This wasn't massively my vibe, but I'm glad to have read it. I enjoyed the concept, but I'm definitely a bit dystopianed out at this point. Loved the therapist angle, and the emphasis on mental health care. Also loved the queer representation!

A cute read.

Thanks to NetGalley / Edelweiss and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Teen fiction is always meant to bring warmth for adults by bringing beautiful reveries of the past life. After reading this book I felt the same empathetic nature during the phase of teenage that couldn't be explained well.

This story is about discovering and supporting each other in the relationship despite the flaws one possess. No Matter how you try to avoid certain natural feel it is better to face them than suppressing them leads you to do self-harming even life winding moments and here parents have to be observant being extra careful to understand and help their kids.

This is a story of Adam and Caleb studying in junior school in a similar class. Caleb is a handsome, fast footballer, and having extraordinary power made him .more vulnerable only therapy keeps him at bay to tackle issues of such infinite power and noisewwhereasAdam is intelligent, brown color, A1 in math but ack confidence to confront the feelings.
From here the story takes a good jump bringing them closer and helping Adam finally to live life better. Moreover to this, characters have been developed very well as consequences kept moving ahead accordingly. The sci-fi element possessed by Caleb is shown very well by being accepted by Adam when they finally come into a not yet named relationship

Inner voices that kept them away shutting up locked inside in mind is what the author tried to explain by adding the spice of sci-fi element which was curiosity building section in the story even I was so curious to know not only Caleb there are other of people of a similar kind which made Caleb realize he isn't mad or strange. On the other hand Adam just a simple boy who is dealing with anxiety and depression leading to self-harming made me realize how cruel the world is yet as the world is changing people are being aware of their rights can be healed and protected.


In short, we may have infinite noises but listening to those which is helpful leaves the rest to fight winning over it. The narration of the story was at its best; the language has been smooth, easy, and flowy. Could be read by middle-grade readers to no age limit. Would recommend it to all the readers.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. The Infinite Noise turns an already intriguing premise—superhuman abilities + therapy + gay romance between a nerd with depression and a jock who is also a superhuman empath—into a thoroughly engrossing, character-driven narrative that will send your heart on a nonstop rollercoaster of All the Feelings. It's about finding yourself, mental health, secrets, and trust (and also superheroes, kind of).
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Where do I even begin with this? Caleb and Adam are officially one of my favorite fictional couples, and I was fully invested in every stage of their relationship. And the “superhero” aspect put an intriguing spin on traditional narrative tropes. But what really set the story apart for me was its painfully realistic depiction of Adam’s depression. The pain woven throughout his narration of his depressive episodes was visceral, raw, and (as someone also with a history of depression) very relatable. A few other reasons I loved this book:
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- positive depiction of therapy
- awkward teens being awkward
- candid mental health discussions
- casual diversity (biracial and Jewish MC, Korean side character, plus aforementioned queer and mental health rep)
- sarcastic narration
- dual POV (best way to experience a romance!)
- beautiful visual descriptions of feelings
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As a final note, this book is a spinoff of Lauren Shippen’s acclaimed podcast The Bright Sessions, which is often described as “superheroes in therapy.” Friends, I was in a reading slump this summer, and nothing was able to pull me out of it...until I listened to The Bright Sessions. It reminded me of all the things I love about fiction and stories, broke the slump, and now I'm obsessed. This book can work as a standalone, but listening to the podcast before made the experience even better. If you haven't listened to it, you might find the end a little weird/vague, but if you know where the story goes after, it makes perfect sense.
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Now go listen to the pod and read the book, because it's freaking amazing.

Such a charming read! As a fan of the Bright Sessions podcast I didn’t feel like someone who hasn’t explored the source material for this would be lost. Unique and fresh take on a familiar theme.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Infinite Noise is a debut novel inspired by Lauren Shippen’s award-winning podcast The Bright Sessions. Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old running back. He begins to experience mood swings that lead to ‘out of character’ behavior. This causes him to get in a fight with a fellow student and football player, so his parents end up taking him to Dr. Bright; a therapist. We find out that Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities of empathy. The story takes off from there and focuses on Caleb having to deal with this ability and trying to control it. We also experience this story from Adam’s perspective, Adam is a fellow classmate with big, complicated, and all consuming emotions that also overwhelm Caleb; since he can feel them all.

In my opinion the plot was very slow and it took a very long time for some things to develop, things that could have developed much faster. At the same time, as we get closer to the ending not much has been resolved. The ending is rushed and happens so fast that it can be equated to getting reader whip lash.

If you’re a fan of the podcast, you will most likely enjoy this story. If you, like me, have not heard the podcast, you may still enjoy it because it is an interesting concept. I just personally wish that it had been fleshed out better.

TW: self-harm, depression, self-cutting, body mutilation, slight homophobia, use of the word f*g

Those that listen to the The Bright Sessions will enjoy this fun, sweet, gentle romance with a superpower twist.

Just as good as the podcast. Loved hearing just from Caleb and Adam's perspectives. So cute. I love the idea of powered people surviving in the common world, like X-Men.

