The Infinite Noise (Bright Sessions Series #1)

by Lauren Shippen

Overview

Lauren Shippen's The Infinite Noise is a stunning, original debut novel based on her wildly popular and award-winning podcast The Bright Sessions.

Now available in the trade paperback: Blueprint, a Bright Sessions original story featuring Caleb and Adam

Caleb Michaels is a sixteen-year-old champion running back. Other than that his life is pretty normal. But when Caleb starts experiencing mood swings that are out of the ordinary for even a teenager, his life moves beyond “typical.”

Caleb is an Atypical, an individual with enhanced abilities. Which sounds pretty cool except Caleb's ability is extreme empathy—he feels the emotions of everyone around him. Being an empath in high school would be hard enough, but Caleb's life becomes even more complicated when he keeps getting pulled into the emotional orbit of one of his classmates, Adam. Adam's feelings are big and all-consuming, but they fit together with Caleb's feelings in a way that he can't quite understand.

Caleb's therapist, Dr. Bright, encourages Caleb to explore this connection by befriending Adam. As he and Adam grow closer, Caleb learns more about his ability, himself, his therapist—who seems to know a lot more than she lets on—and just how dangerous being an Atypical can be.

“What if the X-Men, instead of becoming superheroes, decided to spend some time in therapy?” (Vox on The Bright Sessions)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250297532
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Series:	Bright Sessions Series , #1
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	342,218
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

LAUREN SHIPPEN, author of The Infinite Noise, is a writer best known for her work in fiction podcasts. She is the creator and sole writer of the popular audio drama, The Bright Sessions. She went on to executive produce The AM Archives and co-produce Passenger List before founding Atypical Artists, a company dedicated to audio storytelling. She wrote MARVELS, an audio adaptation of the popular comic, released in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. Lauren was named one of Forbes's 2018 30 Under 30 in Media and one of MovieMaker Magazine's and Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She was born in New York City and grew up in Bronxville, New York. She currently lives in Los Angeles but travels frequently to New York.

Editorial Reviews

"Enthralling." —Shelf Awareness

“Emotional and inventive, Lauren Shippen has written a queer love story for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. The Infinite Noise managed to make me swoon even as it broke my heart. A thoughtful and tender exploration of mental health, it will make you want to go to therapy, whether you have superpowers or not.” —Britta Lundin, Riverdale screenwriter and author of Ship It

“The Infinite Noise is a marvelous book about love, mental health, and connection. Lauren Shippen writes with a clean and honest warmth that is deeply refreshing, and her sharp representation of depression and anxiety rings true. Once I started reading The Infinite Noise, I couldn't stop; now that I've read it, my life has become a matter of waiting to get my hands on whatever Shippen creates next.” —Sarah Gailey, Hugo Award winning author of Magic for Liars

“Fans of the podcast will revel in this closer look at the lives of the characters, and readers new to the franchise will drop into this world without missing a beat. Give this to fans of the podcast, as well as readers who enjoy Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Rainbow Rowell's work, and Welcome to Night Vale.” —School Library Journal

“The author gives emotions form, texture, and color, taking readers along on Adam's and Caleb's journeys while remembering that a boyfriend is not an antidote to life's supernatural—or mundane—problems.... A warm, satisfying love story with depth.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Shippen does a superb job of handling a swirl of complex emotions, ranging from subtle to fiery as the boys struggle to complete each other and share their differences." —Booklist

“A refreshing look at the superhero genre.” —The Advocate

“Lauren Shippen writes with empathy, honesty, and grit, painting a raw, vivid picture of found family and the fraught, complex ties that bind them.” —Mackenzi Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue on A Neon Darkness

Praise for The Bright Sessions

“A gripping character drama with blockbuster-worthy plot twists.” —The New York Times

“Created by the brilliant Lauren Shippen, The Bright Sessions is probably my number one favorite podcast right now.” —Patricia Thang, Book Riot

“[The Bright Sessions] combines shades of The X-Files and the HBO psychotherapy drama In Treatment, plus the youthful characters of a WB drama like Roswell or Smallville, into one compulsively listenable tale.... A testament to the simple power of good storytelling.” —Vox

“Radio dramas for the podcast age often veer towards either solid writing or engrossing performances. Rare is the show that satisfies on both fronts like The Bright Sessions.... Shippen never loses sight of the impressive character work that drives the show.” —IndieWire

