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lottie1803's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
5.0
Imagine for a moment that your realities are split and that you are fully in both and you can hear all these voices and you do things that no one understands.
The protagonist in this book is feeling all of that and more. This has to be the most in-depth rendering of mental illness I have ever read.
The writing, flawless, reminded me of the way Chuck Palahniuk and David Foster Wallace use language to create new idioms and scenes. I found myself stopping and rewinding to check what I had just heard. The success of the push and pull between Caden’s two realities depended on reliable imagery. In its 166 chapters, short and vivid, we were taken back and forth and each time, though jarring, was completely immersive.
I appreciated the author focusing Caden’s mental illness and not using it as a plot point for romance, of which a lot of YA is guilty. He could have gone that direction but he didn’t.
Thank goodness!
This is supposed to be a YA novel but I would recommend it to anyone simply because it’s a beneficial experience. This book answers the question: what if I could see inside his head? Thanks to Neal Shusterman we know what it’s like.
I would reread this in a heartbeat.
Audiobook comments: The voices were good and I’m glad that he didn’t try to do female voices too much because it sounded a little off. The flow was great to pull me in. It was really soothing.
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A book with the “pop”, “sugar” or “challenge” in the title 2019 ATY Challenge - A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year (2015)
The protagonist in this book is feeling all of that and more. This has to be the most in-depth rendering of mental illness I have ever read.
The writing, flawless, reminded me of the way Chuck Palahniuk and David Foster Wallace use language to create new idioms and scenes. I found myself stopping and rewinding to check what I had just heard. The success of the push and pull between Caden’s two realities depended on reliable imagery. In its 166 chapters, short and vivid, we were taken back and forth and each time, though jarring, was completely immersive.
I appreciated the author focusing Caden’s mental illness and not using it as a plot point for romance, of which a lot of YA is guilty. He could have gone that direction but he didn’t.
Thank goodness!
This is supposed to be a YA novel but I would recommend it to anyone simply because it’s a beneficial experience. This book answers the question: what if I could see inside his head? Thanks to Neal Shusterman we know what it’s like.
I would reread this in a heartbeat.
Audiobook comments: The voices were good and I’m glad that he didn’t try to do female voices too much because it sounded a little off. The flow was great to pull me in. It was really soothing.
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - A book with the “pop”, “sugar” or “challenge” in the title 2019 ATY Challenge - A book that was a finalist or winner for the National Book Award for any year (2015)
sunbathingturtle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cbrett's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lyakimov's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book!! It was a very quick read. I thought it was an interesting, concise story.
This book is what “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” wishes it could be. I saw a small amount of similarities between that book and “Challenger Deep” but this book was so much better in my opinion.
I don’t have many concise thoughts on this book because it was just so…….intense, but it was definitely a good read!
This book is what “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” wishes it could be. I saw a small amount of similarities between that book and “Challenger Deep” but this book was so much better in my opinion.
I don’t have many concise thoughts on this book because it was just so…….intense, but it was definitely a good read!
eesh25's review against another edition
5.0
When I first read the synopsis of this book, it didn't make much sense to me. It talked about Caden Bosch, a teenage boy who's been behaving oddly of late. And Caden Bosch, the same teenage boy who's on a ship that's travelling to the deepest part of the ocean, Challenger Deep. And I only read it because I think Neal Shusterman is an amazing author. And this book proves that more than the other books I've read of his.
The synopsis is pretty accurate. We're following Caden on two completely different journeys. It almost seems like we're seeing two alternate universe versions of him, one universe ours and the other more... magical, but not in a good way.
And since this novel has very short chapters, usually between 1-3 pages, we get a couple of chapters in one setting and a couple in the other. And it's very gradually that we start to recognize the correlation between the two and that they start to make sense. And... I'm sorry but I'm really stumped on what I should and shouldn't say. I don't want to tell you what this book is about, I want you to experience it.
You already know it's about mental health, from the 'Genres' section above, so it's not like you'd be going into it not knowing anything at all. And I really really want everyone to read this book so I actually don't have to go into much detail to explain who I'd recommend it to.
Neal Shusterman has done something that I've rarely seen anyone else do for mental illness. Sylvia Plath made the reader feel what it was like to be in 'the bell jar', Neal Shusterman makes the reader understand what mental illness, of another kind, is and how it works. He puts you in the mind of Caden Bosch and presents his perspective in a way that helps you see Caden's struggle and why it's a struggle. Neal Shusterman doesn't just tell you what Caden is going through, he shows you. And he does it without ever eliminating who Caden is as a person.
