content warnings: depressive episodes, discussions of past self-harm, homophobia, discussion of medical experimentation, violence
representation: mlm main character, gay main jewish character of colour with depression, jewish side characters, side characters of colour, black side character

“I’m waiting for a boy who can feel everyone’s feelings. I’m waiting for a boy who is something more than human.”

This is a book that is objectively a 4-star but I'm a human with subjectivity and I love this podcast so it's getting a 5. For those who don't know, The Bright Sessions is tied with Wolf 359 as my favourite fiction podcast of all time and the fact that we're getting two more books set in this world excite me to no end. So basically there was no way I was ever going to hate this book and I'm deciding to ignore every flaw it has because of that.

The Infinite Noise follows Caleb Michaels, a teenage boy who is an empath, meaning that he can feel the emotions of everyone around him. It also follows Adam Hayes, a boy whose emotions happen to vibe very well with Caleb's. They're both dorky teen boys and they fall in love.

For those who have listened to the podcast, we know beat-by-beat what's going to happen in this book. But instead of ruining the experience I think it really enhanced it for me because I just kept anticipating the moments between these characters that I knew was coming. And I can acknowledge that for those who haven't listened to the podcast it will feel like there's something missing. While this could definitely be read on its own, there are characters and parts of the world left unexplained by the book because there's an assumption that you'll either get it or just move on. As someone who got it, it was a fucking delight being inside the heads of these two losers that I've loved for years.

Caleb and Adam mean so much to me as characters and there was something so special about getting to be inside their heads and seeing their lives outside of the context of Dr. Bright's sessions. Lauren Shippen also uses this book as an opportunity to really flesh out characters like Caitlin, Alice and their parents who you never formally met in the podcast, which is exactly what a companion should do in my opinion.

I just really want to re-listen to the entire podcast now because I forgot how much I missed being with these characters, not only Caleb and Adam but also characters like Dr. Bright and Chloe. Hell, even seeing Damien was fun and made me nostalgic for sitting in the library in Year 11 listening to the episode where Caleb and Adam get together for the umpteenth time.

If you've listened to and love The Bright Sessions then I can't see you not loving this and would recommend you read it immediately. If you've never listened to the podcast then you could read this, but to get the full experience I think you should maybe at least listen to the first season. And then listen to the next four because it's absolutely wonderful.