Genre: Contemporary

I received this book for free from HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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.

A captivating and powerful novel that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by one of today's most admired writers for teens.

This book was so confusing at first, but ended up making so much sense and really stuck with me. The way it is written pulls you in right away. Even though I wasn’t quite sure what was going on when I started, I was compelled to keep reading. I hoped that it would make sense to me as I got further in. It did and it didn’t. What I mean is that I realized why it was written how it was, and I understood it, but it was still a very confusing story. It fit perfectly with the main character though, and the mental illness that it is about. This was a brilliant book, and I have already recommended it to many people.

Caden is the main character, and the story is told by him. It starts off with him on a pirate ship, then goes into different parts of the storyline. As I read and got to know him, I found myself really feeling for him. As I was confused, he is too, but not on the same level. Everything he is telling us is his reality. Or what he thinks is his reality. He can’t really tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t. He is so imaginative, smart, and mentally ill, though he doesn’t know it for quite a time. I really liked his character. He was fascinating. He sees so much in other people that most people wouldn’t think to look for.

This book is really hard to review because I don’t want to give too much away. It is an experience to read it. I loved and hated the confusion. The way I felt at times while reading this was a bit overwhelming due to the awesomeness of the writing. It was written in the perfect way to almost put yourself into the characters mind and feel how they feel. Obviously not to the same extent, and I knew that when I didn’t want that unsettled, confused feeling, I could step away. I was confused at what was real and what wasn’t. I especially loved when things kind of blended together. I can’t really find the right words to explain how reading this book made me feel, but it was amazing, and I think an important book. Mental illness is such a complex thing, and I really love reading about the different ones. This book was done in such a way that it really puts you right there for a short time. I have not read this author before I read this book, but I know that I will definitely be picking up more of his books.

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