I just have to mention there is a short paragraph on the topic of suicide (in the last quarter) that Caden inwardly muses upon, which I thought was excellent and poignant. Neal Shusterman has done a marvellous job in describing the working mind of a person suffering mental illness, and can see where ‘ Challenger Deep’ had received all of its accolades but this just wasn’t the read for me. The frequent tangents bulging with symbolism are meant to reflect Caden, (our protagonist) mental state, but for me it bogged down the pace and plot. In hindsight I understand there is a purpose to this style or narrative. The narrative went all over the place and I found myself getting bored. And from a marine biologist aficionado, I felt a little duped.įrom part way in, I found ‘ Challenger Deep’ tedious to read, switching from realms and dreams – I wanted to be entertained, but didn’t get that. And it is that, but you don’t get any real life adventure of the underwater world – it’s all in the protagonist’s head. On face value, I thought ‘ Challenger Deep’ was about a psychological analogy between exploring the deep and discovering inner strength. Caden 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 behavior.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.

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman