't have finished it. That being said, I think it was a great read. This book offered a look into what being mentally ill is really like, and I definitly connected with Caden.
I took one star off because the beginning is very confusing. It's hard to follow because he switches from one plot to the next, and this might turn some readers off.
However, when you make the connection between his real experiences and his dream world, you will have many Ah-Ha moments. I personally love symbols and metaphors in my books, and this was very satisfying.
So if you can stick with it, you won't regret it.

Another great book that did romanticize the illness. This book left me confused and amazed by what was going on through his mind. I haven't come across a character was was quiet this deep in his illness was it was surprised what he though was going on, I'm actually surprised that the parents didn't get him help sooner because the way he was acting I think his parents should've at least had him checked out before things progressed as it did.Overall a really great and interesting book.

Challenger Deep is a story of mental illness written by Neal Shusterman. It is loosely based off of his own son’s experiences and features drawings from him. Caden Bosch tells his story in the first person most of the time; he takes a brief period telling it in second person, when he feels the least like he is in his own body. While it is never clearly stated, Caden is obviously a paranoid schizophrenic. The book switches between two places with the same boy. On one hand, he is on a ship where he has no family, headed towards Challenger Deep, the deepest point of the deepest trench in the world. However, the author’s intent with this part of Caden’s mind is unclear. Are they just psychotic episodes that are entirely his imagination? Is it an entirely separate reality? This is the book’s main flaw. The switches between perspectives are at first confusing and remain difficult to follow throughout the whole book. Caden’s other reality is one of an average fifteen-year-old boy. He has two parents and a younger sister, goes to school, and has friends and hobbies. Shelby and Max, Caden’s closest friends, see his strange behaviors. Caden has very concerning impulses and very out-of-the-ordinary “causes” of anxiety. Overall, the book was incredibly well written. Its main audience would be anyone else who has struggled with mental illness. There are very few similar reads to this book, and even fewer that will leave the same effect on the reader. Caden’s feelings and thoughts are harder to understand if you cannot relate to them yourself. It was a very accurate depiction of a psychotic break with no sugarcoating. It is a work to be appreciated for that reason. The only other problems with the book are very minor details. Some of the actions of the characters seem a little far-fetched, but most of it does not affect the plot. Other than that, Challenger Deep is an eye-opener worth reading.

This story is profound, poignant, often disconcerting, and yet still has it's own kind of humor. I am a big fan of Neal Shusterman's books, but this is unlike anything he has done before. This book will confuse you at first but don't give up on it. It is not an easy read. And that's the whole point. I will not say that you will enjoy this book, but it it will affect you. It will make you think. And like great books do, it will take you on a journey that is hard to forget.

I've been reading Neal Shusterman for a long time. A long time. The Skinjacker Trilogy and Dark Fusion trilogy were among the best books I've ever read ...Unwind Dystology, not so much. I will not say that the series was bad, it just didn't feel like Skinjacker did.

I was browsing, and then I saw Challenger Deep. I grabbed it without hesitation, because it was a Shusterman. Then, I found out it was realistic fiction. Alright. So I opened the book, and started reading it ... I emerged three hours later.

This is a masterpiece. This book was not written to be read. This book was written to be written, and that is a subtle but important distinction. Neal Shusterman wrote this book based off his and his son's personal experiences, and that made all the difference in the world. When you open the book, you enter the mind of Caden. This book buts you behind the mind of someone fighting insanity, and it makes you feel like you are fighting it with him as you turn every page. Every event, every break from reality is perfectly done in a masterful work of craftsmanship. This is not the easiest of books to read, it is most certainly not 'light reading', but this is a book which can define a genre.

What an interesting story, written by a person whose loved one suffers from schizophrenia. Readers may have some difficulty following the story as our main character struggles with psychosis, but persisting is worthwhile, as readers will gain an enriched understanding of what it can be like to live with this disorder.

I did not think I would enjoy this book when I first started reading it. I liked the real life story, but found the story on the sea to be a little too much fantasy for me. I am so glad I stuck with it though as you started to see how both worlds blended together due to his depression. It was creative, insightful, and touching. I am very glad I gave this book a chance as I ended up really liking it by the end.

