Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross

Neal Schusterman’s author note at the end gave me goosebumps. But once I realised that what was happening in his real life transferred over to his imagination when he regressed into his mind, it became easier to follow for me.

It’s rather hard to follow from the start, as it interchanges Caden’s imagination with reality. In Caden’s imagination, the adventure on a ship, interacting with the parrot and the villainous captain could be seen as a rather nonsensical adventure. Knowing what this book is about from the beginning, would probably ease the jump into the book. I know it must soon end, and when it does I will be thrust awake into a place where either I’m broken, or the world is broken.” “Everything feels right with the world… …and the sad thing is that I know it’s a dream. the hospital, to his place on a ship heading to Challenger Deep, medication, other patients, his parents.

But it soon pulled me into Caden Bosch’s frenetic and thoughtful mind, which was a wondrous, confusing and imaginative place, jumping from the “White Space Kitchen” ie. My first impression was that these thoughts seemed to be random and jumbled together, and I wasn’t ready for that. There’s no dallying around, it launches straight into these deep, hard hitting and impactful thoughts separated into several sections. I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to get used to the book. The book outlines the delusions, anxiety and paranoia which a schizophrenia sufferer experiences, at their worst, and it serves as a confronting and elegant look into a feared and misunderstood mental illness. I’m a big fan of books that tackle mental illness sensitively and realistically, and Challenger Deep had an artistic flair and beauty that hasn’t been replicated anywhere else. But schizophrenia is not an easily understood illness. Published by HarperCollins on April 1, 2015Ĭaden 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.Ī 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.Ĭhallenger Deep is not an easy read.

Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross