Challenger Deep

by Neal Shusterman

Other authors: Brendan Shusterman (Illustrator)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,238	66	15,879	(4.1)	23
Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: *National Book Award Golden Kite Award Winner * Six Starred Reviews A captivating novel about mental illness 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'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." .… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

Daisychick, mchsglibrary, johanna.florez21, KWhalen28, jcm790, Aurone, carebrarian, ctsprkelly

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Member recommendations

00
The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (souloftherose)
souloftherose: Both books do a great job of helping the reader understand what it's like to experience a mental illness. Whilst neither shy away from the suffering that accompanies this both are ultimately hopeful books.

▾Lists

Mental health fiction (30)

Books Read in 2015 (1,994)

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 23 mentions

▾Member reviews

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 66 (next | show all)

keep reading, don't give up on it early, it is well worth getting enough background to understand the book. (

)

pollycallahan | Jul 1, 2023 |

This book was a moving and even hopeful depiction of mental illness. It was written from the point of view of the person suffering from the mental illness. So, there are some chapters written from a more or less lucid point of view and some from a delusional point of view. I understood what the author was doing, but it was difficult for me to read the delusional chapters - they were not interesting to follow, and I got bored very quickly. Having said that, I understand that the author was presenting what it might actually feel like to have had this illness, and that presenting that was the part of the point of the book. Toward the end, it began to feel more metaphorical, and it became slightly more interesting. It still didn't hold my attention, and I found myself reading these parts as quickly as I could to get the other parts of the story. (

)

CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |

Oh my God. Read this. (

)

Adamantium | Aug 21, 2022 |

Such a brutal read. The story is common enough, but the delicasy, understanding, and Mr Shustermans prose goes so far beyond YA. It's like I want this book to be required reading for high schoolers. I knew several classmates that had their first episode, and saw how their peers viewed them. This book likely can help some empathize with kids dealing with mental illnesses.

Anyway. Amazing book. (

)

josh513 | Aug 13, 2022 |

I found this book difficult at times. Ironically, because I was undergoing a time of heightened anxiety that the book made worse before I realized and read other things for a while. But it's moving, and though my mental problems are different, I believe it's accurate. Some of it rang true to my experiences, others just rang true. (

)

suzannekmoses | May 20, 2022 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 66 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Neal Shusterman	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Shusterman, Brendan	Illustrator	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (Finalist – 2016)

Arkansas Teen Book Award (Nominee – Level 2, Grades 10-12 – 2017)

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Honor – Nonfiction – 2015)

Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Winner – Young Adult – 2015)

Golden Kite Award (Winner – Fiction – 2016)

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (Fiction – 2015)

James Cook Teen Book Award (Winner – 2017)

Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award (Nominee – 2017)

Margaret A. Edwards Award (2024)

Milwaukee County Teen Book Award (Nominee – 2016)

Mind the Gap Awards (2016)

National Book Award (Winner – Young People's Literature – 2015)

Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee – High School – 2017)

Rhode Island Teen Book Award (Nominee – 2018)

Sequoyah Book Award (Nominee – High School – 2017)

Thumbs Up! Award (Top Ten – 2016)

Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee – High School – 2018)

Notable Lists

The Best Children's Books of the Year (Fourteen and Older, Fiction, Today – 2016)

Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten – 2016)

Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth (2015)

Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens (Fourteen and Up – 2016)

CCBC Choices (Fiction for Young Adults – 2016)

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction – 2015)

Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection – 2017)

Maine Regional Library System Cream of the Crop List (Chapter Book Fiction – 2016)

Nerdy Book Award (Young Adult Literature – 2015)

New York Public Library Best Books: For Teens (Fiction – 2015)

OYAN Book Rave (2016)

Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection – Young Adult – 2015)

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year (2015)

Tayshas High School Reading List (2016)

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2015-04

People/Characters

Caden Bosch

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For Dr. Robert Woods

First words

There are two things you know. One: You were there. Two: You couldn't have been there.

There are two things you know.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Anderson, Laurie Halse

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Neal Shusterman

▾Book descriptions

Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:

National Book Award * Golden Kite Award Winner * Six Starred Reviews

A captivating novel about mental illness 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'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."

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary