Some Faraway Place
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- Create Date：2021-11-11 08:51:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Lauren Shippen
- ISBN：1250297575
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Summary
Some Faraway Place
， the third Bright Sessions novel from creator Lauren Shippen， features Rose， who has her humdrum life flipped upside down when she starts to travel into dreams。
Rose Atkinson’s mother can see the future。 Her father can move things he doesn't touch。 Her brother Aaron can read minds。 And Rose， well， she makes a mean spaghetti bolognese。
Everyone else in her family is Atypical， which means they manifested an ability that defies the limits of the human experience。 At nineteen， well past the average age of manifestation， Rose is stuck defending her decision not to go to college and instead working in the kitchen of a local restaurant， hoping to gain the experience she needs to become a chef。
When a rollerblading accident sends her to the hospital， she meets a girl she can't forget and she starts to feel like maybe her life isn't quite so small。 But when she starts falling asleep mid-conversation， she thinks， then again maybe I’m doomed to never have good things。
Rose should be happy to learn that she’s Atypical after all—that diving into dreams makes her a part of her family in the way she always wanted。 But the more time she spends in the dreamworld， the more complicated her ability becomes。 Trying to balance her work， her power， and a girlfriend who doesn’t know about Atypicals， Rose seeks help。 But she soon discovers that being Atypical comes with dangers she never could have imagined。 Even her carefully constructed dreamworld isn’t safe。
This is the story of Atypical Rose， who discovers that your dreams coming true isn’t always a good thing。
Rose Atkinson’s mother can see the future。 Her father can move things he doesn't touch。 Her brother Aaron can read minds。 And Rose， well， she makes a mean spaghetti bolognese。
Everyone else in her family is Atypical， which means they manifested an ability that defies the limits of the human experience。 At nineteen， well past the average age of manifestation， Rose is stuck defending her decision not to go to college and instead working in the kitchen of a local restaurant， hoping to gain the experience she needs to become a chef。
When a rollerblading accident sends her to the hospital， she meets a girl she can't forget and she starts to feel like maybe her life isn't quite so small。 But when she starts falling asleep mid-conversation， she thinks， then again maybe I’m doomed to never have good things。
Rose should be happy to learn that she’s Atypical after all—that diving into dreams makes her a part of her family in the way she always wanted。 But the more time she spends in the dreamworld， the more complicated her ability becomes。 Trying to balance her work， her power， and a girlfriend who doesn’t know about Atypicals， Rose seeks help。 But she soon discovers that being Atypical comes with dangers she never could have imagined。 Even her carefully constructed dreamworld isn’t safe。
This is the story of Atypical Rose， who discovers that your dreams coming true isn’t always a good thing。
Reviews
Carla
，
Confession time: Rose wasn't my favourite when she appeared in the Bright Sessions podcast， so I was sort of dreading reading a whole book from her POV。 I will also admit that I found myself wanting to hear from literally anyone else in this book more than I wanted to read Rose's entries。 I liked the way the book was organised。 Rose's dream journal entries， the letters （！） （view spoiler）[ listen， I can't even explain my love for Damien myself。 He appeared in the podcast and I loved him despite t Confession time: Rose wasn't my favourite when she appeared in the Bright Sessions podcast， so I was sort of dreading reading a whole book from her POV。 I will also admit that I found myself wanting to hear from literally anyone else in this book more than I wanted to read Rose's entries。 I liked the way the book was organised。 Rose's dream journal entries， the letters （！） （view spoiler）[ listen， I can't even explain my love for Damien myself。 He appeared in the podcast and I loved him despite the fact that he's the worst most times。 The letters。。。 I knew from the first one， they were his POV and I got excited。 I was not disappointed！ （hide spoiler）]， the blog entries （view spoiler）[ I really loved Emily and the fact that she wrote fanfic？ It made me love her more。 And then， she wrote fanfic about Stucky！！ I am definitely in love， okay？ （hide spoiler）]， and the Reddit entries- Readit in the book （I'm not sure why it had to be changed when other sites weren't？ Tumblr is another that went through a name change， so I'm guessing Licensing？） （view spoiler）[ I really enjoyed Aaron。 I would have rather read a book about Aaron tbh。 （hide spoiler）] Is it bad that I tolerated Rose's parts to read everyone else's？ Rose was exasperating a lot of the time。 I loved her episode back in the podcast， mostly because it was a musical episode， but even back then I thought she was annoying。 It got better with the book， but only slightly。 Yes， I know she's going through a lot， but COME ON！ Get a grip， girl！ I will say that I really enjoyed， when some of the podcast characters made an appearance。 It made me want to go listen to the podcast all over again。。。 Which I might do， in fact。 It was the weakest of the three Bright Sessions novels in my opinion， but again: I'm heavily biased。 I DID enjoy the dream sequences and the cover is really pretty。 Anyhow: I did it！ I read all three！ Go me！ 。。。more
oliver
，
3。5*
Briony
，
3。5 stars
Meredith Katz
，