This isn't going super fast for me, but the beauty of this book is that you can read it and know what it is like to have a mental illness. Author Shusterman has eloquently and respectfully with dignity shown the intelligence and thought patterns of the main character who gradually is dealing with a brain that is very ill. Anyone who deals with mental illness should read this book. If a reader herself has mental illness she should read it for then she won't feel so alone and stranger. I heartily recommend this book

I liked this book because I saw value in the contrasting chapters of Caden's surreal experience of mental illness and the glimpses of reality. It dragged on a bit, trying to give a coherent storyline to his dreamscape, but I'm glad I finished it because the end (and the author's afterward) were touching. Hope it helps to reduce some of the stigma surrounding mental illness and show the strength it takes to participate in an acceptable reality by those whose brain chemistry provides other competing "realities."

TThis book was a difficult read. Not because it was badly written or uninteresting. It was difficult because it was so incredibly well written. This book's subject was heavy and at points it was hard to carry on. That doesn't mean it wasn't worth while. This is a book that will continue to hold your thoughts long after you put it down.

I didn't know much about this book before I picked it up. I knew I liked Neal Shusterman. I knew I wanted to read this book. I knew what the back cover said.

"Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.
Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.
Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.
Caden Bosch is torn."

This was both a good and a bad way to read this book. I will let you decide if you want to know more.

Before I read this book, I didn't know that it was about mental illness. The first half of the book details Caden's descent into paranoia. Its a deeply disturbing and confusing slide. The chapters alternate with Caden's fantasy world on a pirate ship traveling to the Marianas Trench and Caden in the real world. Throughout the first half of the book, Caden loses touch with the real world more and more. He tells his father someone is trying to kill him, he stops drawing and starts walking for hours in the afternoon.

Without knowing that the book is about mental illness, it was hard to follow at the beginning. I knew something was off but I wasn't 100% sure what. It wasn't until about the midpoint of the book when everything began to come together. All the characters who Caden meets and interacts with on the pirate ship and his real life friends and acquaintances begin to blend together.

I really liked this book but it was hard to read. It's the kind of book that changes your thinking and sticks with you forever. It was obviously a deeply personal book for Neal Shusterman. His son, Ben, struggles with schizoaffective disorder. Ben Shusterman did all of the illustrations for the book. I think that mental illness is severely misunderstood in our society. Hopefully this book and ones like it will help lessen the stigma of mental illness. and help people gain awareness and understanding

Sometimes when a book is written from the first person, even if that person is different, it works out. Sometimes it gets to be too much work. This was a difficult book to get through because the narrative was convoluted and confusing. While I can appreciate the difficulty of having a mental illness, this became a hindrance while reading instead of an eye opening experience.

Because i majored in psych, i couldn't enjoy this book. I absolutely appreciated it, and i think it should be read by nearly everyone who isn't in Mental Health. It's a staggeringly well done exploration of mental illness from the inside.

But if you have a working mental catalog of symptoms and diagnoses, you, like i, will probably sit there involuntarily doing checklists in your head.

I almost didn't request this book, tho I was attracted to it, but I wasn't sure I wanted to, as I deal with my own depths and beasts (different from what's described, but similar enough). But when I saw it on a list with 100 Sideways Miles, which I LOVED, I decided to snag it while I still could. I'm glad I did, even tho the book made me cry. Sort of a relief cry, I guess. Someone gets it. Someone understands.

This book exactly describes how mental illness feels. It is based on the author's experiences with his son's mental illness, and features his son's arresting drawings.

I applaud the author for writing this honest, heartbreaking, and touching book. I hope lots of people will read it and that it will help them understand the beast that is mental illness.

This story is aptly named, as it's definitely a challenge both to read and, possibly, to your ideas as to what mental illness is and how people cope with it. It's rather difficult to get into, as the story hops around and it's hard to get your bearings. But it's brilliantly written and insightful (as it should be, considering the author's son suffers from these mental challenges).