“Part Professor X, part Sigmund Freud, Dr. Bright has a specialty: treating 'the strange and unusual....' Start at the beginning and binge away an afternoon on Dr. Bright’s couch.” —WIRED

From the Publisher

10/28/2019

Two teenage boys find a special connection in this YA romance debut with connections to the author’s sci-fi podcast. Caleb doesn’t know why he feels so overwhelmed at school, but after he snaps and gets into a fight, a special therapist helps him recognize his superhuman ability to feel others’ emotions. Keeping his secret and taming his own feelings aren’t easy, but both feel manageable when he’s around Adam, a classmate who, despite his own struggles with depression, helps to drown out the chaos and soothe Caleb’s frazzled nerves. As the two grow closer, Caleb has to sort out whether the attraction he feels is his own first same-sex attraction or simply a reflection of Adam’s feelings for him. The teens’ mental-health struggles are portrayed with veracity and compassion, as is the development of their relationship. Though any teen open to gay romance might enjoy this novel, it will have particular resonance with those who have experienced depression or emotional overloads. Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2019

Gr 7 Up—A spin-off of the popular podcast The Bright Sessions, this touching and emotional novel expands on the story of Dr. Bright's youngest patient, 16-year-old Caleb. High school used to be easy—Caleb was a pretty good student and a star football player. But it got a lot harder when he learned he's an Atypical with an enhanced ability to sense and experience the emotions of those around him. It sounds great to be a superhero, but Caleb's power isn't so super. His trouble controlling negative emotions like anger and fear have led to fights and an inability to concentrate in class. Luckily, he has Dr. Bright, a therapist who works with Atypicals. She encourages Caleb to befriend Adam, a classmate whose emotions fit in with Caleb's rather than overwhelming them. Alternating between Caleb's and Adam's points of view, the narrative approaches mental health, romance, and emotion with vivid language and strong voices. Though Shippen incorporates fantastical elements, she focuses on the inner lives of her characters, giving only the necessary world-building, making this an ideal crossover book to move readers between realistic romance and speculative fiction. Fans of the podcast will revel in this closer look at the lives of the characters, and readers new to the franchise will drop into this world without missing a beat. VERDICT Give this to fans of the podcast, as well as readers who enjoy Becky Albertalli's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Rainbow Rowell's work, and Welcome to Night Vale. A first purchase for libraries that can't keep romance or superpower books on the shelves.—Heather Waddell, Abbot Public Library, Marblehead, MA

School Library Journal

Narrators James Fouhey and Briggon Snow give stellar performances in this quiet YA romance. Caleb, portrayed by Snow, is an Atypical—an empath who can feel other people’s emotions. Adam, portrayed by Fouhey, is a bookish loner with a lot of big feelings. As Caleb learns to manage his ability, the two boys are drawn together. When Caleb is overwhelmed by emotions, Snow increases the volume and speed of his narration, bringing listeners right into Caleb’s churning mind. Fouhey perfectly captures quiet, observant Adam with a slower narration, reflecting both the careful way Adam thinks and the pain of his depressive episodes. Both narrators authentically capture the ups and downs of teen romance and keep listeners engaged with an audiobook in which emotions, rather than plot, take center stage. L.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

2019-06-23
High school football player Caleb is drawn to his sad, bookish classmate Adam, who is an island of calm in an ocean of other people's emotions.

Caleb is the quintessential handsome, popular athlete, but he's dealing with an unusual problem: He has the supernatural power of feeling others' emotions. Sure enough, high school is a stressful place for someone with such a power, and Adam is the only person at school whose emotional presence helps Caleb bear the onslaught of teenage feelings. Adam, who is Jewish, has a huge crush on Caleb but doesn't dare hope that Caleb feels the same way about him. Meanwhile, Caleb understands everyone's feelings but his own. Shippen's debut novel is a fluttery, insightful teen romance told in both boys' voices, filled to the brim with feelings but sidestepping melodrama and coming-out angst. The author gives emotions form, texture, and color, taking readers along on Adam's and Caleb's journeys while remembering that a boyfriend is not an antidote to life's supernatural—or mundane—problems. Though the author touches on several unresolved plotlines from her science-fiction podcast, The Bright Sessions, especially in the second half, the novel is strong enough to stand alone for those who have never listened to it. Caleb is white; dark-skinned Adam's father is Jewish.

A warm, satisfying love story with depth. (Science fiction. 13-adult)

Kirkus Reviews