So I LOVE The Bright Sessions podcast. I was thrilled when I heard there was going to be a book about Adam and Caleb. So this is a biased review as a true fan! I loved this book so much. It was so good and I loved the alternating points of view. I am curious to know how different the reading experience would have been without having the knowledge from the podcast. I love Lauren Shippen’s writing and I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

I'm between 3.5 and 4 stars, so I'll round up.

Sixteen-year-old Caleb Michaels is handsome, popular, and athletic, running back on his high school football team. But lately he's been struggling emotionally and he can't figure out why. It's almost as if he is drowning in so many emotions all at once and he doesn't know where they're coming from, but he's finding it harder and harder to take.

When an encounter with a classmate turns violent and he doesn't even remember the situation escalating, Caleb begins counseling. Through therapy he discovers there's a reason for his mood swings—Caleb is an Atypical, a person with enhanced abilities, and his ability is extreme empathy, meaning he feels the emotions of everyone else around him. While that is a difficult enough challenge for anyone, being an empath in high school is harder than anything, because what more is high school than a hotbed of emotions?

As he tries to navigate through the challenges posed by this newly discovered ability, Caleb keeps noticing that he's being consumed more and more by the emotions of one classmate in particular, Adam. Adam is smart, sensitive, a loner, who tries to keep to himself to avoid being bullied, yet he doesn't quite understand that doing so keeps him isolated from those who might be his friend. Even though Adam thinks Caleb would never want to be his friend, he does recognize elements of a kindred spirit that he hopes could someday blossom into something special.

In an effort to understand why Adam's emotions in particular affect him so, Caleb's therapist encourages him to become Adam's friend. This opens up both boys to more vulnerability than they're prepared for, and they realize that they have more in common than they could imagine. But at the same time, it also illustrates to Caleb that there's a danger in feeling too much, especially when you're in high school, where to survive, emotions need to be hidden more than anything else.

Lauren Shippen's debut novel, The Infinite Noise, is based on her popular podcast series, "The Bright Sessions." I'd never heard of that before but apparently Caleb and Adam's characters appear in that, although I didn't feel like I was missing anything when I read this. I loved the concept behind this book very much and found it tremendously creative.

I've said a number of times that I tend to be drawn to books that make me feel, so certainly a book about an empath would fit the bill! There was so much I enjoyed about the book, and I thought Shippen captured the emotional quagmire that is high school so perfectly. Her characters weren't too erudite or witty to be believed and their relationships felt natural.

The one challenge in reading a book in which so much emotion is expressed is that at times the pacing dragged a bit, because you tended to see the same things happen again and again. There were only so many times I wanted to see bullying and the characters being cruel and Caleb struggling with how to react. But other than that, and despite the somewhat-fantastical nature of this book, much of it felt truly genuine, particularly the interactions between Caleb and Adam.

NetGalley and Tor Teen gave me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book will publish September 24, 2019.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

Superheroes go to therapy?! Yes, please. This book is based/inspired on a podcast that I haven't heard before but I enjoyed the book. I think it was fun and good but I felt that it was missing something. I can see that is focused on Caleb and Adam and how Caleb discovers his powers, but I wanted less romance, just because I don't really go for romance when looking for a book to read. Even though I think it would have been better for me without the amount of romance it has I think is a really good fantasy/science book to read for those, like me who are afraid of epic fantasy or hard sci-fi books. A really good book would recommend reading.

Caleb has just been told he is atypical, and an empath. He can feel everyone's feelings around him, which can be strange as best and overwhelming at worst. Adam's feelings are not only tolerable, but help Caleb smooth out the noise that is constant in his head. The slow building romance between Caleb and Adam is adorable characters, and the story is intriguing and moves along well.

I'm between 2.5 and 3 stars on this book ... and I was an avid listener of the podcast (before it decided to go behind the Luminary paywall, ugh).