My feelings on this book are mixed but by the end are quite positive！ I think there are a number of things that complicated my reaction， which I'll dig into， but I do want to say that I recommend it and by the end I really dug what it was going for。Basically I got tripped up in the first quarter and it took me about a month to get through -- then I finished the last 75% in a single day。 There's a lot of things that just threw me out of the story。 Like -- why are some websites given fake fiction My feelings on this book are mixed but by the end are quite positive！ I think there are a number of things that complicated my reaction， which I'll dig into， but I do want to say that I recommend it and by the end I really dug what it was going for。Basically I got tripped up in the first quarter and it took me about a month to get through -- then I finished the last 75% in a single day。 There's a lot of things that just threw me out of the story。 Like -- why are some websites given fake fiction names （Mumblr， Readit） but others aren't （AO3 -- even the entire MCU and things like Bucky being the Winter Soldier are mentioned straight out， so it can't be for copyright reasons）。 Every time I encountered one of this it threw me out and I tried to figure out a pattern。 This was mixed in with a bigger problem where it had an issue with too many POVs。 The entire story is in an interesting epistolary format -- where every character's is some modern version of letter-writing （other than Damien， who just gets。。。 letters）。 So one person is sharing bits of what's going on on Reddit （Or Readit， rather）， another is writing posts on Tumblr （。。。Mumblr）， and the protagonist is keeping a dream journal。 But although it was neat to see a modern social-media forward take on the epistolary novel， having four points of view was too many and cluttered the story。 I'd argue only 2 were actually needed to make the story work: Rose's for sure， and Damien's for the subplot。 The girlfriend's were a bit of nice insight but nothing happened in them that we wouldn't also have gotten from the scenes she was in， and I found the brother's actively detrimental。 I spent the entire story assuming they were only there so his OBVIOUS list of identifying information about his family members on a forum dedicated to hiding from the secret organization would get them found out and then。。。 （view spoiler）[nothing happened with that at all。 In fact， in the end he just outright says that the posts were something he did instead of talking properly with his family， but the thing is， he does talk to his family throughout and I don't think it would have taken much to make it work without his POV。 （hide spoiler）] I think I would have liked Aaron better as a character if we only got his interactions with Rose through her POV。So those were the things that I tripped over， and （Damien's letters aside） it was almost all just Rose's story with her family and girlfriend drama through the parts I was distracted in。 And then。。。 at around the 50% mark it became totally entwined with the rest of the series even though it had been an independent read before。 My feelings on this were complicated too。 Having about 45% of it be its own thing meant that it felt like a promise there。 I'm not super familiar with the podcast anymore -- I've listened to the first season and a half， and then I haven't read the other books yet， and I picked this one up because， based on the back cover indicating Rose wasn't involved in that， it seemed like it'd be standalone， but it definitely wasn't。 The book actually says that outright: "It feels like I've been over here living out my own fantasy novel， and for a moment， I stepped into a companion series with its own cast of characters and plot lines。" But。。。 the thing is， the story where Rose is part of this main cast is the better story。 The other stuff is fine but it's just。。。 supernatural slice of life （view spoiler）[ with a terminal illness storyline （hide spoiler）]， and it isn't really going anywhere other than character growth， but when Rose gets involved with the others， it pulls into a bigger， more involved story that is just better as a narrative。 Even though I resisted it at first， I honestly wish it dug into it more， because some of them （Sam， Caleb， etc） aren't even true characters in this story; they appear in it but only so we can be told about her interactions with them instead of seeing it。 But Damien's story was really compelling， and how he and Rose play off each other feels like an ingredient that had been missing was finally there and everything tasted right in this recipe。I can't believe I'm saying this as someone who was terrified about what he'd do in the podcast and stopped listening because I was too worried about it to listen as it came out。。， but I hope we get more Damien soon。Beyond that -- it's a really cute f/f love story， and a slice of life paranormal story with emotional complications that feels like it needed a bit more time in development to fully pull all its flavors together， but I'm glad I read to the end instead of putting it away。I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
s
，
I just want to thank Lauren Shippen for creating these amazing characters， they will always he a part of me。
Victoria
，
Ack this gave me so many feelings！It hurt， I laughed， I cried I got so frustrated this was a whirlwind。 Didn't love seeing Damien again especially since he didn't seem to have learned *anything* but Rose made up for it。 This was heartbreaking and sad and wonderful and everything。 I really really loved it Ack this gave me so many feelings！It hurt， I laughed， I cried I got so frustrated this was a whirlwind。 Didn't love seeing Damien again especially since he didn't seem to have learned *anything* but Rose made up for it。 This was heartbreaking and sad and wonderful and everything。 I really really loved it 。。。more
Derek
，
