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.

This is a very hard book to rate, as podcast books usually are. They skirt the line between rehashing content we've already heard and adding new information, which I suppose is always the issue with written adaptations. But I feel like The Infinite Noise kind of both fails and succeeds as an adaptation?

This book is a retelling of the Caleb and Adam storyline from the first two seasons of the podcast, from the point of view of the two of them. I loved the depth it went into with these characters, their relationship, mental health issues and abilities as well as regular teenage problems. I truly empathized with Adam and his mental health issues (depressed wrecks ahoy) and thought it was extremely well and carefully done. I loved their banter, and how their characters and voices shine from the pages. Their relationship is straight up adorable in here and reading about these two adorable disasters in love was just heartwarming.

The issue is that centering this story on these two characters accidentally cuts out most of the plot of the podcast, since they don't interact with it much. There are very few scenes of Caleb's sessions with dr. Bright, and the ones that are there are cut down a lot. "What if the X-Men, instead of becoming superheroes, decided to spend some time in therapy?" is a great tagline for the podcast, but it just doesn't work for this book. As a big fan of the podcast, while reading, I always felt like something was missing, especially during the sessions themselves. So while this story enhances the original characters, it also cuts down on the interaction with the canon, which I'd say isn't great, especially for a book that doesn't have much else going on.

Plus the ending was just too abrupt. While nearing the end, I kept thinking "are they gonna do the...?" and the answer is no, the book ends before then. Which means very late into the book it dumps several new and major characters. What even is pacing, am I right? I also had issues with the constant jumping between povs and the infuriatingly short chapters. There was one place in the book where it was used to amazing effect, and the rest was just mess.

So, if I have so many issues, why 4 stars? Because the characters and the relationship were just that strong. I loved reading about them and their friends, and I want to see Lauren Shippen grow as a novelist (since it's obvious from her other projects she's an incredible writer). Especially since the next book is about Damien, whom I, despite my best efforts, love.

The Infinite Noise is a kind of meet-cute of a book that resolves its conflicts a little too quickly. I liked the descriptions of Caleb's powers, especially when they overwhelmed him, and I liked his developing relationship with Adam. Adam's problems didn't really seem to be as addressed as Caleb's, but that might be further discussed more in the podcast or in future books.

I think I was hoping to feel more of an emotional connection to the two main characters than I did. The ending kinda just petered out to me, but I am still intrigued about the podcast. Maybe listening to it and then rereading this would have more of an impact on me then.

Overall it was a decent read, and it's always nice to see LGBTQA representation and discussions on mental issues in books.

this story was amazing!! while the ebook was hard to get into, i recently read it on audio and it blew me away. sci fi gay novels 😍

I read this book without having known about nor listened to the podcast it is based on. I liked the unique take on superheroes and the therapy aspect of the Atypicals’ lives. The romance was cute and I adored the discussion of mental health. My main gripe with this book is the convience of several events in this novel and the pacing. I don’t think I’ll be continuing in the series.

This is the story of Caleb - football star, popular kid, and extreme empath - and Adam, the not-so-popular, gay kid who doesn't have a lot of friends. This is a love story, yes, but it is also about the emotions that are felt so strongly by Caleb and Adam. Oh, and there's something sci-fi (?) and not altogether benign going on with Adam's parents' research projects...but I think that thread is introduced and then left dangling. I'd like to give this 4 stars, but can only give it 3 with a clear conscience.

Caleb is an empath. He feels the emotions of others and it can become overwhelming. At first, he doesn't know exactly what's happening and can't separate his own feelings from everyone else's. He starts seeing a therapist who works with other 'atypicals' and is able to name his issue and deal with it...somewhat.

Adam gets bullied. A lot. And he has a crush on Caleb. He doesn't have friends, but he does have crushing depression. He also has scientist parents who do research for a hospital and also for some company (group?), but maybe not any more? That last part was a little confusing to me.

