An Instagram post from protagonist Caleb Michaels’s official account It’s about a teenage boy learning to embrace what makes him tender, learning to work through the obstacles he creates for himself, and sort through his feelings about his classmate, Adam. The novel isn’t about Caleb saving the world or making universe-shaking decisions. Instead, Shippen excels at small, intimate storytelling, and this is what readers can expect from the lush, sweet, intimate story in The Infinite Noise. He’s an empath, and his ability to feel what others are feeling is anything but normal.īut while the world of The Bright Sessions has superhuman abilities, it isn’t typically about the world-ending drama that could result from them. Joan Bright–the protagonist and perspective character of The Bright Sessions–Caleb starts to understand himself as an Atypical, someone not dissimilar from a mutant from the X-Men franchise.

As Caleb starts seeing his new therapist, Dr. But starting his new school year, he feels his classmates’ emotions in texture and color, not dissimilar from some types of synesthesia. He’s a football player with a pretty normal family. Readers are likely to leave the novel needing to hear what happens to Caleb and Adam when they turn that last page.Ĭaleb Michaels thinks himself a typical teenage boy–maybe just one who’s a little easily set off. Instead of rendering the podcast pointless, The Infinite Noise gives just enough to make listening to the podcast even more enticing. Joan Bright’s view of them, the novel puts the reader directly into the protagonists’ thoughts and feelings.įor those who haven’t listened to The Bright Sessions, the novel does an expert job at explaining the rules of the setting and teasing some of the podcast’s plot. While the podcast took a third-person limited perspective in storytelling, meaning the listener only got snippets of Caleb and Adam outside of protagonist Dr. Debuting today via Tor Teen, The Infinite Noise is Lauren Shippen’s debut novel, the first companion piece to her landmark audio drama The Bright Sessions. Focusing on fan-favorite characters Caleb and Adam, The Infinite Noise is a first-person look into each character’s thoughts and lives outside of the scope of the podcast, alternating perspective between both characters.įor those who have listened to The Bright Sessions, the novel works beautifully as a companion to the podcast.

The infinite noise lauren shippen