My favorite parts of the podcast were the therapy sessions - like "In Treatment" for the superpower-weilding folk. The podcast itself goes crazy into an Xmen fight-against-the-machine type drama, which is fine but not why I was drawn to the podcast.

So. The book. I knew I liked the start of the podcast, and I knew I really loved this romance, so I figured (hoped) the book wouldn't get into the Big Bad stuff quite as intensely. And with the fizzle ending, we can see the crazy stuff is to come. The first part of the book was good - nice YA romance with new elements of the atypical stuff. But as some other reviewers have said, this book is just the podcast in book form, which is boring for fans of the podcast, and I assume the largest group of readers for the book ...

So it's a bit like reading a typescript of the podcast. And at the 3/4 mark, Caleb and Adam's voices become indistinguishable from one another, making readers wonder what the point of different POVs is if they're the same.

Lauren Shippen is obviously creative and talented, so I don't feel unfair asking her for more. I'll look forward to seeing what else she writes. And since I can't listen to her newest podcast about the AM since it's behind a paywall, maybe her next book will be completely new to me!

In The Infinite Noise, there are two young men who are discovering themselves, and each other. Adam is a regular nerd type, who is bullied in school because he's smart, and because he's different. Then there's Caleb. He's a jock, but he's also bullied. And he's got a bit of a super power. Caleb is able to sense and even control the feelings of people around him. He's like the Mantis of this story. Caleb and Adam develop a friendship (and maybe more), while trying to figure out what they feel about each other, and how to feel about Caleb's ability.

I got through this book pretty quickly. It's an easy read, and even though it's easy, it's still dramatic enough to keep you on your toes. If you've ever felt like an outcast, or maybe you just didn't fit in, then this book might just be for you.

4.5 Stars

Lauren Shippen’s debut novel, The Infinite Noise, was born as a podcast called The Bright Sessions. Shippen was inspired to create it as a means of personal expression, looking through a fictionalized lens at her own anxiety, which she discusses in this article in Psychology Today, and asking, “What if?”. What sprung from that not-so-simple question was a SciFi look at mental health and therapy, and that What if? flourished into an ensemble cast of characters who form a secret society of Atypicals—people with SuperExtra powers that prompt them to seek help and advice for ways to cope with those abilities. Dr. Bright is that therapist, and this novelization of the podcast series is a look at the life of one teenage empath, Caleb Michaels, and Adam Hayes, the boy who makes Caleb’s powers a bit more bearable.

Because being in high school when you can feel everyone’s feelings is a complete nightmare.
If you can imagine being able to feel the emotions of every single person around you—the fear, the anxiety, the depression, the sparks of joy along with the flashes of anger, the love, the hate, the apathy and every other feeling in the lexicon of the human experience—and then multiply that by the infinite noise of a high school full of teenagers, never being entirely sure which emotions are your own and which are being projected onto you, you’ll get a clear picture of what Caleb faces every day. The accumulation of emotions becomes debilitating at times, affecting his ability to focus in class, and when, one day, everything boils over and a bully’s and Caleb’s own anger combine, Caleb combusts. He reacts physically, which is completely out of character for him. He lays Tyler out in the hallway at school, and that’s when Caleb is sent to Dr. Bright for counselling.

While Dr. Bright is, of course, a significant cog in the machine of this story, she is not the story’s protagonist. She serves a specific role, and her characterization doesn’t go much deeper than that of sounding board for Caleb’s, and her other patients’, own joys, fears, frustrations, and anger. The lead roles in the story are served by both Caleb and Adam, in alternating points of view, and the story is not only about Caleb’s extra sensory ability but also acts as a candid and compassionate look at depression. Caleb learns to put various colors to certain emotions, but Adam’s color is special to Caleb. Adam’s color combines with Caleb’s in a way that means Adam is an unwitting complement to Caleb’s power, which is why Adam—who mostly tries to fly under the radar, hiding out in a quiet corner of the library when not at home or in class, but manages to draw unwanted attention anyway—is baffled when the star running back of the football team begins to seek out his company. Adam is Caleb’s calm in the storm of emotions that batter him from all sides, all day, every day. Except for those occasions when Adam’s depression makes Caleb feel like he’s drowning right along with the boy he’s slowly falling for.