4。5 starsA great ending to one of my favorite fictional universes。 I will always come back to the podcasts whenever I feel lonely or need a friend。 Thank you Lauren for creating such a magical place for us strange and unusual people。Regarding the book， I liked the three characters and how it wove in episodes of the podcast。 I loved the Reddit like style of the community and loved the message the book has to say about staying in the present and enjoying every day as it comes。 As much as Ms。 Shipp 4。5 starsA great ending to one of my favorite fictional universes。 I will always come back to the podcasts whenever I feel lonely or need a friend。 Thank you Lauren for creating such a magical place for us strange and unusual people。Regarding the book， I liked the three characters and how it wove in episodes of the podcast。 I loved the Reddit like style of the community and loved the message the book has to say about staying in the present and enjoying every day as it comes。 As much as Ms。 Shippen says she has closed the door on the Bright Sessions universe。 I very much hope that is not true。 I will miss these characters immensely。 I never thought I’d say this but I hope Robert gets a redemption story at some point， and we finally get that HEA Caleb and Adam deserve。 。。。more
Skye
，
Okay full disclosure: I adored The Bright Sessions ， was a bit underwhelmed by The Infinite Noise ， skipped A Neon Darkness and didn’t really get into The AM Archives and am struggling with the Collage Tapes 。 I’m also torn on this book。 I really liked the beginning。 Even though we already knew what ability Rose has， it was still intriguing to follow her figure it out。 But after that the book kind of fell apart for me。 Till the end it skipped over all characters except Damien， and I starte Okay full disclosure: I adored The Bright Sessions ， was a bit underwhelmed by The Infinite Noise ， skipped A Neon Darkness and didn’t really get into The AM Archives and am struggling with the Collage Tapes 。 I’m also torn on this book。 I really liked the beginning。 Even though we already knew what ability Rose has， it was still intriguing to follow her figure it out。 But after that the book kind of fell apart for me。 Till the end it skipped over all characters except Damien， and I started to really dislike Rose。 I still liked the psychological elements though。 。。。more
Nora || نورا
，
2。5 stars rounded down。 ★E-book arc provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge through NetGalley for an honest review。 ★I have not read the previous two book， and read this as a standalone and I didn’t really feel like it affected my reading experience。 But I would recommend reading the first two since （I think） there are characters from the previous two books mentioned/included in this book。 ★Some Faraway Place by Lauren Shippen follows Rose， a gay nineteen years old girl， who lives with her Atypical fami 2。5 stars rounded down。 ★E-book arc provided by Macmillan-Tor/Forge through NetGalley for an honest review。 ★I have not read the previous two book， and read this as a standalone and I didn’t really feel like it affected my reading experience。 But I would recommend reading the first two since （I think） there are characters from the previous two books mentioned/included in this book。 ★Some Faraway Place by Lauren Shippen follows Rose， a gay nineteen years old girl， who lives with her Atypical family， except she’s not like them， as far as she knows she’s a normal girl with a family that possesses super powers。★This is perfect for those who like The Incredibles and The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer， except with a main queer character。 It’s a light fantasy/romance read， perfect for young adults who want to see themselves in a more supernatural settings。 Rose has wanted to feel ‘normal’ in her family， which meant the opposite in her situation， with a mother who can see the future， a father with telekinesis， and a brother who can read minds， normal meant being Atypical， except she wasn’t。 Until one day she passed out， and found out she’s not so normal after all。 ★I didn’t see the point of reading Aaron， Emily and Damien’s entries since I didn’t feel like they add much into the story and only took me out of the story。 I felt like Rose acted more like a sixteen years old rather than nineteen which bothered me at times。 I also felt there were some loose threads in the story， as if there is a next book。 As far as I know this was the last installment but I’m not so sure anymore。 ★Ultimately， I don’t think I’m the target audience for this book， since the story felt slightly childish for me and I wasn’t that interested in the plot。 。。。more
Perfektionaise
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 2。5 ☆Okay， I slept a night over it to gather my thoughts about this book。 I was really excited to read Rose's story because it was something playing in the NOW again， it was about a sapphic lovestory， her ability sounded super interesting and it was not about Damien！ Hoh boy， was I in for a bad surprise。。。。I have to admit， I only listened to a few episodes of the podcast because I am very bad at listening to stuff。 Maybe if I had listened to all of it， I would've known。 As I didn't， ah well。。。。G 2。5 ☆Okay， I slept a night over it to gather my thoughts about this book。 I was really excited to read Rose's story because it was something playing in the NOW again， it was about a sapphic lovestory， her ability sounded super interesting and it was not about Damien！ Hoh boy， was I in for a bad surprise。。。。I have to admit， I only listened to a few episodes of the podcast because I am very bad at listening to stuff。 Maybe if I had listened to all of it， I would've known。 As I didn't， ah well。。。。Guess who's back， back again？ Back to terrorise everyone even though he had lost his ability （another plot I didn't knew） but kept his aweful character？ Yeah， Damien。 Lord of manipulation and opportunism。 Urgh！ But okay， plot is plot and Damien is always a great way to get the plot moving。I was bored。 Like。。。 I don't know。 It was just the same all over and Rose isn't strong enough as a character to hold the story up。 Mainly she is a teenager with issues and she yells a lot。 She gets introduced as this very calm and introverted character but she yells and screams and shouts so much that this book feels terribly loud。And the lovestory？ It felt absolutely obsolete and that made me so sad。 Emily， the love interest， lacked any depth。 Both of the girls feelings were only described but nothing made me feel like they actually longed for each other。 They went weeks without texting or talking and were okay with that。 That's not how the first big love with all the intense feelings work， isn't it？！All in all， it was an okay read but nothing more。 I was quite disappointed tbh。 。。。more
