Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman and How Your Mental Illness Affects Loved Ones

This discussion links to my discussion on The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X. R. Pan and Living With a Depressed Parent - I am the child of depressed parents. But I'm also my parents' daughter who has anxiety.

When reading Challenger Deep, something I really loved was how Caden's parents really care and try to get him the help he needs. When I read the following quote, it really struck a chord with me.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman and How Your Mental Illness Affects Loved Ones

Mental Illness in YA Month Review: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (Bought) - A 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.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.

Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.

Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.

Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.

Caden Bosch is torn. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features a suicide attempt, and problematic language when discussing suicide.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Review: Everwild by Neal Shusterman

Everwild by Neal Shusterman - WARNING! I cannot review Everwild without spoiling the first book in the series. If you plan on reading Everlost, don’t read any further if you don’t want to be spoiled.

There was the rumor of a beautiful sky witch, who soared across the heavens in a great silver balloon. And there were whispers of a terrible ogre made entirely of chocolate, who lured unsuspecting souls with that rich promising smell, only to cast them down a bottomless pit from which there was no return. Everlost, the limbo land of dead children, is at war. Nick the "Chocolate Ogre" wants to help the children of Everlost reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Mary Hightower, self-proclaimed queen of lost children and dangerous fanatic, is determined to keep Everlost's children trapped within its limbo for all eternity. Traveling in the memory of the Hindenburg, Mary is spreading her propaganda and attracting Afterlights to her cause at a frightening speed. Meanwhile, Allie the Outcast travels home to seek out her parents, along with Mikey, who was once the terrifying monster the McGill. Allie is tempted by the seductive thrill of skinjacking the living, until she learns a shocking secret. From Borders US.

Before I get into this review, I need to talk about the summary. The one above from Borders is the best in giving the most summarising info, but every summary I found included one line that is also on the back of the book; one line that made it so obvious what was going to happen for one of the characters, that I worked it out before I even opened the book. Does it not annoy you when summaries/blurbs give away too much information? It drives me mad! So for the sake of those who haven’t read the book yet, I removed the line from the summary. I recommend that you try and roughly remember this summary or just that you like the sound it, and don’t read the summaries on online bookstores or on the book when you buy it.

But now to the actual story! I loved it! I cannot tell you just how mind blowing the plot of Everwild is! Despite the obvious detail in the blurb, there were so many things that happened in this book that would literally have me gawping at the book. Everwild is written in the same style as Everlost, which I can only describe as sweet, so there is nothing graphic or too violent that actually happens in the book, which I think just makes these bombshells even more surprising!

There were moments in this book when I was close to tears, there were moments when I was so disturbed and disgusted I didn’t want to read anymore – but couldn’t put the book down at the same time. We find out more about Everlost, about skinjackers and ecto-rippers, and we see the characters we followed in Everlost evolve in surprising ways. I said in my review of Everlost that it was really unique in its world building; the world building didn’t stop with that book, it continues in Everwild, and there’s so much more to discover and be in awe of. It’s just fantastic.

There’s nothing I can really add about the great characters I mentioned in the last review than to say is that they get better in this book. We still have Nick, Allie, and Micky, and they’re great! Mary, however, is a whole different ball game. I said she was quite twisted and disturbing in my review of Everlost, but in Everwild, she goes above and beyond. She is just evil, there is no other word for it. She’s evil, and scary in her disturbing ways – and what’s even worse, she truly thinks she’s doing the right thing, and is as sickly sweet as ever. She’s actually lovely. It’s disgusting!

We meet some new characters along the way, too, and re-meet some older secondary characters who become more important. We re-meet Johnnie-O, Choo-Choo-Charlie, and Speedo, and I absolutely love Johnnie-O! He is just so funny! He’s great! The new characters we meet include a group of skinjackers; Milos, Squirrel and Moose. Milos is almost as disturbing as Mary, and will do anything for what he believes is love, and Squirrel and Moose take his lead. We also meet Zin, a ripper with the coolest way of speaking ever! I love her too, and I so hope we get to see her in the next book! And then there’s Jackin’ Jill, another skinjacker who starts the clogs turning in Mary’s mind for more sinister plots and schemes.