What happens next is…weird. The light of joy doesn’t go out, but it kind of stutters and bursts. He’s still happy, but there’s an added layer of fluttering anxiety that begins to cut through. The pulse of his nerves is out of sync with my heart, which right now feels like it’s going to spring from my chest. The battling rhythms making my skin tingle and my forehead break out in a sweat. All of a sudden, I’m a boy made of nerve endings alone.
There comes a moment, after Caleb gives thorough examination to the ways Adam makes him feel, or, rather, helps him not to feel so much, that the epiphanous moment arrives when he realizes that he wants nothing more than to kiss Adam silly, and Shippen captures all the emotions of that moment so beautifully. The exhilaration isn’t the only thing that resonates through the story, though. The sweetness of watching Adam and Caleb falling in love is tempered by the times that Adam is “too depressed to function” and the ways in which he battles with the truth of that and wears the masks, the “I’m fines” and the “It’s nothings”, that constitutes the desire to hide that part of himself (and more) from Caleb, because this is the way “normal” people function.

Every part of this story is handled with honesty and sincerity. It’s not a story about superheroes and supervillains, though there is a mysterious organization that hovers in the background and leaves more questions than answers at its mention, as do Adam’s parents. The Atypicals don’t go out and battle dark forces of evil to save their town from destruction. Rather, The Infinite Noise is a metaphor, a really beautiful one, about acknowledging that everyone is fighting their own battles, and that sometimes we all need help to get through them. It is the story of two boys who learn to trust in themselves and in each other, and that the road isn’t always easily travelled. Caleb discovering he isn’t alone is something everyone can relate to, and Adam discovering that he is strong, even in his most vulnerable moments, resonates.

Music plays a role in Caleb and Adam’s relationship as well, and while not as integral to the story as in some YA fiction I’ve read recently, it instills a soundtrack to connect the reader to the characters and their story. Caleb and Adam finally accepting that through all the missteps and miscommunications that they are happier together than apart, was the perfect ending to this first book in the Bright Sessions series.

Reviewed By: Lisa

The Infinite Noise is one of those novels that gently catches your attention and imagination until you turn the final page and realise its over before you even really thought it had begun.

Its not perfect but its nuance and beautifully written pages cause the reader to lose themselves in the lives of its characters.

Adam and Caleb are dichotymous in their personal and public lives but somehow fit together like a beautifully abstract puzzle.

I found myself thoroughly emotionally invested in the characters plights so that every slight made by one or the other caused outrage while when things went well, I felt that everything was right with the world.

Basically this novel is just wholesome and squish while having the added bonus of superpowers thrown in. Its a journey of self discovery for both main characters, each exploring their circumstance in a way that keeps the reader coming back for more.

Definitely worth a read and i look forward to reading future instalments

Disclaimer: I was given an advance reading copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates and Tor Teen for the opportunity.

Unique, enticing with a dash of WOW-factor!

When I requested this book, I was so intrigued by the fact that this was based on the wildly popular and award-winning podcast "The Bright Sessions". It's so awesome to learn that the story was inspired by recordings of teenagers with supernatural abilities. I guess I have to binge that podcast!

The book deals with current sensitive issues. It amazes me when authors talk about these things, especially when everyone's scared of how personal and sensitive these topics are. It deals with teenage mental health, friendship and the sense of belongingness.

I hope this book moves you as much as it moved me. Be sure to pick this up when it hits the shelves!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this novel!

Title: The Infinite Noise
Author: Lauren Shippen
Rating: 3.5 stars
Rep: M/M, MC with depression
Trigger warnings: ableist language, bullying, sexist language, past self-harm (cutting), thoughts of self-harming, depressive thoughts and feelings.


First things first, I have not listened to the podcast this book is based on. I am definitely intrigued though, so I will probably give the podcast a go at some point!