Shannon
，
Unfortunately I think I'm going to have to call it a day on Some Faraway Place: A Bright Sessions Novel。 I'm sure I'll come back to finish it at some point， but having it linger here is just kind of stressing me out。 And I'm not invested enough in the story or characters to continue。 Plus， there was one plot point that I'm just not in the headspace this year to deal with。 It might come to nothing， and I guess I could have skimmed through the book to see what happens， but I think at this point I' Unfortunately I think I'm going to have to call it a day on Some Faraway Place: A Bright Sessions Novel。 I'm sure I'll come back to finish it at some point， but having it linger here is just kind of stressing me out。 And I'm not invested enough in the story or characters to continue。 Plus， there was one plot point that I'm just not in the headspace this year to deal with。 It might come to nothing， and I guess I could have skimmed through the book to see what happens， but I think at this point I'd rather not know。 Full disclosure， I haven't listened to a single Bright Sessions podcast。 I read the first book The Infinite Noise and enjoyed it for the most part and didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having listened to the podcasts。 I realized after I started this book that I had skipped over book 2 in this series， A Neon Darkness， thinking Some Faraway Place was the second book。 Looking over reviews on A Neon Darkness， I don't think it really matters that I didn't read it first， but I honestly don't know。 I do think those who have listened to the podcasts will appreciate these books much more than those of us who didn't。 。。。more
Emma F
，
I LOVED this book so much！ for one Lauren Shippen is an incredible author and she does fantastically with creating and expanding the world of Atypicals。 In the podcast， Rose is only in a couple episodes （the main one being the musical） and her personal story isn’t elaborated on as much as say， Caleb or Sam。 This book fixed that。 I got to learn so much about her and her journey through discovering her ability。 The format was really interesting since it switched between rose’s narrative， emily’s b I LOVED this book so much！ for one Lauren Shippen is an incredible author and she does fantastically with creating and expanding the world of Atypicals。 In the podcast， Rose is only in a couple episodes （the main one being the musical） and her personal story isn’t elaborated on as much as say， Caleb or Sam。 This book fixed that。 I got to learn so much about her and her journey through discovering her ability。 The format was really interesting since it switched between rose’s narrative， emily’s blog， the “unusual” subreddit and damien’s letters （mainly to mark）。 it really gave an intriguing look into different perspectives of the story which I loved in The Infinite Noise and missed in A Neon Darkness。 On top of that， the letters show so much of Damien’s personal thoughts and feelings about past events which kinda makes you sympathize for him？ even though he sucks。I 100% recommend this book to any Atypical or Lauren Shippen fans。 。。。more
Anna Bianchi
，
A lovely book by an amazing writer！
Jen Ferreira
，
I really enjoyed this book， which surprised me since I was never really invested in Rose as a character in the podcast and， frankly， I've never liked Damian。 I especially hate how he's hardly grown at all as a person in the whole of the books and podcasts。That said， this story was weaved together in a way that， while incredibly predictable bc again， Damian never changes and never surprises us with his actions and motivations， it was REALLY enthralling。 Admittedly， I'm left feeling a little empty I really enjoyed this book， which surprised me since I was never really invested in Rose as a character in the podcast and， frankly， I've never liked Damian。 I especially hate how he's hardly grown at all as a person in the whole of the books and podcasts。That said， this story was weaved together in a way that， while incredibly predictable bc again， Damian never changes and never surprises us with his actions and motivations， it was REALLY enthralling。 Admittedly， I'm left feeling a little empty at the end of the book for not having now questions answered and a part of me hopes that means Lauren Shippen isn't finished writing books in the Bright Sessions universe， but I'm not confident of that。 It was cool to get more background on some of the more ambiguous bits of the Bright Sessions podcast and I appreciated the nods to The Neon Darkness， especially the username on the Unusuals forum。 。。。more
Sarah ❤️
，
Two biggest pieces of advice to prospective readers: 1。 If you want to enjoy this book I recommend familiarizing yourself with The Bright Sessions podcast and A Neon Darkness。 Any other works within this universe are sort of optional （but highly recommended） to fully appreciate Rose's story。 2。 Manage your expectations theme-wise。 Do not expect a cute， simple romance story and nothing more。First， let me say， while I respect other readers' opinions， you really can't fairly judge this book if you Two biggest pieces of advice to prospective readers: 1。 If you want to enjoy this book I recommend familiarizing yourself with The Bright Sessions podcast and A Neon Darkness。 Any other works within this universe are sort of optional （but highly recommended） to fully appreciate Rose's story。 2。 Manage your expectations theme-wise。 Do not expect a cute， simple romance story and nothing more。