Challenger Deep (novel)
{{Short description|2015 book by Neal Shusterman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| author = Neal Shusterman
| isbn = 9780061134111
| pub_date = April 21, 2015
| publisher = HarperCollins Children's Books
| genre = Young adult fiction
| pages = 320
| image = Challenger deep novel cover.jpg
}}
Challenger Deep is a 2015 young adult novel by Neal Shusterman about a teenager's onset of schizophrenia. The story was based on his own son.{{Cite web |date= |title=Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780061134111 |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Publishers Weekly}} It won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature{{Cite web |title=Challenger Deep |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/books/challenger-deep/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=National Book Foundation |language=en-US}} and was placed on "Best of the Year" lists by Publishers Weekly, the New York Public Library, and the American Library Association.{{Cite web |title=Challenger Deep |url=http://www.storyman.com/books/challenger-deep/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=Neal Shusterman |language=en-US}}
Reception
The dual narrative of the metaphorical hallucinations and the main character's experiences in a psychiatric hospital was highlighted by Jennifer Barnes in a Booklist review, calling the novel a "breathtaking exploration of one teen’s experience with schizophrenia" and a "must-purchase for library collections."{{Cite book |last=Barnes |first=Jennifer |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/Challenger-Deep-Neal-Shusterman/pid=7206084 |title=Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman |publisher=Booklist |year=2015}} Publishers Weekly praised the ability of the novel to "[turn] symptoms into lived reality in ways readers won’t easily forget".