I love this series, and I was so completely wowed by the ending, that I don’t know how I’m going to wait until next year to read the next in the series, whenever it comes out. If you haven’t read this series, you really need to start!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster UK for sending me a review copy.

Published: 4th February 2010 in the UK (though can be bought on Amazon now)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Neal Shusterman’s Website

My review of Everlost

Continue reading Review: Everwild by Neal Shusterman

Review: Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Everlost by Neal Shusterman (review copy) - Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now they are in limbo, stuck halfway between life and death, in a netherworld known as Everlost. Everlost is home to those who didn't make it to their final destination: A magical yet dangerous place filled with shadows where lost souls run wild. Shocked and frightened, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back. Desperate for a way out, their search takes them deep into the uncharted regions of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their past lives. And with all memory of home fading fast and an unknown evil lurking in the shadows, Nick and Allie may never escape this strange, terrible world. In this imaginative, supernatural thriller, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between. From Amazon UK

I really liked Everlost! This book is just so good, I can’t tell you! It takes a very unique view of what happens to us when we die, and oh, it was just amazing!

A lot of thought has gone into this book; a lot of urban fantasies I’ve read lately have been based around some sort of myth, but as far as I can tell, Everlost has been completely made up, and the world building is just brilliant! The rules of the world, the way this new world effects some people, the “magic” of the world; with each page turned, there’s something to be amazed by, but it’s not so farfetched as to not be believable. As I was reading, it just seemed that this place between life and death could actually exist, but I couldn’t tell you if this is a place I’d want to go to or not.

I really loved the cultural and historic references in this book. As well as people making their way to Everlost, objects and buildings can make their way there, too, for various reasons. One of the main settings in Everlost are the Twin Towers, and it plays an important part in the story as what it stands for, for certain characters. The Twin Towers aren’t the only “things” to have come to Everlost that a reader will recognise either from their own life, or as from historical events. It’s just superb how Neal has interwoven real real life into his story; it does that little bit more to make Everlost believable.

There are some really great characters in this story! Everlost is a multiple point of view story, and so we get to understand on a certain level all five of the main characters; Nick, Allie, Lief, Mary and the McGill. Nick is a little deluded by Mary, but through some of the events that happen in the book, he becomes a really strong and powerful character. Allie is stubborn and in denial at first, but she’s smart, and she sees things – and people – for what they really are; Lief is such a lovely boy! I really wanted to give him a hug so many times; he’s sweet and kind, and his own version of brave. Mary is hard to figure out exactly, she has her heart in the right place in some ways, but she’s also kind of selfish in others – I actually think she’s quite twisted and disturbing. The McGill I can’t really get into, but I’ll tell you he’s complicated. Together, they all make for interesting reading!

The action in the novel isn’t action as I normally use the word, it’s more a series of events that move the story forward; if one event didn’t happen, the ones that followed wouldn’t either. Suspense and wonder run throughout the novel, and you can’t help but keep reading! Everlost is a real page turner!

If I was to criticise anything in the book, it would be Mary and Nick’s relationship. No, not their relationship exactly, more how they’re in love with each other. In my opinion, not enough happens between them for them to be in love; they fancy each other, yes, perhaps are even infatuated with each other, but it doesn’t feel like love to me. There isn’t enough development in their relationship for love, but that’s just my opinion.

All in all, Everlost is a fantastic book, and I implore you all to give it a go! Next on my reading list is Everwild, the sequel, which is released on 4th February, and I can’t wait to pick it up! Really, this is such an awesome book, you must read it!

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a review copy.

Published: 6th July 2009
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Neal Shusterman’s Website

Other reviews:
The Bookette

Continue reading Review: Everlost by Neal Shusterman