On the ship, she appears as the figurehead on the front of the ship, Calliope.Īs Caden’s mental health deteriorates and he reacts adversely to his cocktails of medications, the ship’s voyage grows more perilous. A teenage girl named Callie becomes Caden friend and confidante. The other patients in his group therapy session have alter egos on the ship, performing different jobs as sailors, cartographers, and masters of folklore. The Captain’s Parrot is eventually revealed to be Dr. He is unaware that he is hospitalized.Įveryone on the ship’s crew has a parallel figure in the hospital. As the novel progresses, the reader realizes that Caden’s time on the ship is his perception of his time in the hospital while heavily medicated. In his other life, he is a student, son, and brother. The ship sails toward the Marianas Trench, where the Captain intends for Caden to reach the bottom of the ocean and find treasure. In one life, he is a sailor on a ship run by a threatening figure known as the Captain. The book unfolds in nonlinear fashion, with Caden alternating between two realities. The idea preoccupies him to the point that his parents intervene and take him to the Seaview Memorial Hospital for treatment. Caden becomes convinced that someone at school wants to kill him. His parents are concerned about his well-being, and Caden suspects that they are not his parents at all, but impostors who are wearing masks.

He suffers from a growing anxiety that compounds with the addition of auditory and visual hallucinations.

He is a talented artist who attends a public high school. Please note this copy has light scuffs on the edges of the covers.When the novel begins, Caden is 15 years old.

National Book Award and Golden Kite Award WinnerĪ 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.Ĭaden 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 book pages