Title: Challenger Deep

Author: Neal Shusterman

Publisher: HarperTeen 2016

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Perpetual - 365 Days of YA; Popsugar - “Pop, Sugar, Challenge”

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.

This is a very rough, but compelling accurate portrayal of mental illness in a teen. I didn’t quite know what to expect when I picked this one up. I quickly dove into the abyss within Caden’s mind. As in many YA novels, the writing isn’t dense but it took me many days to finish this one as I had to take so many breaks. The subject is just so incredibly heavy. I couldn’t read more than 25 pages in one sitting. However, I found the characters so compelling. I had to keep at it to see where the story led. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end.

Next up on the TBR pile: