Exciting New Novel Inspired by Successful Podcast
The Infinite Noise is a YA novel about Caleb, who suddenly develops the ability to feel other people's emotions. After an incident at school causes his emotions to take over, he is sent to a therapist, Dr. Bright, who informs Caleb that he is an empath, one type of person belonging to a larger group known as Atypicals. Caleb begins learning meditation and calming strategies from Dr. Bright so that he can make it through life in high school, which is always a churning pool of emotions that threaten to pull him down. The only time Caleb feels better, balanced and more in control, is when he is around his classmate, Adam. But Caleb and Adam have never hung out and don't have any mutual friends. If Caleb wants to spend more time around Adam, he's going to have to step out of his comfort zone and reach out to Adam. And Adam, who suffers from depression and spends most of his time alone, is going to have to be willing to let Caleb in.
I really enjoyed this book and was very into Caleb and Adam's story. I love the direct and accessible way that this novel explores emotions, primarily through Caleb's abilities. Awareness of our emotions, let alone the emotions of others, takes conscious thought and effort. Because Caleb doesn't have a choice to ignore his feelings, like so many of us do, he's in a constant process of digesting them. Lauren Shippen did an amazing job of conveying both Caleb and Adam's thoughts and feelings. I felt Caleb's exhaustion at the effort of wading through a tidal wave of emotions all day. I thought her depiction of Adam during his severe depressive episodes was beautifully written and handled. More people need to read passages like those to increase their understanding of depression and those who suffer from it. If I have a criticism, it is that there were moments that I felt like I was missing a tiny bit of the story. I assumed that perhaps this is because the podcast is so fleshed out and full that translating it into novel form forced an occasional loss of context, similar to when a book becomes a film or vice versa. That being said, I never felt confused about what was happening in the book and became such fans of Caleb and Adam and their relationship by the end. I will definitely recommend this book widely, especially to the teens I work with.
I really enjoyed this book and was very into Caleb and Adam's story. I love the direct and accessible way that this novel explores emotions, primarily through Caleb's abilities. Awareness of our emotions, let alone the emotions of others, takes conscious thought and effort. Because Caleb doesn't have a choice to ignore his feelings, like so many of us do, he's in a constant process of digesting them. Lauren Shippen did an amazing job of conveying both Caleb and Adam's thoughts and feelings. I felt Caleb's exhaustion at the effort of wading through a tidal wave of emotions all day. I thought her depiction of Adam during his severe depressive episodes was beautifully written and handled. More people need to read passages like those to increase their understanding of depression and those who suffer from it. If I have a criticism, it is that there were moments that I felt like I was missing a tiny bit of the story. I assumed that perhaps this is because the podcast is so fleshed out and full that translating it into novel form forced an occasional loss of context, similar to when a book becomes a film or vice versa. That being said, I never felt confused about what was happening in the book and became such fans of Caleb and Adam and their relationship by the end. I will definitely recommend this book widely, especially to the teens I work with.