Neal Shusterman: "Challenger Deep"

Title: Challenger Deep  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Neal Shusterman [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2015 (originally from HarperTeen, but it's been reissued on Aug. 6th 2020 by Walker Books)
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Perfect blend of raw and poetical, honest and hopeful. Comprises two smartly connected narratives.
Cons: Not so much a "plot" story as a "situation" one (though at least one of the narratives is punctuated by some colourful events).
WARNING! Lots of talk about mental illnesses of course. An attempted suicide (off-screen).
Will appeal to: Those who can appreciate a quiet, yet powerful novel from the double perspective of a single character.

Blurb: Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.
Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.
Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.
Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.
Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.
Caden Bosch is torn. (Amazon)

Review: I can't vouch for the accuracy of the schizophrenic rep in this book, but I guess the next best thing to having a person diagnosed with a mental disorder narrate his own story is reading his author father's take on it (and mind you, he got his son's input). Then again, art is about creating order out of chaos, and maybe making us understand it better...

DOUBLE FANTASY

Caden is a high-schooler with friends, hobbies, talents, and a family who loves him (including a younger sister he sounds very fond of). We meet him when he starts to spiral into a condition that isn't explicitly labeled (though it's obviously some form of schizophrenia - but then again, the book makes a point about labels not being necessarily accurate or helpful, because it's different for everyone, as the medical cocktails given to each patient are), and follow him all through his hospitalisation in a mental health facility; but at the same time Caden tells his story as a member of a mysterious crew on a ship sailing to the infamous Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the oceans - and that's where we get some action, if of the weird kind. Personally, I was captivated by the second narrative even before the connections with Caden's "ordinary" reality started to become apparent, but when they did (often in unexpected, but always smart and significant ways), I was in awe. This literary technique made me really understand Caden's plights and witness his struggle, and yet the story managed to stay entertaining (for all the right reasons). [...]

THE RIGHT THING

I haven't read many books where psychiatrists and the like play a role, but alas, for too many of them, it only takes reading a few reviews to realise that they are often depicted as the villains of the story - or oblivious/clueless at best. While I hope that in the years to come there will be a plethora of books addressing mental issues and mental health professionals the right way, I can safely say that Challenger Deep does that already. Of course, Caden is not happy with the facility routine, and a dry humour is his coping mechanism, but the doctors and the nurses always come across like human beings who are doing their best, though it may not necessarily be enough and mistakes (even tragic ones) can be made. Also, the rules are in place for a reason, and only in the inmates' best interest (though of course they rarely, if ever, appreciate it).

PLEASANT SURPRISE

If you're looking for a story where "stuff" happens, this isn't that kind of book. But if you're intimidated by the idea of reading a novel about mental illness because you're afraid it will be heavy and boring, this isn't that kind of book either. And if you've been burned in the past by stories where mental illness was romanticised or treated like a superpower in reverse, this is the book that will restore your faith in the "genre". There's nothing cheap in this story - nothing that goes for shock value. Then again, there's no sugarcoating in sight either. But I swear that, as harsh as Caden's reality can be, there's also humour (if a bit dry, as I said), and affection, and compassion, and ultimately hope - though you have to work at keeping it alive.

For quotes from this book click here.
For more Contemporary/Contemporary with a Twist books click here.