The premise of this novel sounded like something I would absolutely love! And while there were parts of it I really enjoyed, I have a lot of mixed feelings.


Things I liked:
-Dual POV, I love it when books have multiple perspectives and I think it worked really well to have both Caleb and Adam's thoughts here.
-The writing style was nice, easy to follow and gripping.
-A very fast-paced plot, I read this in one sitting!
-Apart from maybe 1 or 2 instances (all challenged), there was absolutely zero homophobia of any kind, which I was very happy about. It was such a refreshing change as opposed to a lot of the other LGBTQ+ books I read, so I always love it when homophobia isn't a running theme in a book I'm reading.



Things I didn't really like:

-Adam and Caleb's relationship just didn't work for me.

Too much unnecessary drama and miscommunication, the latter being a trope I can't stand. Also, Caleb admits to not being at all interested in Adam until starting to get so caught up in his feelings and I know Caleb sorts through his own to check what he is feeling is genuinely his, but it just felt a little messy to me personally. Everything felt like it was riding on Caleb's empath gift, it didn't feel real to me. I really liked Caleb and Adam as individual characters, but I'm not sure I liked them as a couple.


-The supernatural element/magical world building was lacking.

This book almost felt like a contemporary, with maybe a splash of the supernatural. I didn't understand the mechanics of this world, I wanted to know more about the "Atypicals" I wanted to know more about how, what, why, when.

All the characters also seemed so blase about Caleb's abilities, where did Dr Bright come from? How did they know to send Caleb to THAT therapist, how did she know about Caleb? Why jump to the conclusion that he is an empath on their very first session? Was it all just one big coincidence? It was all very...convenient.

Don't get me wrong, I really like that Caleb could feel emotions, but the backstory of WHY wasn't explored enough and I was confused about a lot of things that never ended up being explained.


-The pacing

The first half was really well-paced, but around the 70% mark, it went out the window. We are all of a sudden introduced to more Atypicals and the book got more "supernatural" focused, but really, it was just a little too late in the day for that and in the end, it all felt really rushed and ultimately confusing.


Overall, I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book and I would recommend to anyone who likes diverse characters, interesting storylines and for fans of the podcast!

*This ARC was requested and offered to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Infinite Noise follows our two main characters Caleb Micheals and Adam Hayes.
Caleb starts having issues at school, so his parents send him to therapy where he meets Dr. Bright. She’s a special type of therapist who helps people like him and tells Caleb that he’s an ‘empath’ a kind of ‘Atypical’ who reacts strongly and can feel other people’s emotions, physically.
Then there’s Adam, he’s shy, intelligent and has had a crush on Caleb for years. But, a guy like Caleb, who’s on the high school football team wouldn’t ever notice a guy like him, right?
Until, he does...

A delightful debut from the author of the Bright Sessions podcasts, this YA version of Disney Pixar’s Inside Out Is sure to be a hit!
As someone who struggles with depression and often feels very empathic to others...this was the perfect read. The author’s depictions of feelings is profound and unique.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series when it comes out in 2020!
Thanks again NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this wonderfully written story!

Boy romance! Superpowers! Mental health rep!

The Infinite Noise is based off Shippen's podcast The Bright Sessions - a fictional audio drama that follows a therapist who works with teenagers who discover and live with various superpowers, known as Atypicals.

Our MC is Caleb, who is an Atypical with the ability to experience other people's feelings. Which, understandably, is a blessing and a curse. So what happens when he crosses path with Adam, a teen who struggles with Major Depressive Disorder?

Above all, the mental health representation in this book is absolutely fantastic. I am an own-voices reviewer for this book, as I also have a diagnosis for Major Depressive Disorder. And I have never felt so validated and heard and understand as I did when reading this book. The story centers around how such a disorder can impact on one's relationships with other people, as well as the way therapy can interplay with people throughout there struggles, as well as everyday life.