First， let me say， while I respect other readers' opinions， you really can't fairly judge this book if you haven't read the other two in the series （and honestly， these books are pretty supplemental to the podcast（s） as well， so everything is sort of interwoven）。 That said， this book wasn't exactly what I had expected。 My first exposure to The Bright Sessions （TBS） universe was reading The Infinite Noise （TIN）， and I got the sense even then that the entire universe was a lot darker than TIN was， and boy was I right！ Not that I mind， of course， I love the combination of fluffy and gritty imagery and this book delivered in that department。 Yes， the story was more about Damien than I had expected it would be but also I love his character （is this an unpopular opinion？） so I didn't mind。 This is where knowing the rest of the universe really comes into play because Rose and Damien's friendship seems odd until you read A Neon Darkness （AND） and see the way their experiences with identity-formation and their struggles with fitting their respective abilities into their lives parallel one another。 I feel like people might be missing Rose's character and while she frustrated me at times， I didn't feel like she was unrealistic or too difficult to root for—I felt like she had believable flaws and strengths。 I'm not going to tell people not to read the book if you don't want to dedicate the next two weeks to listening to the podcasts （or at least TBS podcast） and reading TIN and AND （to enjoy Some Faraway Place， you really only HAVE to read AND， but I LOVE TIN so I recommend it anyway。 If you want a cute， more lighthearted story set in TBS universe， you definitely should read TIN） but all I'm saying is that you probably won't fully enjoy this book without consuming it as a part of a MUCH larger universe。 I did start this book expecting a cute sapphic romance， and while that was an important element to the story， I wouldn't classify the story strictly as a romance， nor would I Rose's relationship with Emily as the main plot point of the story in the least。 It's Rose's story， through and through （and oddly enough， Damien's as well！ But， as I said， I feel like they complement one another and I can appreciate the way this book offers more closure for Damien's narrative than where the podcast left him。 Sidenote， I really thought Damien was the kind of love-to-hate-him character but I guess a lot of people actually legitimately hate him？？ I get it， but also I am very invested in his character。 He might be a bad person， but he is a GREAT character and I'll stand by that。 Maybe he is beyond redemption to some people but I don't think so。） I would say the most poignant theme in the story is identity-seeking， which I relate to a lot。 I feel like Shippen handled it very well。 。。。more
Craftshley
，
Some Faraway Place slots itself into the world of the Bright Sessions so easily。 Rose is a newly discovered Atypical， a person who has a supernatural ability。 Ranging from pyrokinesis and empathy， to telepathy and manipulation。 Rose is a dreamdiver: she can create entire worlds within her own dreams and travel into other’s。 While she struggles with her new power， her entire world is changing around her， too。 A new girlfriend， family troubles， and and new Atypical friends you might find familiar Some Faraway Place slots itself into the world of the Bright Sessions so easily。 Rose is a newly discovered Atypical， a person who has a supernatural ability。 Ranging from pyrokinesis and empathy， to telepathy and manipulation。 Rose is a dreamdiver: she can create entire worlds within her own dreams and travel into other’s。 While she struggles with her new power， her entire world is changing around her， too。 A new girlfriend， family troubles， and and new Atypical friends you might find familiar if you’ve listened to the Bright Sessions podcast， and Rose’s future is just some faraway place she can’t picture anymore。 This book is told in a multimedia style format。 Most of the book is told via Rose’s perspective and her journal。 There are also Tumblr style posts from Emily， Rose’s new girlfriend; Reddit style posts from Aaron， Rose’s brother， in a forum for Atypicals; and letters from a mysterious source who is revealed later。 I really love how the letters connect the story to the Bright Sessions before the author is revealed， and how the dates at the start of Rose’s journal entries establish where in that timeline we are。 The Tumblr posts let us get to know Emily， who is outside this whole Atypical thing and who is a completely wonderful person。 She writes Stucky fanfiction， for one， so I immediately know she is my kind of person。 The writing feels very comfortable and emotional， down to earth yet introspective and exploratory。 With the help of the podcast， and the wonderful voice actors who work on it， I was able to have an even more immersive experience， with their voices in my head whenever the characters spoke。 The relationships are particularly well written。 Rose and her girlfriend have an adorable meet cute and their time together is so warm and wonderful。 Rose has a contentious relationship with her parents， now that she’s discovered her ability。 They don’t understand her dreamdiving and Rose is avoiding them， too， hiding in her dreams to escape the stress of her life。 Her and her brother have a good relationship for the most part， but she resents him for having his own life outside her family during high school， during the time when he discovered his own ability （telepathy）。 They’re only over a year apart in age， so they are quite close， though she also resents him for being Atypical。 Though we only get glimpses of their interactions， because of the format of the story， all these relationships are well represented and described， the love palpable through the words each character writes。 I’ve listened to most of The Bright Sessions， but I haven’t read the first two books in this series。 I was able to understand almost everything with that knowledge， and hope to read the first two books soon so I can have a better understanding of certain events。 