Author Neal Shusterman wins 2015 National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category for Challenger Deep
UnWind series author Neal Shusterman wins a National Book Award for a his novel, Challenger Deep, a story about a young man dealing with mental health issues. It’s a subject only recently being introduced into the foray in the Young Adult genre, and it’s been making waves. In fact, his story was so powerful that it garnered him a nomination for the National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category, which he recently won.
He posted this thank you note on his blog along with the acceptance speech below.
Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone who has sent me kind emails, texts, tweets, psychic messages, and so on. I want to congratulate the other 2015 National Book Award winners—Adam Johnson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Robin Coste Lewis—and give a shoutout to my fellow shortlist nominees in the Young People’s Literature category: Steve Sheinkin, Ali Benjamin, Noelle Stevenson, and Laura Ruby! If you haven’t read Bone Gap, Nimona, Most Dangerous, and The Thing About Jellyfish, make those the four next books on your list!
Congratulations to Mr. Shusterman for bringing this story, and mental health awareness, to light among young readers everywhere. If you’d like to support mental health awareness, you can purchase one of his son, Brendan’s, art prints here.
About Challenger Deep:
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.
A captivating and powerful novel that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by one of today’s most admired writers for teens.
Source: Neal Shusterman