The romance is absolutely precious and I promise you won't be disappointed. This is something else that truly touched me in this story. The tenderness of learning how to be in a relationship when one person struggles with their mental health was so well portrayed. It's not all nice and easy, but if you get it right it is irreplaceable.

There was not a huge amount of world-building regarding the super-powers aspect of the story. I am really hoping that Shippen continues with more Bright Sessions books to follow on from this, because the way she fleshes the world out in the podcast is really great. But overall, this is meant to be a character-driven story.

I think this is honestly one of my favourite books of 2019. This is one of those books that I honestly just want to force everyone to read because the feelings it will make you feel are some of the best and worst you will get from a book.

5/5 stars!
Wow! Okay, I super enjoyed this book. This is a quick read about Caleb and Adam who become friends and eventually more.
Caleb was just the sweetest most wholesome thing and I really enjoyed his perspective in this book. He’s dealing with a lot as he’s just learned he’s an atypical. A human with special abilities. He can read the emotions of others and he’s really struggling with it. It was so interesting to hear Caleb describe the emotions he was feeling from others and the way he categorized them as colors was really cool!
Adam was more intense but very relatable. I thought the talk about his depression and the way he experienced it was very important and well done. In that vein I wanted to mention that I really appreciated that once Caleb and Adam got together it didn’t magically solve his depression. Some days it was better and sometimes being around Caleb helped but he wasn’t cured by finding a boyfriend.
Overall this was a super sweet read that also had unexpected depth that I really really loved. I would totally recommend picking up this book ASAP.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Teen for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I have never listened to the podcast that is the basis for this, but I have a feeling my students would enjoy it. As for the book, it alternates between two narrators - Caleb and Adam. Caleb is a football star who distances himself from his peers because he can fee their moods. It turns out, he is Atypical. Adam is a super smart son of doctors who won’t tell him what they actually research. They form a relationship and together discover that Caleb’s therapist knows more about Atypicals that she has let on, and that Adam’s parents may be involved in something darker than he realizes. It’s out 9/24/19, and I would peg it at grades 8+ for a load of language.

This book, wow! The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen is a unique and diverse book—blending science fiction, romance, mental health rep, and LGBTQ+ rep.

I've been seeing this book frequently on Twitter and when I saw the synopsis, I was truly intrigued! When I found out my NetGalley request was approved, I dived into it right away!

But first things first. The Infinite Noise is based on the author's audio drama podcast The Bright Sessions. This is really what intrigued me in the first place! This podcast is basically recorded sessions between Dr. Bright and her patients with supernatural abilities. I've already listened to a couple of episodes, and it was such a unique story. One of her patients is Caleb, and The Infinite Noise explores his story. 

The writing
The writing style of this book was great! The story is told in alternating points of view between and Caleb and Adam, and for me the author did a great job in narrating the story in their perspectives.

The writing style captured what it felt like to be a teenager, what it felt like to struggle with a mental health illness, and what it felt like to be someone who's going through a life-changing event and abilities you can't control. And of course, it also captured what it felt like to be someone discovering the friendship and love. I really loved that. 

The characters
I adored the characters! Caleb and Adam are just too precious for this world, and with every chapter, we get to know more about them. 

I also realized that this book is more of a character-driven story. There are a lot of scenes involving Caleb's sessions with Dr. Bright, scenes where there are soliloquies and just the characters processing their thoughts and emotions, scenes where the characters are just simply talking to others with little plot involved. That said, I really liked this setup. It allowed me as a reader to fully understand and connect with these characters and get attached to them and their journey. 

The plot
As I mentioned  above, The Infinite Noise seems more like a character-driven story so I feel like there's not much plot involved. There is a plot, but it was the characters that really drove the story forward.

The climax took too long to build up and when it was finally there, I needed more answers and explanations. It left me a bit unsatisfied, but at the same time, I'm really curious and excited for the next book because maybe we'll get to know more about this plot-related element in it!

I also love the concept of Atypicals and I just really feel like we'll get to know more about them in the next book! (Or in the podcast haha!)