I highly recommend familiarity with the podcast before diving into this book， and series。 It kind of makes this book pretty niche， and difficult to get into。 But I would say it’s worth it。 I recommend this book for anyone who likes podcasts， who wants to read more new adult books。 And， yes， I would say this is more new adult; it’s young new adult， but still。 Rose is nineteen， almost twenty， and is out of high school。 She is not pursuing a degree but is， instead， gaining experience in a commercial kitchen so she can save money to go to culinary school and become a chef。 This book just offered a tiny glimpse into her life and I can only imagine what is next for her！ And， god， do I want to know。 Lauren Shippen has this way of making me feel yearning and desire for a positive future。 She gives me hope for change and for a world where things are just so slightly skewed， yet is so similar to our own。Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an early copy of this book！ 。。。more
Semi
，
I have loved TBS for a long time and a friend just recently suggested that I read the books too。 I got them and finished this book so fast。 I adore the characters and their stories and I find Rose to be a very relatable character in many ways so I definitely enjoyed reading and meeting all of the characters I’ve loved for so long。 I think that the book was not too overwhelming with content and you could follow every small and big storyline just perfect。 I recommend diving into the podcast and th I have loved TBS for a long time and a friend just recently suggested that I read the books too。 I got them and finished this book so fast。 I adore the characters and their stories and I find Rose to be a very relatable character in many ways so I definitely enjoyed reading and meeting all of the characters I’ve loved for so long。 I think that the book was not too overwhelming with content and you could follow every small and big storyline just perfect。 I recommend diving into the podcast and the other books as well。 I really hope Lauren Shippen writes more of these characters， because I am definitely not ready to let go。 。。。more
Stephanie Sinclair
，
Anyone who has spoken to me for more than 5 minutes knows how much I love The Bright Sessions - and this book is no exception。 Everything about the book - the closure with some characters， the romance， the reality of the feelings。。。I loved it。 I'm basically guaranteed to love anything TBS because it's my Special Interest but this is truly some incredible writing。 Rose was one of my favourite characters in the podcast， mostly because I too am obsessed with the idea of the Dream World and the way Anyone who has spoken to me for more than 5 minutes knows how much I love The Bright Sessions - and this book is no exception。 Everything about the book - the closure with some characters， the romance， the reality of the feelings。。。I loved it。 I'm basically guaranteed to love anything TBS because it's my Special Interest but this is truly some incredible writing。 Rose was one of my favourite characters in the podcast， mostly because I too am obsessed with the idea of the Dream World and the way she has to cope with so much in her life， and the way it's portrayed is really important。 If I could give this book more stars， I would。 。。。more
Katelyn
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I received an eARC copy of Some Faraway Place from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。Lauren Shippen is a storytelling genius。 The Bright Sessions has been a favorite podcast of mine for years and I’m so glad she brought this vibrant world to the pages of a book。I knew this book was going to be great， but dang， I think this is my new favorite of the three （sorry， Damien）。 I definitely didn’t expect it to make me cry （no spoilers）。 Some Faraway Place is the perfect conclusion to this I received an eARC copy of Some Faraway Place from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。Lauren Shippen is a storytelling genius。 The Bright Sessions has been a favorite podcast of mine for years and I’m so glad she brought this vibrant world to the pages of a book。I knew this book was going to be great， but dang， I think this is my new favorite of the three （sorry， Damien）。 I definitely didn’t expect it to make me cry （no spoilers）。 Some Faraway Place is the perfect conclusion to this podcast。 The book was written mostly as journal entries from Rose （the book is mainly in her POV） with a combination of letters from a mysterious someone （it's revealed later in the book） and reddit-like entries from Aaron， Rose’s brother， that help add depth to the overall plot。 We met Rose originally towards the end of the podcast and getting to have more insight into her character was a blast。 The way Shippen weaves details from the podcast into the book without verbatim giving us episodes is *chef's kiss*。。 We learn way more about Rose's totally Atypical family， her interactions with Emily （her girlfriend）， her relationship with Damien （I fully support that， by the way）， and how she really navigates her dreamdiving （changed from dream walking for the book）。 Rose is so sure of her place within her Atypical family but all that gets knocked on its head when she finds out that she also has an ability: dreamdiving。 Throughout the book we see several characters grappling with who they are and where they fit into their world。 It’s a book of discovery and learning that having an ability isn't always what it's cracked up to be。As someone who has listened， and relistened， to the podcast I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to fans and non-fans alike。 It's a coming-of-age story， a love story， and will leave you on the edge of your seat。 You get answers to questions you have along the way like just what happened to Damien and what is the nature of his’ and Rose’s relationship， do things work out for Rose and Emily， and what is the Atkinson family dynamic really like （especially now that a huge wrench was thrown into the mix）？I was beyond thrilled to find out that we got a lot more Damien in this book。 As much as I loved reading about Rose’s story， her family， and her dreamdiving， Damien has been my favorite character from the beginning （despite thinking he was a little creepy at first）。 Overall， I am so glad this was the story to wrap up the Bright Sessions and give us some closure。 Shippen has such a way with words and storytelling and it’s what drew me in all those years ago。 I will be a lifelong fan of this series and I’m so glad I was able to read an early copy of this book。Rep: sapphic （lesbian and pansexual）， mlm （unspecified）， Jewish， Latinx， mid-size 。。。more
