As I’ve been stressing here recently, mental health awareness is really important. One of the best ways to bring awareness is to have proper representation in our culture in media. Neal Shusterman’s representation in Challenger Deep was exceptionally well done. Before we even get to the meat of this review, I’m going to immediately recommend that you read it. It takes a lot these days to get me absorbed in a book, so I was impressed by the amount of pull this book had on me.

The narrative in Challenger Deep is rich, as the reader follows Caden Bosch into the development and diagnosis of schizophrenia. The book is broken up into short chapters that go back and forth between two narratives. In the first narrative, he is the resident artist on a ship headed for Challenger Deep, the deepest point on earth. In the other, the reader follows him through his day to day life: his schoolwork, interactions with friends, his conversations with his family. Shusterman’s narrative never really gives the reader a full grasp on what is going on. The fragmented moments of description and truth drew me in (seriously, I read this book in two days!). The masterful imagery makes the world Caden lives in come to life and intrigues the reader just as much as the crew of the ship is intrigued with Challenger Deep.

One of the more unique points of the book is Shusterman’s inclusion of his son’s, Brendan Shusterman’s, artwork. A lot of the book is based on Brendan’s experiences with mental illness (more on that here, but there are spoilers) and many of the images were created during his struggle with his own illness (you can see the color versions here). This connection makes Caden’s struggles even more real for the reader. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I could easily relate to some of his anxious thoughts and the weird feelings that mental health issues can bring.

I’m not going to even include a rating scale for this book, since it is way off the charts. If you are interested in young adult fiction, this should be on your must read list. If you or someone you know has dealt with mental health issues, this may be a good book for you. Even if these aren’t your usual reading topics, the novel can stand alone. The surrealness of it is amazing! It’s going to be hard to find another book this summer that I like better.

Until next time!