So, all in all, this was a good book. I like the Caleb/Adam storyline. The other parts were not so clear. 3/4 of the way into the book, the reader finds out that there are numerous other 'atypicals' who all see the same therapist; Caleb and Adam even befriend one of them. Adam's parents' relationship to the atypicals is also introduced and then...nothing. I feel like there were two storylines and one didn't get enough airtime to feel like part of the same book. Also, the main bully uses a homophobic slur against Adam, but then has no issue with a teammate and friend coming out as gay. I don't think that would happen.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's not my favorite genre BUT it's a really really cute and good reading. I love Caleb and Adam. It's a story about human and kindness. Just a good feeling about all of this book. It's not easy to be a teenager but it's really not easy to be an extraordinary teenager. The better choice it's not the easy one. And sometimes we need to have good friends or just one person perfect for you on your side.

I love the concept of this book – contemporary with a twist is almost always a winner for me. I’d say this one is a solid 3.5 stars for me; the romance was very cute, the ‘super power’ aspect was really interesting and unique, however, I think we potentially were in need of a little more plot. I understand this is to be the first book in a series, and that it also connects to a podcast, but I found it a little repetitive, and the drama became sort of…annoying? I don’t necessarily think it was unrealistic to the teenage experience (empath powers aside) but it ended up being a bit melodramatic, I think it just needed one more big plot point. Bonus points for LGBT+ rep!

Going into this book, I didn't know it is based off a podcast, and I thought that it was a school of super-powered kids. Instead, it is a single high schooler with an ability that he sees a therapist about and must keep it a secret from his classmates. At the start, I was a little disappointed that my original thought was not the case, but I really enjoyed where this book went.
It was fascinating to learn about Caleb's empath powers, but I also didn't feel disappointed when we switched to Adam's POV. I think the discussions on mental illness were done well, although I think a little more discussion on Adam's depression could've helped the book's message along.
The chemistry between the leads was really good, and I really liked the other atypical who was introduced late in the book, and I was actually hoping one of the sequels would follow her, but it looks like that's not the case.
Overall, this was a great start in a unique world, and I'm excited to see where the sequels go.

I think it is very difficult to write a book from a podcast. Who is the audience? New to the series? Listeners? This is helped by Shippen as the author and creator of the podcast and she truly knows her characters. Still, I couldn't help but feel like this is either a starter book or something was missing.

It took me a bit to get through this. And several times, I had to set it down to breathe. The writing was lush and beautiful. I was amazed at how well she made me feel what her character was feeling. I don't read fan magazines, or other writings that start out online, so I was not familiar with any of the characters. I still found it very enjoyable.

This book started really strong and I loved the concept (I had never listened to the podcast before reading this book) but I feel the last half of the book, where the new characters were introduced in was bit rushed and also the romance a little cringe. Overall I did enjoy it.

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

I really enjoyed Caleb and Adam's story! The empath ability brought a unique perspective to high school and first love. Caleb in another story would have been a jock who did not care to reach out to others. Giving him access to everyone's feelings showed a new side and glimpse into how everyone of us felt in high school. Adam was a mystery for a lot of the beginning of the book. I was glad to learn more about him as the story went on but the book ended with me having a lot of unanswered questions. I'm wondering if the author is leaving a sequel possibility open or if we are meant to wonder. I wish we would have seen a moment where they exchange I love you's for the first time but I think they both know how each other feels.

I was tempted to give this book four stars, as I adored The Bright Sessions, a podcast where we first meet Caleb and Adam, but I tried to be objective while reading as a standalone without that prior knowledge. Without the background, this is a sweet high school m/m romance (kind of like a more intense version of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman) with some super random superpowers and vague villains thrown in.
I assume it is the first in the series, so we will get to learn more about empath Caleb, his therapist Dr Bright who knows more than she's letting on, mindreader Chloe, homeless veteran Frank and Adam's mysterious scientist parents.
I did appreciate that Adam's experience of depression is treated delicately and with the same weight as the powers that Caleb has.
All in all, I enjoyed this, but I would definitely recommend listening to The Bright Sessions first.

