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. 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.ĭon’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. In the first few chapters, you will find that Caden is experiencing hallucinations and is having a difficult time discerning between those and reality. 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. You have to spend some time with the book to figuring things out. Simply extraordinary.The book starts out very disconnected.

Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak, calls Challenger Deep 'a brilliant journey across the dark sea of the mind frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary.'Ĭhallenger Deep is a deeply powerful and personal novel from one of today's most admired writers for teens. Caden Bosch is torn.Ĭhallenger Deep is a deeply powerful and personal novel from one of today's most admired writers for teens. Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.Ĭaden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny. Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.Ĭaden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images. National Book Award * Golden Kite Award Winner * Six Starred ReviewsĪ captivating novel about mental illness that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.Ĭaden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Challenger deep book