Overall, this book was a great read! 4 stars!

Review posted on my blog: https://enthralledbookworm.wordpress.com/2019/09/17/arc-review-the-infinite-noise/
Review posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2942069752

Caleb Michaels seems to be a normal teenager. He is in the football team, have average grades and is one of the popular students. However, there is something about him that even he doesn’t know about. He has a very big issue to stay focused and anger. He also feels overwhelmed if he’s surrounded by too many people.
After he got into a fight with one of his classmates, his parents make an appointment with a therapist for him. This day explains everything that he felt for a long time. Therapist discovered in his characteristics of people called Atypical. He’s an empath. It means that he can feel people emotions. At first, it’s very hard because he cannot see a difference between his emotions and people emotions. His therapist teaches him how to see them as the colors so he can differentiate them from each other. It’s not getting easier for him as he is surrounded by a lot of students every day at school. He tries to find a getaway from it. One day, he catches feelings of one person that helps him to get rid of other people emotions.

Adam Hayes’s life isn’t the easier one for a long time. He struggles with depression, school bullying, lack of friends and the absence of his parents that work all the time. He’s one of the smartest people in the school but it doesn’t help him with popularity. He doesn’t see any upcoming light to his life until Caleb Michaels comes to his life and tries to befriend him. At first, he cannot understand how this is happening. He has a crush on Caleb for a long time and as much as he dreamed about spending time with him, he still thinks it’s just a kind of prank.

They are both light and a getaway for each other. They also both have secrets that can turn them from each other.

My thoughts:

Let’s start with both the main characters of the book that I admire more than anything else. I can’t even say who I like more because both were just so unique and perfect. Adam on one side sarcastic and confident and the other soft and broken. Caleb as much as he seems confident, he also has his doubts and issues. They both needed someone who will help them to get through life and they found each other. They never thought how it will turn out at the end and that’s the most beautiful part of this story. The story shows that gender doesn’t matter if it comes to love. Love is love and that’s the only thing that matters.

I love the aspect of Caleb being an empath in the book. The way he knew people emotions and he used it for his advantage in the conversation is priceless. The book has two sides: the sad one and a humorous one. I laughed a lot but also cried during reading it. It reminded me about the book Will Grayson, Will Grayson because it had a similar vibe as this book. I love both so I need more books like this in my life.

I think a part of the story when they get to know each other more is my favorite one. Their thoughts just were so hilarious. As much as you think Adam will be the shy one, Caleb struggling with it at the beginning as well. I don’t know if it’s because of Adam’s emotions but it’s still very cute how much they blush next to each other.
I think this book is a perfect read for anyone that likes to read high school love stories, LGBTQ books, and unique stories. I can’t wait until the book will be published so I can buy a copy for myself and read it again. This book is a need on our shelves and believes me I am not saying it often.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for providing me this copy in exchange for an honest review. I was enjoying a book more than I thought I will.

This is a sweet, slow-burn story that proves empathy really can be a superpower. Unfortunately, it wasn't the story I was expecting from the blurb/premise, so I wasn't a very good fit for it. But that's not the book's fault, and I suspect this will find legions of delighted fans come release day - I'd definitely point fans of the Simon Snow books in this direction, although Lauren Shippen's book is deeper and more complicated, more emotional than Simon Snow's unabashed wackiness. Fans of Dante and Aristotle Discover the Universe might enjoy this one too, if they're willing to allow a little bit of fantasy/sci-fi into what's mostly a contemporary story.

These quiet fantasy books are absolutely killing it! I came to The Infinite Noise completely new, I've never listened to the podcast it's based on, but I am 100% going to do so now! This was quiet and understated but engaging and had so many scarily real quotes about depression.

