Reviews

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

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gperryy13's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

hit very close to home, screenshotted lots of quotes from this book. the way the two parts intertwined was absolutely brilliant

casper_boo727's review against another edition

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5.0

I can barely even form words to describe how good this book was. It feels impossible to do this spoiler free, because the ending and character development of Caden is something so shocking to me that I had to stop at times to digest it. It wouldn't do it justice in a review to not mention anything that happened when reviewing it.

At first I was a little confused at where this was going and what was happening, the seemingly random switch of the scene from Caden in school to Caden in a ship, heading towards the Mariana's Trench to find some treasure, was nothing like what I had expected coming into this. Honestly I'm still not sure if what Caden went through in the ship was a metaphor, or if it was delusions from his mental illness. The fact that it took me so long to realise it wasn't some dream left me feeling rather silly amidst the surprise.

There's so many things I have to say on the latter part where Caden was placed into a mental hospital by his parents. It was hard not to cry because it was so similar to my experience that it struck somewhere no book has ever struck me before. Even though my own struggles were so different from Caden's, the experience I had when I was hospitalised was so similar it felt surreal. It's traumatising and shapes your world view in ways I didn't realise until years later.

I just loved how the author refused to give a name to whatever Caden was struggling with, because sometimes people can fail to see beyond a diagnosis, beyond the label of whatever mental illness you have. It just makes it Caden and his struggles feel more real. I'm sure the author took some liberties in referencing their own struggles when writing this, because the desperate denial of Caden felt so raw to read.

Absolutely cannot wait to read this again, couldn't recommend more!

nourb's review against another edition

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this was such a gripping book. it was rly interesting to see the sea morph into reality. important insight.

jenmat1197's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the story of Caden Bosch. Caden has been diagnosed with a mental illness. Caden believes that he is on a ship headed for the deepest part of the earth. But in reality, he is struggling with the difference between what is in his head and what is going on in the world. His friends start to notice his odd behavior, and then his parents. He is finally committed to a mental hospital for treatment and recovery.

This is a good book. It goes back and forth between Caden's belief he is on a ship to his time dealing with his mental illness. As the book goes along, the reality and the belief start to entertwine until the reality becomes the stronger. Shusterman does a good job showing what it is like for people who suffer from delusions and how their recovery is handled. His own son has a mental illness, and helped Shusterman piece together this book.

It is worth a read. It is hard to watch anyone struggle with a mental illness, and this book did a good job giving you a peak into what it is like for them.