Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational
Weblink
www.storyman.com

CHALLENGER DEEP

Brendan Shusterman Neal Shusterman

A captivating and powerful novel that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that is headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Mariana 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.

Challenger Deep comes from a very personal place for author Neal Shusterman. Drawing on his son’s experiences with schizophrenia, Neal has created a truly remarkable and poignant novel for teens. Neal’s son Brendan’s haunting artwork is included throughout the novel.

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Bruiser, which was a Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) choice, a YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick, and was on twelve state lists; The Schwa Was Here; and the UnWind series, among many other books. He lives in California with his four children.

Available products
Book Published 2015-04-01 by HarperCollins
Book Published 2015-04-01 by HarperCollins

Comments

This affecting deep dive into the mind of a schizophrenic will captivate readers, engender empathy for those with mental illnesses, and offer much fodder for discussion.

Clearly written with love, the novel is moving; but it’s also funny, with dry, insightful humor. Illustrations by the author’s son Brendan, drawn during his own time in the depths of mental illness, haunt the story with scrambling, rambling lines, tremulousness, and intensity.

Award-winning author Shusterman returns to realistic fiction with a breathtaking exploration of one teen’s experience with schizophrenia.... With the increasing demand for understanding mental illness, this is a must-purchase for library collections. Haunting, unforgettable, and life affirming all at once.

An adventure in perspective as well as plot, this unusual foray into schizophrenia should leave readers with a deeper understanding of the condition.

As Caden says, “There is no such thing as a ‘correct’ diagnosis,” and though his story doesn’t necessarily represent a “typical” experience of mental illness, it turns symptoms into lived reality in ways readers won’t easily forget.