Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman, is a National Book Award and Golden Kite Award winner. It’s a story about Caden Bosch, who is beginning to imagine things. His friends notice his weird behavior, as do his parents, but no one really knows what to do about it. He is a ship’s artist in residence. He is a high school kid. He pretends to join the school’s track team, because he knows it’s what his father would want him to do, and then he spends his time walking around in his city. He toes the line between reality and imagination, but he doesn’t know it.
This is an important novel that explores the deepest parts of a mentally disturbed mind.
Shusterman wrote this story about his son’s journey through schizophrenia and his subsequent healing—which is never a full and complete healing but can send the mental health into hiding. Remission, he says.
In his author’s note, Shusterman says, “Our hope is that Challenger Deep will comfort those who have been there, letting them know that they are not alone. We also hope that it will help others to empathize, and to understand what it’s like to sail the dark, unpredictable waters of mental illness. And when the abyss looks into you—and it will—may you look back unflinching.”
I think he did his job. What an extraordinary book.
Throughout the novel, the point of view from which Caden wrote changed. Sometimes, when he was having some psychotic, out-of-body experience, he showed it to the reader by using second person—you. Other times, when his brain was healthier, he lived inside his body and used first-person perspective—I. It gave the book a surreal authenticity—as if the narrator had trouble consistently inhabiting his body, which is true among the mentally ill—particularly the medicated. I found that the artistic style more effectively communicated Caden’s descent into his depths, capturing his mental state accurately. It was fantastically done.
What I also loved about this book is that it was incredibly poetic and truthful. One of my favorite, jarring lines, was this one:
“Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug.”
It’s so true, and I’m thankful for authors like Shusterman who bravely tell the truth.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these book recommendations. Be sure to visit my recommendation page if you’re interested in seeing some of my best book recommendations. If you’re looking for some new books to read, stop by my starter library, where you can get a handful of my books for free.
*The book mentioned above has an affiliate link attached to it, which means I’ll get a small kick-back if you click on it and purchase. But rest assured: I only recommend books I enjoy reading myself. Actually, I don’t even talk about books I didn’t enjoy. I’d rather forget I ever wasted time reading them.