Great merge of LGBTQ+ and SciFi fantasy. Deals with mental issues and learning how to seek out help.

Having listened to the Bright Sessions podcast, I was intrigued to see how the stories would translate into the novel format. Thankfully, I really enjoyed this book! It tells the story of Caleb, a 16 year old with a secret - he can feel other people's feelings. His inner turmoil only calms in the presence of Adam, a classmate, with secrets of his own. Ostensibly this is a book about superheroes, but it is actually a really charming coming of age tale about two boys finding their place in a world that feels separate from them. I thought the friendship between Adam and Caleb was really lovely and I also enjoyed the family dynamics shown throughout. These characters were multi-layered and complex, with an authenticity that I really appreciated. I thought that the plot was pretty straightforward and focused very much on the two boys, while dropping hints that there was much more going on in the world of the A-Typicals, which I'm sure will be explored further in future books. Overall, I thought this was a really sweet story and I am excited to see where the series will go next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Caleb, an Atypical, can feel the emotions of others and finds himself drawn to another boy, Adam, whose emotions seem to fit with his own in a mysterious way. I loved the emphasis on therapy and mental health in this book. I wasn't familiar with the Bright Sessions podcast, but I started listening to it after finishing The Infinite Noise, and it's fascinating. I purchased this one for my branch, and I preordered A Neon Darkness for my location as well.

This book lives in my head rent-free. The amount of need I had for this without even knowing. Whenever you think about heroes and people with powers you never think of their mental state and that they might need therapy. I love that this book tackle that—more than their powers, but to the individual.

When I heard this book was about queer boys with superpowers, I was so so looking forward to it. And while I felt the romance was sweet and there was a lot of realistic things happening (like awkward teen feels and weird but loving relationships with parents and the whirlwind of emotions that comes with growing up), I found the story to have very little plot and left me squinting questioningly about so many aspects.

For instance:
- As soon as Caleb starts freaking and flipping out in school, his parents book him into a therapist who specialises in people with "powers". How did they know? This isn't usual to believe in sci-fi weird powers (in fact, Adam staunchly refuses to believe it when Caleb finally tells him) and nothing in Caleb's meltdown said "superpower!" It all just seemed categorically like he had adhd or an anger disorder. Without world building (which didn't grow as the book went on), I was just lost and started to feel uninvested early on. Are these meant to be coincidences?
- Caleb's parents believe he is a Super Empath and they still........send him to a school which is obviously daily torture for him. Why wasn't anyone talking about alternative options? The kid is clearly suffering and therapy isn't going to cut being absolutely smashed with violent/sad/depressed/weird emotions all day from other teens.
- Not to mention we do not even get to talk more about the sci-fi part, the powers and Doctor Bright, and all of that side until 80% into the book.
- The first 80%? It's merely school. The boys in the bedrooms. Internal monologues. School. A family dinner. Boy going to sleep. Look, to be Caleb for a hot sec: the book made me feel this hopeless grey sludge because nothing ever ever happened. And continuously describing emotions (this was almost ALL Caleb's chapters were, just. emotions. descriptions) for some reason had me gritting my teeth.
- I'm very uncomfortable with the word "Atypicals" being used to describe an imaginary group of superpowered people. It's a real term. For real neurodiversities. And equating being truly neurodiverse with basically being *magic* is so rooted in ableism (like if you're different it better be for a cool reason etc). So I'm straight up not keen on that wording.
- Caleb is honestly a horrible person because of all the emotions he has to filter through. He spends 80% of his chapters being snarky and aggressive and rude. While I get it, it was also hard not to cringe at his being portrayed as picture of a toxic white boy who has a good tragic reason for his abusive behaviour but we're supposed to...feel sorry for him. It took him to the last page to admit that he didn't have to bulldoze in and aggressively take over and "save" his friends. LAST PAGE. That's not an arc, that's a throw away agreement.
- The dialogue is so stilted and jerky, and while it's realistic, it doesn't make for compelling reading. Quite frankly reading characters go "um....good....I guess I'm good" for 300+ pages did not work for me. Then Adam would say one sentence, and have 3 paragraphs of interior monologue, before his parents would reply to that sentence. It was so hard to follow their conversations. I think Adam/Caleb had maybe two full conversations between them where they didn't end up pissed off and fighting. But sure they're *checks notes* in love.

While I am a huge advocate for queer and diverse lit, I struggled with the actual writing of this one. I have a friend who loves this book, so it's clearly a matter of taste. I just kept waiting for a plot to happen, not another stilted scene where Adam and Caleb went through classes they hated and described how emotions felt like green ice in their eyeballs. I did feel a lot of Adam's descriptions of depression were accurate, raw and visceral. it maybe was the only part I connected with.

Unfortunately; not for me.

