“They linger there on the edge of your consciousness like the things you hear just as you’re waking up, before the dream collapses under the crushing weight of the real world. This novel is one sky puzzle piece which succeeds to shed so much light on mental illness & I hope for many more books like this in the future. This novel is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read and I haven’t even began to give this book the praise it deserves as I don’t have the words. In addition, Brendan Shusterman’s artwork is the most thought provoking art work I’ve laid eyes on and it flows with Neal’s writing perfectly - adding even more depth to the novel with every piece. I cannot respect Neal & Brendan enough for their courage to come together to create this book using their own experiences of mental illness. The realism of Neal’s messages are heartbreaking while also hopeful particularly when he communicates that you can never be cured of mental illness however you can continue to fight it. Neal never attempts to categorise Caden or mental illness demonstrating that there are no two people that experience the same exact illness & that people can’t be creatures of containment. The parallels between reality and the imaginary display Shusterman’s superb writing which enables him to show how hard it is for Caden to grasp reality. I sat & sobbed for several minutes after reading this book - it was overwhelming to truly connect with Caden & witness all the effects mental illness has on people’s lives and just how heartbreaking it is.įor the first third of this book I felt like my brain had escaped, like I was that coin spiralling down into the black abyss - although extremely confused I was truly understanding what Caden was feeling like & I cannot applaud Shusterman enough for this connection - and it didn’t stop there, I was in Caden’s head, in his thoughts and feelings on every step of his journey - his journey to the unimaginable, his journey down to the deep & his journey up. Neal’s writing is beautifully crafted to present a boy detached from the real world struggling to define the imaginary from reality - conveying the confusion, fear, depression, judgement and puzzle piece of hope that comes with mental illness. I cannot begin to explain my immense & utter appreciation of this book - a book which portrays mental illness with such honesty, the most real portrayal I have ever read - especially as someone that has witnessed their loved ones fall into the deep waters. Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug.”
Sometimes I think it would be easier to die than to face that, because “what could have been” is much more highly regarded than “what should have been”. “The fear of not living is a deep, abiding dread of watching your own potential decompose into irredeemable disappointment when “should be” gets crushed by what is.
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