Maybe one day I'll dive so deep that the Abyssal Serpent will catch me, and I'll never find my way back. No sense in denying that such things happen. But it's not going to happen today—and there is a deep, abiding comfort in that. Deep enough to carry me through till tomorrow.

This was an amazing, raw, intense read. Some parts were so close to home I cried, and other parts that I've never experienced opened my eyes, heart, and mind to those who have. At first, comprehending what I was reading was a bit difficult; the contrast between the ship construct and the 'real world' was especially confusing to me. But once I figured out that it was depicting perception vs reality and that everything is meant to symbolize Caden's life and mental state, or a mentally ill person's mind in general, this book became pure genius.

Shusterman's prose is just one of the beautiful parts of this book; his ability to portray mental illness in a way that doesn't demonize the ones who suffer from it is another. He doesn't try to sugarcoat anything or claim that everything's fine in the end, but he simply tells it how it is; the honesty in this book was so refreshing.

He just gets it, you know.

Things that you never thought could be articulated are right here (yes, 'here' and not 'there'), written to explain what you yourself can not explain. Reading about Caden's journey as well as what he learns and discovers about himself and his own mind was so hard-hitting. I think I chose to read this at the perfect moment of my life and now I need to go sort all my thoughts and feelings.

I will definitely be picking up other works by Shusterman in the future!