I'm sure we've all come across book in which characters with mental illness are just their illness and not much more. Caden is a real person with a personality and interests and family and a sense of humour. He's so much more than his illness. And I loved that.
This is not a book that, I think, was designed to blow anyone's mind. But it kind of does that anyway with how good it is. It's not fast paced and it doesn't have plot twists but the way the author has chosen to show us what Caden is going through is brilliant and you feel all these little pieces clicking into place as vague confusion turns into comprehension. And it's for all of these reason and more that I would highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.
The synopsis is pretty accurate. We're following Caden on two completely different journeys. It almost seems like we're seeing two alternate universe versions of him, one universe ours and the other more... magical, but not in a good way.
And since this novel has very short chapters, usually between 1-3 pages, we get a couple of chapters in one setting and a couple in the other. And it's very gradually that we start to recognize the correlation between the two and that they start to make sense. And... I'm sorry but I'm really stumped on what I should and shouldn't say. I don't want to tell you what this book is about, I want you to experience it.
You already know it's about mental health, from the 'Genres' section above, so it's not like you'd be going into it not knowing anything at all. And I really really want everyone to read this book so I actually don't have to go into much detail to explain who I'd recommend it to.
Neal Shusterman has done something that I've rarely seen anyone else do for mental illness. Sylvia Plath made the reader feel what it was like to be in 'the bell jar', Neal Shusterman makes the reader understand what mental illness, of another kind, is and how it works. He puts you in the mind of Caden Bosch and presents his perspective in a way that helps you see Caden's struggle and why it's a struggle. Neal Shusterman doesn't just tell you what Caden is going through, he shows you. And he does it without ever eliminating who Caden is as a person.
I'm sure we've all come across book in which characters with mental illness are just their illness and not much more. Caden is a real person with a personality and interests and family and a sense of humour. He's so much more than his illness. And I loved that.
This is not a book that, I think, was designed to blow anyone's mind. But it kind of does that anyway with how good it is. It's not fast paced and it doesn't have plot twists but the way the author has chosen to show us what Caden is going through is brilliant and you feel all these little pieces clicking into place as vague confusion turns into comprehension. And it's for all of these reason and more that I would highly recommend everyone to give this book a shot.
funky_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jennrocca's review against another edition
I can’t give this stars because every answer is incomplete. I had a hard time reading this book. I put it down a lot and I got bored frequently. You have to spend a *long* time reading through nonsense before that nonsense has meaning.
But!
In the end I really learned about a journey through mental illness in a way I’ve never read before. I really cared about Caden, and I teared up over his journey and his friends and his family.
I didn’t *like* this book so much... but I’m really glad I read it.
But!
In the end I really learned about a journey through mental illness in a way I’ve never read before. I really cared about Caden, and I teared up over his journey and his friends and his family.
I didn’t *like* this book so much... but I’m really glad I read it.
entanglement's review against another edition
4.0
it’s hard to articulate how i feel about my time with this book. i had it on my shelf for a long while before i took a course that had it listed as a required text. with it waiting on my tbr, i was relieved to finally reach for it. while on a plane, i devoured much of it, settling on the verge of tears for hours.
This was a very unique approach to showing mental illness rather than simply telling about it. the storyline was turning me in circles throughout. i was a bit dizzy, feeling like i was lurking and waiting for the anticipated reveal of what was happening. thankfully, i had instruction in my class to hint at what was unfolding throughout, making the content more palatable confusion wise. however, I do think it’s worth it to leave the mystery intact, letting the story piece itself together as you read- it really puts you in the shoes of someone who experiences the world the way it is presented.
This was a very unique approach to showing mental illness rather than simply telling about it. the storyline was turning me in circles throughout. i was a bit dizzy, feeling like i was lurking and waiting for the anticipated reveal of what was happening. thankfully, i had instruction in my class to hint at what was unfolding throughout, making the content more palatable confusion wise. however, I do think it’s worth it to leave the mystery intact, letting the story piece itself together as you read- it really puts you in the shoes of someone who experiences the world the way it is presented.
sometimes there are moments when we objectively face the never, and it overwhelms us. i tried to defy the overwhelming never once, when i realized there are songs in my own music library that i will probably never hear again. i went to my computer and created a playlist with every single song. there were 3,628 songs that would take 223.6 hours to play. i kept at it for a few days before my interest waned. and so now i mourn. i mourn for the songs that will never reach my ears again. for the words and stories that lie on eternally unopened pages.