Challenger Deep

Use these links to supplement and complement students’ reading of the work and to increase their overall enjoyment of literature. Challenge them to discern parallel themes, engage through visual and aural stimuli, and delve deeper into the thematic possibilities presented by the title.

Recommended Texts for Pairing

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

• a 2015 novel which tells the story of two teenagers who coincidentally meet when they are both contemplating suicide
• connects to the themes of Mental Illness, Victimhood and Responsibility, and The Nature of Reality
• Discuss the ways that the character’s stories are different and what they have in common. How do their stories inform us about what it is like to struggle with mental illness?
• All the Bright Places on SuperSummary

Dan Howler’s Schizophrenic Poems

• a series of 25 poems written by a poet with serious mental illness
• offers themes of loneliness, isolation, and The Nature of Reality
• helps the reader conceptualize the depth of struggles with mental health and psychosis

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

• This novel was adapted into a film in 2012. The author tells his story of checking himself into a psychiatric ward and his journey from there.