A riotous mess of disturbing quasi-reality that beautifully gets the reader into the mindset of a schizophrenic patient, as well as addressing social issues like ableism. Beautiful, horrible, and more clever the further into it you get. A++, wonderfully done. I'm officially a fan of Shusterman, not just of his UNWIND series.

I respect Neal Shusterman as a writer and enjoyed some of his books greatly (especilly Unwind). However, in spite of the fact that Challenger Deep garnered starred reviews from pretty much every professional reviewing publication, I failed to connect with it. Mental illness is a subject I am always interested to read about, just not in this case. Maybe it will appeal to a younger reader?

As of late, I’ve been reading more and more YA books about mental illness and I truly think that this is a subject that isn’t widely publicized enough. Challenger Deep is a beyond heartbreaking novel and I’ll even go as far as saying it’s perfect, a word that I don’t toss around lightly. Neal Shusterman has written numerous fantasy novels, but CD shows that what he really excels at is invoking readers’ emotions and writing books with heart. This is easily one of the most important novels ever written and Challenger Deep just might be Schusterman’s magnum opus.

Caden Bosch is drowning in himself and he’s losing sight of what’s real and what’s just in his head. He thinks classmates are trying to kill him, that nothing makes sense anymore and that the world is going to swallow him whole. Readers are brought aboard a pirate ship on a journey to the Challenger Deep and this is a trip they’ll never forget.

Neal Shusterman expertly balances Caden’s reality and the world he’s created, making readers question what’s really going on. This novel has a healthy dose of the real world and the fantastical one, both of which were finely crafted and imagined. I found myself immersed in both sides of the story and I enjoyed seeing how the two worlds were interwoven into each other.

Schizophrenia is something that’s real and it’s a disease that most of us are clueless about it. Neal Schusterman does an excellent job of shedding light on this terrible disease without unloading a textbook worth of info on readers. Caden Bosch’s character truly captures the fear, the unknowing and the danger that comes with schizophrenia, making Challenger Deep a difficult book to read.

Neal Schusterman’s son, Brendan has schizophrenia and this novel includes drawings his son made during schizophrenic episodes. There is so much depth in this novel and I haven’t seen mental illness captured in a way that has felt so raw and horrifying ever. This novel turns schizophrenia from something alien into a personal demon that’s frighteningly easy to understand.

This is not an “issue” book, it’s a journey of self-discovery and recovery. Challenger Deep shows the struggles that those with mental illness deal with on a daily basis without stigmatizing it. As informative as this book is about schizophrenia, this book is about Caden and not his disease. Caden is not defined by his disease ever and he’s never shown as someone who’s anything lesser because of his mental illness. Though Caden’s family doesn’t quite understand him, I’m truly glad this novel shows how important a support system can be for those in the Challenger Deep.

I’ll admit it, this novel made me bawl. I found myself so involved in this book and in the life of Caden that I couldn’t help but cry and cry for him. I cried for him because no one seemed to understand how he was drowning, not even himself. To say this book is powerful feels like an understatement because every words booms with importance and it should be treated as something sacred. This book could save lives, it could be the lifesaver that readers can cling to as they fight the currents of the world.

Read Challenger Deep and give it to friends, family members and co-workers, you never know who might be in need of help. This book should be in every school and library because it’s a beacon of hope that so many could benefit from. I can’t praise this book enough or stress how necessary of a read it truly is.

This is something of a cerebral book that gives out clues into the mind of the main character bit by bit as the novel progresses. The fact that the narrator is an unreliable one does not detract from the story line, rather than confusing the reader the narrator simply draws you in deeper. The book deals well with the themes of mental illness and psychiatric care, neither exploiting nor romanticizing these topics. While you may have to concentrate to keep up with some of the book's twists and turns it is a well written book with vivid prose and imagery.

Mental illness in book characters is usually not handled with the compassion, depth, and true to life look that you will find here. This is a difficult, painful read, especially for those with mental illness or loved ones who have these issues. The drawings in the book were done by the author's own son, in the thrall of this own mental illness. There's a realness here that can't be faked, and the pain is intense, but the story so beautifully told that the difficulties you feel while reading will be worth it in the end.