THOUGHTS

This book was SO hard to put down. I was completely captured and mesmerized by the writing and compelling story, staying up horrendously late just to discover a TINY bit more of the plot. Though there are a FEW things that bothered me by the end of the novel, I TRULY found this to be an extraordinary reading experience.

CONTENT & TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains topics regarding abuse (emotional and physical), anger issues, anxiety (panic attacks), bullying, depression, homophobic slurs, mental illness, self harm (cutting — mentioned), suicide (mentioned) and suicidal thoughts.

THE PROS

A compelling and authentic story, this felt like an entirely new reading experience. Truly, I can’t recall the last time something felt THIS original. I’ve read quite a large number of beautiful stories this year, but they had elements similar to other books or series I’ve read in the past. The Infinite Noise was this ENTIRELY new reading journey, making it nearly impossible to put down. The combination of exploring Caleb’s abilities in addition to just seeing our two main characters get through the ups and downs of high school life is genius, playing off of my love for both coming of age and that urban fantasy genre — without the fantasy element taking over the story. If you’re REALLY looking for that something NEW in the young adult realm, THIS should be your next read.

One of the best parts of The Infinite Noise are the characters, for they’re lovable and memorable! I couldn’t help but fall in love with Caleb and Adam. These two rounded and in-depth characters are so full of interesting traits and quirks, making them come to life off the pages. Watching them develop to the characters they end up being was such a delight. Shippen also doesn’t stay within the stereotypes too much, which was a relief. Though Caleb’s a jock, he’s a bit of a nerd and doesn’t necessarily enjoy parties. And although Adam’s quite the genius, he isn’t perfect and still has the courage to stand up for himself against bullies. Dr. Bright’s another favourite of mine, as she truly seems to care for the atypicals and has such an interesting vibe about her. The characters you’re meant to like … you LOVE!

Shippen addresses a number of sensitive topics, handling them in a delicate and appropriate manner. To be frank, a large number of novels still don’t properly address heavier topics well; they either have NO tact or just skim the topic as though it never happened. The Infinite Noise deviates from this, discussing a large number of “rather taboo” subjects in a respectful way. The premise of the story follows Caleb’s journey through his connection with Adam but also through therapy, something that isn’t typically seen in young adult novels (or novels in general). Through this, the novel explores Caleb learning to cope with his emotions and his anger issues. On the flip side, Adam’s an extremely intelligent young man who suffers from depression and social awkwardness. The novel doesn’t necessarily SOLVE all of these issues like magic, for that’s not really how mental health works. Rather, The Infinite Noise examines how to cope with these feelings through personal growth and seeking help from others, normalizing sensitive mental health topics just a tad bit more.

The romance is ON POINT — utterly captivating and breathtaking. Seeing the characters gradually realize their feelings for one another’s the BEST part of this novel. The love’s so tender and innocent, yet heart-grabbing and passionate. The LGBT+ representation’s done incredibly well. On one hand, we have a character fully aware of their sexual orientation. On the other hand, we have a character who slowly realizes their feelings and comes to terms with this discovery in a fairly healthy manner. It felt so DIFFERENT in comparison to other “coming out” stories. There wasn’t this TABOO feelings … their acknowledgement of realizing their attracted to the same sex just felt NORMAL … which is how it should be. Shippen … you made my day.

THE WOES

There’s a lot of unanswered questions regarding this fictional Earth, “atypicals” and these sinister organizations. It took about halfway through the book to realize that, unlike the X-Men or other Marvel comics, the majority of the population doesn’t appear to be aware of the existence of atypicals. Learning about this later in the novel made the first half somewhat confusing, since I was trying to decipher the severity of Caleb’s secret. In addition, the novel briefly discusses the dangers of these “top secret” organizations that perform tests and experiments on people like Caleb. But then Shippen just dismisses it without exploring this PRETTY important piece of information further. So here I am, left both confused and frustrated. HOPEFULLY, we will learn more in the next Bright Sessions novel.

