I joined a book club in my neighborhood to try to expand my horizons. Plus, who doesn't love to get together just to talk about books? "Challenger Deep", by Neal Shusterman, was the first book that we read and let me tell you, I am so glad that I had people to discuss it with.
Neal Shusterman takes you into the mind of Caden Bosch, a high school student that walks around with a secret alternative universe in his head. He has to differentiate between what is real and what is not. For a while, the reader does too. Caden's life is split, and he does a pretty good job of keeping his internal struggle to himself, until he can't contain the voices in his head anymore. His parents send him to get help. This is where the lines between worlds are the blurriest, before they all become clear and Caden finally realizes what he has to do to be free.
"Challenger Deep" is exactly what the title says - challenging and deep. It doesn't just give the reader an idea of what it would be like to have a mental disorder, it thrusts the reader so far into Caden's mind that you yourself have a hard time picking through the voices and all of the information. You really get to experience what it would be like to have all of these different voices telling you what is right and what is real and how confusing that would be. You can tell the author really put his whole heart and soul into this book. It is full of depth and raw emotion. If you are looking for a book that is more than just a 'light read', then go get a copy of this right now. It definitely earned 5 out of 5 stars. Check it out and let me know what you think!
If you haven't read the first three "Ever After High" books, you need to. They are so much fun. "Kiss and Spell", by Suzanne Selfors, is a continuation of those stories. You don't necessarily have to read the first three before this one, but it will definitely help you understand what is going on if you do.
"Kiss and Spell" takes you back to the world of Ever After High where the children of all of our beloved fairytale characters are going to school together. This story is about the best chef in all of the fairytale kingdom, Ginger Breadhouse (Daughter of the Candy Witch). She has her own cooking show that is about to be cancelled which will take all of her dreams of becoming a famous chef with it. In one last attempt to increase the number of viewers, Ginger decides to bake a wish cake. It will grant whomever eats it one small wish. Except the magic backfires and turns Hopper Croakington (son of the Frog Prince) into a permanent frog. The longer he stays in his amphibian form, the more froglike he becomes. Ginger has to figure out how to turn him back before the frog in him completely takes over.
"Kiss and Spell" is a fun continuation of the Ever After High stories. This one was written by a different author than the first three, but you have to pay really close attention to notice the difference in writing style. Since these books are meant for youth, I don't think any of the intended readers will see a difference. The story is so fun and describes what it was like for Ginger to grow up with the Candy Witch for a mom who always put something nasty in her recipes. Kids will definitely be able to relate to the characters and the story includes some old favorites like Raven Queen, Briar Beauty, Madeline Hatter, and Apple White. The text is clean and easy to get through. 5 out of 5 stars. I would highly recommend this for anyone with fantasy-loving kids. Check it out and let me know what you think!