Ahannen
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Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review。 I don't have any major issues with this book。 The author was just interested in a different part of Rose's story than I was。 I was much more interested in Rose's romantic relationship， which is discussed， but the focus is on her relationship with Damien。 There's nothing wrong with that， just not what I was looking for。 My only critique would be that a lot of the book was spent getting Rose to distrust the AM。 Aft Thank you to the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review。 I don't have any major issues with this book。 The author was just interested in a different part of Rose's story than I was。 I was much more interested in Rose's romantic relationship， which is discussed， but the focus is on her relationship with Damien。 There's nothing wrong with that， just not what I was looking for。 My only critique would be that a lot of the book was spent getting Rose to distrust the AM。 After two books and however many podcasts， the audience already knows they're bad news。 I know Rose is just starting this journey， but a lot of time is spent with her having okay experiences at the AM。 I understand the narrative purpose， I just think Lauren Shippen has explored this better in the podcasts。 I know not everyone will have all of that knowledge going into this book， but it really slowed down the plot。 。。。more
Sawn
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I … am… sobbing… I read the infinite noise and a neon darkness and ABSOLUTELY fell in love with the characters and wanted to know more！ So I immediately went to the podcast to get to know them better， guess what？？？？ I FELL IN LOVE EVEN MORE！！ If it was up to me， i would want to read more about these two<333“Dear Damien and Rose， I hope you are happy wherever you are<3”Side note:PLEASE LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOKS/PODCAST CHARLIE IAN IS AMAZING😭
Devon
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Some Faraway Place follows Rose Atkinson， a character that I haven't wanted to know everything about since she appeared in the Bright Sessions podcast， as she learns to balance her life and come into new parts of her identity， namely a newly discovered power to explore other people's dreams。 I will admit that how deeply I enjoyed the podcast influenced how much I enjoyed this book。 I am also not certain how much more context I had for the story line because of the podcast。 In that I am not certa Some Faraway Place follows Rose Atkinson， a character that I haven't wanted to know everything about since she appeared in the Bright Sessions podcast， as she learns to balance her life and come into new parts of her identity， namely a newly discovered power to explore other people's dreams。 I will admit that how deeply I enjoyed the podcast influenced how much I enjoyed this book。 I am also not certain how much more context I had for the story line because of the podcast。 In that I am not certain if the story is harder to follow if you are going in without that information。 Less so for Rose's arc and more so with other characters。 As with her previous projects， Shippen does a phenomenal job navigating the emotional journey of her characters with kindness。 It is not just the way that she presents the characters' trauma but the path she carries those characters through their healing and all the messiness that comes with that。 There are passages of Rose， and others， that are difficult to get through at times because of that process and how Rose approaches her own life。 But each those felt real to me。 This particular book in the series handles the concept of owning your actions and the pain they cause others in a way that hit every way I wanted it to。 For every part of me that recommends this series， and specifically this book for the story telling， it is the way that Shippen approaches emotion and personal growth that makes me recommend her writing again and again。 。。。more
v。
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A good closer to the trilogy。
K
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I don’t understand how this can make me pity and hate someone and pull my hair in frustration at them all at once。 Also。。STOP MAKING ME PITY THE ANGSTY BASTARD BOI。
Julia Pika
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Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge & NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review。 Unfortunately， I was unable to finish this and left off at 20% of the way through。I will admit I didn't do my research and didn't realize this is the third in a series。 It didn't really impact my reading that badly， there isn't a ton of callbacks to earlier books that I could see。I really couldn't get into the writing style at all， it's very dialogue heavy mixed with online forums。 I normally like uniq Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge & NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review。 Unfortunately， I was unable to finish this and left off at 20% of the way through。I will admit I didn't do my research and didn't realize this is the third in a series。 It didn't really impact my reading that badly， there isn't a ton of callbacks to earlier books that I could see。I really couldn't get into the writing style at all， it's very dialogue heavy mixed with online forums。 I normally like unique stuff like that but it felt a bit， eh， immature， I guess？ I know this is YA but other YA books have handled online forums/texting/similar styles better than this book has。 This was definitely not for me though， although the main character getting a major crush on a new girl was really sweet， it wasn't enough to keep me going。 。。。more
