I resonated a lot with portions of this and it was also a confronting read in that regard. I do not have schizophrenia but I do have depression and anxiety and I have struggled with OCD tendencies in the past. That is realistic world for many of us struggling with our mental health. Or that mental illnesses very often really can’t be cured, are reoccurring and have to be managed. I appreciated immensely that the book touched upon how people expect you to take meds and then be ‘better’ and that is not how that works. They’re just there, like ugly, unwanted birthday gifts that you can’t give back. It’s not like I can control these feelings. It makes sense for a bonding to happen between patients, especially at this age. No matter how often you share what it is is like, rarely do outsiders get it. Moments of clarity and moments of setback.Ĭaden is hospitalized throughout it and I love how the books shows the relationships he builds with the other patients, therapists and psychiatrists.
It shows his fear, his detachment from reality. It shows parallels between the alternate world and the reality. Shusterman manages to weave a chaotic but clear image of what schizophrenia was like for Caden as we slip with him between the reality and his alternate world on the ship. The delusions, the anxiety, the paranoia, the complete different world that Caden has created for himself. ‘But we will know as we near the trench, because there will be signs and dark portents.’Ĭhallenger Deep shows it all. ‘Tis the nature of a liquid horizon to feel no passage of space,’ the captain said. It does show in little things (the conversation where Caden realizes his parents suffer too for instance) but I didn’t find that jarring. Shusterman’s friend and his son had schizophrenia as shared at the back word of the book. All too often do we get the view from people nearby the person and that just does not show well enough how a mental illness like schizophrenia works. So I am glad that books like Challenger Deep exist where it shares various aspects of the illness from the person who has it. It is an illness that most people also have a different view of. This book is about a mental illness that isn’t easily understood, schizophrenia. All you can do is fight a losing battle, waiting for those walls to collapse, and your life to become one huge mystery ashtray. So what happens when your universe begins to get off balance, and you don’t have any experience with bringing it back to center. It is a captivating read about mental illness completely from the mind of young 15 year old Caden. Trigger/Content Warnings: Hospitalized against will | Suicide | Graphic Mentions of attempted SuicideĬaden Bosch is on a ship that’s headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.Ĭaden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behaviour.Ĭaden Bosch is designated the ship’s artist in residence to document the journey with images.Ĭaden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.Ĭaden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.Ĭhallenger Deep was rereleased on August 6th by Walker Books this year but was originally released back in 2015. Tags: Young Adult | Mental Health | Mental Illness | Psych Ward | Schizophrenia | Bipolar Disorder with Schizophrenia This does not change my opinion in anyway. Thank you to Walker Books and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.
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