The Infinite Noise: A Bright Sessions Novel

Lauren Shippen

Sep 2019 · The Bright Sessions Book 1 · Macmillan Young Listeners · Narrated by Briggon Snow and James Fouhey

About this audiobook

"Narrators James Fouhey and Briggon Snow give stellar performances in this quiet YA romance...Both narrators authentically capture the ups and downs of teen romance and keep listeners engaged." -- AudioFile Magazine

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

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)

Ratings and reviews

If you like the Podcast you'll love this book! If you've never heard the podcast you'll also love this book! It's depictions on mental illness are very close to home for me, and the Relationship Between Caleb and Adam is written very well. They have very strong chemistry and most of the characters are fleshed out making this world believable and easy to get a headspace into. Even with some of its supernatural elements. If you want a nice LGBT teen romance I recommend this book.

This is so sweet and gay <3 <3 <3 Two teen boys falling in love, one is "a-typical" (think xmen mutants) and is an empath. I've listened to the podcast with these characters for a few years, but this book is so beautiful Also, accurate portrayals of mental illnesses like depression, dissociation, and anxiety. It means a lot to me to see someone want to portray these things accurately, and this writer does it beautifully.

I hate romances with a passion but this book is just so beautiful. Im a big fan of the bright sessions but that aside this is a wonderful piece of writing on its own right.

About the author

LAUREN SHIPPEN is a writer most known for her work in fiction podcasts. She was 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, set for release in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. Lauren was named one of Forbes 2018 30 Under 30 in Media and one of MovieMaker Magazine and Austin Film Festival’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Shippen grew up in New York, where she spent most of her youth reading and going to Panic! at the Disco shows. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she does the same thing. The Infinite Noise is Shippen’s debut novel.