The lack of action and attention to “atypicals” is FAIRLY disappointing. Though I’m VERY glad that the book focuses primarily on Caleb and Adam, there was something left missing once they reconciled certain ‘unknown questions’ (especially since this part takes place at about the 75% mark) . The random meetings with other atypicals, the panic yet disregard for these secret and dangerous organizations … you’d think there would be more action regarding these elements of the plot … but you’d be wrong. The lack of that “action/adventure” after these momentous discoveries made the rest of the story rather mundane and dull, as though there was no real point in bringing up the topic of these groups to begin with.

For those who dislike series that change the main characters, this MAY NOT be for you. I emphasize MAY NOT, for I’m not really certain myself. After reading more about this series on Goodreads, it looks as though book two and three will follow different characters under Dr. Bright’s care. I’m ALL for learning about new atypicals … but I’m PRETTY upset by this. The Infinite Noise doesn’t feel COMPLETE yet: Caleb and Adam’s story in general, Caleb’s continuous growth controlling his abilities, Adam’s mental health issues, the recent discoveries they’ve unveiled about these “secret” organizations and SO MUCH MORE. There’s also a number of other interesting characters in this book that I really want to learn more about. As of the moment, their appearances feel rather random and unnecessary to the plot growth. So if the next couple of books don’t explore all the items mentioned above more, I’ll actually feel like this book only deserves a 3 star rather than 4 star due to a lack of exploration and open ended events.

OVERALL

Shippen’s The Infinite Noise is a beautiful and breathtaking novel, touching upon both the exhilarating and difficult parts of being a teenager in high school … learning how one fits in such a large and expansive world. Though there’s a number of “fantasy” and “unearthly” elements to the story, Shippen really touches upon the many different aspects of learning to cope and understand human emotion. I can honestly say I have yet to read a book like this, making the reading experience even more grand.

I DO recommend this novel if you enjoy:

↠ An authentic and original story
↠ A focus on mental health, therapy and social anxiety
↠ Alternating POVs
↠ A focus on M/M romance
↠ Descriptive writing

I DO NOT recommend this novel if you dislike:

↠ A large number of unanswered questions
↠ An underdeveloped plot
↠ A lack of world building and exploration

If you like books about unlikely friendships which lead on to unlikely relationships then this book is for you. It is an interesting look at what happens when someone deeply feels the emotions of the people around him, he’s an empath, which in many ways makes him vulnerable to the ever changing moods of people he encounters. It also gives him a clear understanding of the struggles of those who have difficulty expressing their feelings. I like it when there is a character like Caleb who seems to be the popular guy, the football hero, the guy with all the friends and seeming to have it all together, who turns out to be deep in the depths of inner turmoil. I like the journey a character like this goes on. Yes, you can pick where Caleb and the lovely Adam are going to end up, but it is the way that they get there which is lovely. This is sensitively written, funny in parts and will make you have all of the feels, from outrage through to heart meltyness.

I have never listened to the Bright Sessions Podcast but this book is enough to send me on a mission to listen.

This is a must have for secondary school libraries, it doesn’t matter that the setting is the USA, this book is universal and will have lots of appeal, especially in a diverse collection. It doesn’t move fast, it is a slow thoughtful read but beautifully done.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this great book.

An over-all good read! A sweet story that deals with the complexity of human emotions, especially those emotions at 17. The use of dual points of view proves an effective and compelling storytelling method. Although the audience doesn't recieve many answers to the multitude of questions about the world that Shippen creates, this feels natural, as the characters don't know much either. This definitely complicated the satisfaction I got from the piece, but in the end, it felt like the best choice to make. Many moments in this book provide hopeful sugary sweet moments that leave you enamored with the characters, although you may want to scream at some of their choices. Overall 9/10, an amazing effort that will be enjoyable for those who want a more complicated LGBTQ+ feel good, and enjoy the supernatural!