I finally finished Challenger Deep. What a beautifully mad venture into the dark world of mental illness. Highly recommended, however, would be one to read together with teen since questions can abound.

Shusterman has done it again. He takes us where we don't want to go turns us inside out and airs the subject so that we can learn and grow. This very personal work brings mental illness to the forefront with courage and a unique voice. Some readers will struggle to finish but we all must remember the struggle that people with mental illness must endure for life.

This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time. Caden's episodes are hard to describe. The way we hear them from his point of view really drags you into his world to see things in a competely different way.

I almost didn't make it through this book, but I'm glad I did. I feel like I experienced alongside this young man rather than just reading about it from the outside. Very powerful. Very important work.

This is an honest attempt at a meaningful look at mental illness, aimed at the YA audience. We have 161 short chapters spread over 314 pages. This obviously is a very personal book for the author and I do wish that I could give it a good review. Others have given it high ratings, but for me, this was a very difficult read and not one that I can recommend.

An exquisite look at a not so happy tale, Challenger Deep takes you deeper in the mind of an ill boy through two varied narrations, which sometimes overlap. While it is obvious it was geared toward a younger audience, the content is anything but, perplexing and drugging the reader with far too real scenarios and a fiction-like tale. I recommend this to anyone interested in the life of a mentally ill, or someone who goes through similar issues.

This book was too much work to read... especially for the fiction category. I get that the author was hoping to enlighten readers to what life for a child with mental illness might be like. To this end, I think they did a fantastic job. However the book was thoroughly confusing to the point of nonsense. There was no real invitation to read or continue reading. I really hope this book is assigned reading somewhere complete with tests, questions, and essays. Apart from that, I don't think most people will stick it out to the end.

This book gets points for creativity and an invitation into an experience. However, it's just not a practical or pleasurable read. The author is asking too much of a young audience. The book's only strength is that it exposes mental illness, remove than and it's barely literature.

This book takes on a difficult task but I think meets that task perfectly. Neal Shusterman has the most perfect insight on mental illnesses I have ever read. I feel like everyone can relate to this book. Challenger deep really makes you think about life. The author really knows how to put feelings into words, he did it so beautifully that at one point it made me start to cry.

My heart breaks for Cadence and the mental journey he must endure. After reading the story, I learned that Shusterman's son struggled similarly which made me understand and appreciate the novel even more.

A difficult book to read. I've heard that it is worth to get the hang of it, but I couldn't keep up. I love books about mental illness, but I also prefer more linear stories.

I was interested in Caden, I just didn't like the format of the book, the way the story is told. Right now, I need something more straight forward.

Maybe the book is worth those 5-stars I see everybody giving it. I'm giving it 1-star so when I go through my list I can see that I attempted to read this book... and did not succeed.

I purchased this book from Half Priced Books to read with @diversebookclub in May. All opinions are my own. ????? Challenger Deep by Neal Schusterman. In the beginning this book was all over the place and I didn't quite understand but the thoughts begin to tie up and become the "not so neat" package of mental illness. I love how the patient gets to tell the story from his point of view in this book. It isn't a lot of diagnosis and medicine. It's based o  feelings and the way the patient perceives those feelings. It is very different. Alternating between a world on a ship and real life puts the ups and downs in places no one would imagine your mind could take you.

Challenger Deep has it all: humor, rumor, consumer, bloomer. The story blooms into one of the most beautiful conclusions I have ever read. Don't worry, no spoilers here. Just know that the ending would redeem all sorts of poor writing. But this book doesn't have poor writing. It's a work of genius. I actually am going to re-read the book with the gorgeous conclusion in mind. If you are finding the beginning tough to navigate and spoilers don't concern you, read the last two chapters and then try again.

Caden is very human and very real. He's obstinate, lost, perceptive, funny, confused, and victorious. As the book has it all, so does Caden. He is completely engaging and the fact that the book never really mentions what he looks like makes him universal. Anyone should be able to picture him as a loved one.

This book is about reality, impracticality, probability, and possibility.

Like I said, I'm reading Challenger Deep again. And then probably again. Highly recommended!