CHALLENGER DEEP is a captivating and deeply personal novel about one teen’s experience with mental illness from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman, whose son Brendan’s powerful drawings inspired many elements of the book. Bendan Shusterman suffers from mental illness and the drawings are ones he drew during episodes of of the disease.
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.
Challenger Deep is a deeply powerful and personal novel from one of today's most admired writers for teens. Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak, calls Challenger Deep "a brilliant journey across the dark sea of the mind; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary."
Awards and Honors:
- National Book Award Winner
- Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2016 Golden Kite Winner
- A Top 10 book on YALSA’s 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults list
- Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book
- Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
- Kirkus Best Book of the Year
- Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
- School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
- New York Public Library Best Book of the Year for Teens
- Chicago Public Library Best Teen Book of the Year
Book Trailer
If you are interested in reading more about mental illness, try these books from the Turner Ashby Library:
- Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin
- Invisible by Pete Hautman
- Or Give Me Death: A Novel of Patrick Henry's Family by Ann Rinaldi
- Blood Family by Anne Fine