From the Publisher
A brilliant journey across the dark sea of mental illness; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary.” — Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak
★ “Haunting, unforgettable, and life-affirming all at once.” — Booklist (starred review)
★ “An adventure in perspective as well as plot, this unusual foray into schizophrenia should leave readers with a deeper understanding of the condition.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ “Clearly written with love, the novel is moving; but it’s also funny, with dry, insightful humor. Illustrations by the author’s son Brendan, drawn during his own time in the depths of mental illness, haunt the story with scrambling, rambling lines, tremulousness, and intensity.” — Horn Book (starred review)
★ “Teens, especially fans of the author’s other novels, will enjoy this book. This affecting deep dive into the mind of a schizophrenic will captivate readers, engender empathy for those with mental illnesses, and offer much fodder for discussion.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ “A powerful collaboration...[Caden’s] story turns symptoms into lived reality in ways readers won’t easily forget.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A thoroughly realistic story...Both male and female readers will find this compelling while acquiring a deeper compassion and understanding. ” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“Shusterman does a masterful job...The intensity of living inside Caden’s mind makes this a wrenching read.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Moving, funny, and insightful, Challenger Deep is about a boy named Caden who’s dealing with schizophrenia. Disorienting at times and emotionally poignant at others, this award-winning novel will make you ponder the complexities of mental illness.” — Brightly
Brightly
Moving, funny, and insightful, Challenger Deep is about a boy named Caden who’s dealing with schizophrenia. Disorienting at times and emotionally poignant at others, this award-winning novel will make you ponder the complexities of mental illness.
Booklist (starred review)
★ “Haunting, unforgettable, and life-affirming all at once.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
Shusterman does a masterful job...The intensity of living inside Caden’s mind makes this a wrenching read.
Laurie Halse Anderson
A brilliant journey across the dark sea of mental illness; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary.
Horn Book (starred review)
★ “Clearly written with love, the novel is moving; but it’s also funny, with dry, insightful humor. Illustrations by the author’s son Brendan, drawn during his own time in the depths of mental illness, haunt the story with scrambling, rambling lines, tremulousness, and intensity.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
A thoroughly realistic story...Both male and female readers will find this compelling while acquiring a deeper compassion and understanding.
Brightly.com
Moving, funny, and insightful, Challenger Deep is about a boy named Caden who’s dealing with schizophrenia. Disorienting at times and emotionally poignant at others, this award-winning novel will make you ponder the complexities of mental illness.
Kirkus Review
★ 2015-01-20
Fantasy becomes reality in an exploration of mental illness based partly on the experiences of the author's son, who is also the book's illustrator. For 14-year-old Caden Bosch, his gradual descent into schizophrenia is a quest to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest place on Earth. In an internal reality that's superimposed over Caden's real life—where his behavior slips from anxiety to hearing voices and compulsively obeying signage—an Ahab-like captain promises riches in exchange for allegiance, while his parrot urges mutiny for a chance at life ashore. Shusterman unmoors readers with his constant use of present tense and lack of transitions, but Caden's nautical hallucination-turned-subplot becomes clearer once his parents commit him to Seaview Hospital's psychiatric unit with its idiosyncratic crew of patients and staff. However, Caden's disorientation and others' unease also make the story chillingly real. Except in the heights of Caden's delusions, nothing is romanticized—just off-kilter enough to show how easily unreality acquires its own logic and wit. The illustrator, who has struggled with mental illness himself, charts the journey with abstract line drawings that convey Caden's illness as well as his insight. When the depths are revealed with a dream-logic twist and Caden chooses an allegiance, the sea becomes a fine metaphor for a mind: amorphous and tumultuous but ultimately navigable. An adventure in perspective as well as plot, this unusual foray into schizophrenia should leave readers with a deeper understanding of the condition. (author's note) (Fiction. 14 & up)
