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A review by eesh25
Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman
5.0
When I first read the synopsis of this book, it didn't make much sense to me. It talked about Caden Bosch, a teenage boy who's been behaving oddly of late. And Caden Bosch, the same teenage boy who's on a ship that's travelling to the deepest part of the ocean, Challenger Deep. And I only read it because I think Neal Shusterman is an amazing author. And this book proves that more than the other books I've read of his.
The synopsis is pretty accurate. We're following Caden on two completely different journeys. It almost seems like we're seeing two alternate universe versions of him, one universe ours and the other more... magical, but not in a good way.
And since this novel has very short chapters, usually between 1-3 pages, we get a couple of chapters in one setting and a couple in the other. And it's very gradually that we start to recognize the correlation between the two and that they start to make sense. And... I'm sorry but I'm really stumped on what I should and shouldn't say. I don't want to tell you what this book is about, I want you to experience it.
You already know it's about mental health, from the 'Genres' section above, so it's not like you'd be going into it not knowing anything at all. And I really really want everyone to read this book so I actually don't have to go into much detail to explain who I'd recommend it to.
Neal Shusterman has done something that I've rarely seen anyone else do for mental illness. Sylvia Plath made the reader feel what it was like to be in 'the bell jar', Neal Shusterman makes the reader understand what mental illness, of another kind, is and how it works. He puts you in the mind of Caden Bosch and presents his perspective in a way that helps you see Caden's struggle and why it's a struggle. Neal Shusterman doesn't just tell you what Caden is going through, he shows you. And he does it without ever eliminating who Caden is as a person.
I'm sure we've all come across book in which characters with mental illness are just their illness and not much more. Caden is a real person with a personality and interests and family and a sense of humour. He's so much more than his illness. And I loved that.
This is not a book that, I think, was designed to blow anyone's mind. But it kind of does that anyway with how good it is. It's not fast paced and it doesn't have plot twists but the way the author has chosen to show us what Caden is going through is brilliant and you feel all these little pieces clicking into place as vague confusion turns into comprehension. And it's for all of these reason and more that I would highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.
The synopsis is pretty accurate. We're following Caden on two completely different journeys. It almost seems like we're seeing two alternate universe versions of him, one universe ours and the other more... magical, but not in a good way.
And since this novel has very short chapters, usually between 1-3 pages, we get a couple of chapters in one setting and a couple in the other. And it's very gradually that we start to recognize the correlation between the two and that they start to make sense. And... I'm sorry but I'm really stumped on what I should and shouldn't say. I don't want to tell you what this book is about, I want you to experience it.
You already know it's about mental health, from the 'Genres' section above, so it's not like you'd be going into it not knowing anything at all. And I really really want everyone to read this book so I actually don't have to go into much detail to explain who I'd recommend it to.
Neal Shusterman has done something that I've rarely seen anyone else do for mental illness. Sylvia Plath made the reader feel what it was like to be in 'the bell jar', Neal Shusterman makes the reader understand what mental illness, of another kind, is and how it works. He puts you in the mind of Caden Bosch and presents his perspective in a way that helps you see Caden's struggle and why it's a struggle. Neal Shusterman doesn't just tell you what Caden is going through, he shows you. And he does it without ever eliminating who Caden is as a person.
I'm sure we've all come across book in which characters with mental illness are just their illness and not much more. Caden is a real person with a personality and interests and family and a sense of humour. He's so much more than his illness. And I loved that.
This is not a book that, I think, was designed to blow anyone's mind. But it kind of does that anyway with how good it is. It's not fast paced and it doesn't have plot twists but the way the author has chosen to show us what Caden is going through is brilliant and you feel all these little pieces clicking into place as vague confusion turns into comprehension. And it's for all of these reason and more that I would highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.