Being sixteen years old has its hellish moments no matter who you are. Being expected to act like an adult while still technically being a child and all the while attempting to conceptualize how others feel about you, and even more so, how you feel about yourself, is rough. Welcome to the world of Caleb Michaels, a high school football player who isn’t limited to his own emotions, but those of every single person around him. From the intense burning of anger that manifests itself as a deep red to the “black sludge” of disappointment, feeling wracks Caleb’s entire being. The emotions of his family, his teammates, his therapist, and even complete strangers flood his every thought process. That’s life as an Atypical Empath, a secret that Caleb has to hide because his ability to perceive and manifest the emotions of others makes him a possible target of the elusive organization known as the Atypical Monitors. But among the insanity, a warm, inviting blue sneaks into his world and nearly knocks him off of his feet. Adam.

Shippen’s world is all-encompassing to her readers, hurling them into the perspectives of two teenage boys through the means of their alternating narratives. She skillfully utilizes the perspectives of both Caleb and Adam to give a bird’s eye view of how they balance their personal and interpersonal struggles. Her approach to their relationship is enough to keep a reader nervously anticipating the moment they finally reveal their love for one another without overusing the stereotypically dramatic elements of a teenage romance. This is complemented by Shippen’s skillful intermixing of the human struggle with that of the supernatural, making emotions nearly tangible through color, consistency, and connection. Despite the all-too-familiar trope of the skilled athlete and the smart, unpopular kid falling for one another, Shippen portrays an enticing representation of life and young love in a scientifically unrealistic, but yet, all too real world.

By the time I read The Infinite Noise, I didn’t really know what it was about as I hadn’t re-read the summary before I started. This worked in my favor though, as I pleasantly surprised to see this book isn’t a straight up contemporary. It feels very much like one, with topics of school, family, and relationships, but at the same, Caleb Michaels suddenly becomes well…super empathetic. He can feel other people’s feelings, and sometimes it gets so consuming he can’t even tell what he’s feeling himself. Despite struggling with depression, classmate Adam is who Caleb starts to gravitate toward. Most of the time, Caleb feels calm around Adam, and he can focus in on him when he’s overwhelmed.

I loved learning about Caleb and his Atypical abilities. He sees a therapist who specializes in being Atypical, and I thought it was great that while Caleb might have “special powers”, the book is still very pro-therapy for anyone. I definitely felt for Adam too, as he’s an artsy loner with very scientific parents. He’s dealt with depression for years, and he’s even self-harmed. His relationship with Caleb is a bright spot in his life, but it’s never implied that Caleb can cure Adam or even that Adam can cure Caleb…they just make each other better. This is book one in the Bright Sessions novel – unfortunately, the next book is about another Atypical and not Caleb and Adam, but the Atypical is someone readers meet in The Infinite Noise.

I started off really liking The Infinite Noise. I liked Caleb, the main character, and was intrigued by his powers. I liked the budding romance between Caleb and Adam. Then they got together and I stopped caring.

The first third of the book spent the time fleshing out the characters and building up the relationships. After that it feels like it skims over the top of the story. There's not enough time spent with Caleb and Adam once they're dating, all of a sudden there's government intrigue, and hints of a wider world. I think if it had been shorter and left out a lot for another book it'd be a lot better.

I didn't know until after I finished the book and read other reviews that the story is based off of the author's podcast. A lot of elements seem to come out of nowhere if you're not familiar with the story. It might be better if you're already a fan, but for others it seems like an interesting concept that does not follow through.

This heartwarming book was like a balm to my soul. It is a great extension to the podcast and was a treat to read!

The concept was cool, the structure was solid and it gets bonus points for good LGBTQ+ rep, but at the end of the day, this book wasn't for me. Maybe if I were younger I would have enjoyed it more? Idk, it was just very slow and the writing was very colloquial and "contemporary". It's just not my kind of genre, I think. But I was impressed by the author's ability to describe a variety of complex emotions in every-day, teenager-y language. That's a hard thing to do and she pulled it off!

Caleb is sent to a therapist after getting into a fight at school. With Dr. Bright, he learns that he is an empath, someone who can feel the emotions that others around him have. But his "powers" are more intense than an empath's ability would be in our world. Instead, Caleb's abilities are quite extreme-- and overwhelming. So, as he works with Dr. Bright to control --and live within-- the environment around him, he notices that one classmate's emotions are more helpful than harmful, like everyone else's emotions are. With Dr. Bright's prompting, Caleb befriends Adam, and the friendship s-l-o-w-l-y blossoms into more. But while the romance is super adorable, there is a threat lurking in the background: there is an organization that tracks Atypicals like Caleb so that they can experiment, track, do Bad Things to Atypicals. Two of those scientists are Adam's parents. Can Adam and Caleb's relationship survive this reveal? How does have an empath for a boyfriend affect a relationship? How does Adam's severe depression affect the relationship?

This magical realism-like story has a beautiful gay relationship at its heart, but also explores Othering and how we are often afraid of what is different from "normal."

As a preface, this book is a part of the universe of Shippen's The Bright Sessions podcast. If you have not listened to it, you will probably find this book good but not great. There are a few moments during the book that will seem to come out of nowhere and a couple of characters that may feel incomplete without the background knowledge.

For queer readers, The Bright Sessions is one of the queerest pieces of media I have encountered, and Caleb and Adam are the sweetest boys in the world.

Thank you Lauren for this book exactly when I needed it.