The Infinite Noise comes from the podcast The Bright Sessions, a podcast series featuring people with super powers in therapy. The episodes follow several characters across number therapy sessions, and in The Infinite Noise we meet Caleb, a young empath. Following Caleb as he learns to control his abilities, we meet Adam, the only person outside of Caleb's family who seems to be able to calm Caleb's emotions. Interspersed with therapy session with Dr Bright, psychologist to the superheros, we discover the world of hidden Atypicals, and the danger lurking beneath the surface.

The Infinite Noise is not about action or superheros. It's about the characters beneath the powers and very much focuses on Caleb and his development. Full of Caleb's emotional turmoil as an empath, the book excellently expresses his struggle and really gets across the mess of emotion Caleb feels pretty much all the time. We have both Caleb and Adam's POV, and though Caleb's is intense in its unpredictability and overwhelming feeling of different emotion, Adam's was even more poweful. Shippen really managed to throw some uncannily familiar and distressing quotes about Adam's depression which made such a huge impact.

I so enjoyed the quiet nature of the book, and loved the character focus but in saying that, I did get caught up in the mysterious organisation watching Atypicals and wanted to find out more about the AM group who seem to be doing creepy and unethical experiments to Atypicals. Perhaps more will be revealed in the later novels in the universe!

All in all this was a really enjoyable read, and it has definitely sold me on the podcast! Very keen to hear more from Caleb and Adam.

I was so excited to see The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen available on NetGalley because I love Shippen’s podcast “The Bright Sessions” and had just finished listening to the full run. In the first of a trio of novels, Shippen expands upon the story told in the podcast "The Bright Sessions," a world where people with superhuman abilities, known as atypicals, are studied and controlled by a shadow-organization called the AM. The Infinite Noise follows the love story between Caleb, a high school football player dealing with the sudden development of empathic abilities, and Adam, a classmate struggling with depression whose emotions have an unusually strong draw for Caleb. Although Caleb initially tries to befriend Adam as an assignment from his therapist, their friendship soon becomes more important than either of them could have predicted.

I know there are varying opinions on novels that continue or flesh out podcast narratives and I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t sure how well the story would translate from podcast to novel. Having read the book, Shippen’s writing translates well between mediums and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In season 1 of "The Bright Sessions," the progression of Caleb and Adam’s relationship mostly happens in the background of the main storyline, through details shared in Caleb’s therapy sessions, while The Infinite Noise flips that and places the main focus on Adam, Caleb, and their lives, with occasional scenes that hint at the wider story of the podcast’s narrative. For those already familiar with "The Bright Sessions," the novel provides a sweet love story for characters you already know and love. The characterization in the novel is consistent with that in the podcast and provides welcome insight into Adam’s character that was missing from the podcast. I loved finally getting to see Adam’s perspective on the beginning of his friendship with Caleb and falling into Shippen’s descriptions of the almost synesthetic way Caleb experiences his powers.

As a fan of the podcast I cannot speak to how well this novel would work for someone who is unfamiliar with the podcast and the wider story. On a few occasions, Shippen seemed to miss perfect chances to explain concepts that would already be familiar to podcast fans but might confuse those coming to the book without that background, when she would have Dr. Bright be about to explain something to Caleb and then have the explanation happen off-page. That said, this is entirely consistent with the way the podcast treats this kind of information and most of it becomes clear through context, as it did in the podcast. Overall, the book was an enjoyable read and a sweet YA romance.

There are many books that teach empathy and ways to be empathetic; however, I've never come across one that features a person with enhanced empathetic abilities until now. Knowing nothing of the podcast, I was taken in by the book's premise. It started of well; however, neither Caleb nor Adam grabbed my attention enough to form a connection. The book begins a few weeks prior to Winter break, but when school resumes, the football team is still playing. High school football is no longer in season then, so that confused me. Plus, the continuous reference to Caleb's empathetic abilities as superpowers grated on my nerves. Empaths do exist and to me the multiple superpower references trivialize their gifts. I loved the fact that the book's protagonist is an empath, but this book just wasn't for me. It was a struggle, but I made it 71%, skimmed from there to 75%, then skipped around to 79% before finally calling it quits.