Alexx
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Okay， wow wow wow。 I don't even know how to explain this book。 This was a beautiful and heart wrenching story of being human—of getting lost， making mistakes， trying to make a connection with others， of falling in love， dealing with our problems， and more。 I came for some magic， （and there is magic， yes）， but I think what made this book so compelling is the way the author gave me a glimpse of the complexity of reality instead。 I love that。 🤧The writing style is just brilliant。 I absolutely love Okay， wow wow wow。 I don't even know how to explain this book。 This was a beautiful and heart wrenching story of being human—of getting lost， making mistakes， trying to make a connection with others， of falling in love， dealing with our problems， and more。 I came for some magic， （and there is magic， yes）， but I think what made this book so compelling is the way the author gave me a glimpse of the complexity of reality instead。 I love that。 🤧The writing style is just brilliant。 I absolutely love how the author isn't afraid to dive deep into the psyche of the characters， and show the readers how unstable/unreliable the characters are， how lonely they are， what drives them to do things or to cope with the things around them。In a way， I see Some Faraway Place as a character study that's just so heartfelt and complex and raw。 If I shed a few tears reading the last few chapters， well， no one saw it okay 🤧😂 （Also， I adored the queer rep + fat rep！ And the way I got to meet all the previous characters from the past books， too！ I think really missed Caleb and Adam）This series is so underrated and honestly deserves more love。 （Got an a-arc from NetGalley。 This， of course， did not affect my overall opinion of the book。）Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog 。。。more
Martina
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FULL REVIEW HERE。Some Faraway Place is the third book in The Bright Sessions series by Lauren Shippen， a series that I always enjoyed reading。 However， I have sadly to admit that this new book did not live up to my expectations。I always have the same complaint with these books: to me， it seems that they lack something in the end。 They give you a lot but then never enough， and this is something I was almost fine with the first time， even the second， but not the third。 I feel like Some Faraway Pla FULL REVIEW HERE。Some Faraway Place is the third book in The Bright Sessions series by Lauren Shippen， a series that I always enjoyed reading。 However， I have sadly to admit that this new book did not live up to my expectations。I always have the same complaint with these books: to me， it seems that they lack something in the end。 They give you a lot but then never enough， and this is something I was almost fine with the first time， even the second， but not the third。 I feel like Some Faraway Place offers a story a bit weaker than the previous ones， and what makes it a bit more interesting is not even the new protagonist， Rose， but Damien， and only because， in my case， he is a character that I already know quite well。Moreover， these novels are all presented as stand-alones， but in my opinion， to have a more solid introduction to this world inhabited by Atypicals you have to read the first novel， The Infinite Noise。 Also， because in the second book and in this one too， you encounter characters from the first one， but here they are not presented as well as they should be。 And， at the same time， if you’ve read the others， then it’s a bit boring to get their presentations again。 One example is Damien’s story in this new addition。 If you don’t know his story， which was the main topic of A Neon Darkness， then I guess it’s a bit confusing learning about him or even understanding him。 To understand everything fully you have to read all the books。 。。。more
Bethany
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I went in with high hopes but ultimately struggled with Some Faraway Place。 I read the first book in the Bright Sessions series and loved it， but was under the impression they could all be read as standalones。 That isn't really the case because it's clear I'm missing a few things not having read book 2。 But beyond that， this felt like a lot of me WANTING to like the story and appreciating certain elements of it， but never feel it gel together in a satisfying way。 Rose is the only member of her f I went in with high hopes but ultimately struggled with Some Faraway Place。 I read the first book in the Bright Sessions series and loved it， but was under the impression they could all be read as standalones。 That isn't really the case because it's clear I'm missing a few things not having read book 2。 But beyond that， this felt like a lot of me WANTING to like the story and appreciating certain elements of it， but never feel it gel together in a satisfying way。 Rose is the only member of her family without supernatural abilities。 She dreams of becoming a chef and has a new girlfriend she's into。 But then things start to get weird when she develops the ability to enter people's dreams。 One of my issues with this book is there are just too many things going on， none of them feeling as well-handled as they should be。 There's a romance。 There's a fraught brother/sister relationship。 There is grief over a family medical issue。 There's this new ability portrayed in a way that seems to be a commentary on depression and addiction。 But ALSO there's a whole semi-mysterious side plot involving a side character from previous books。 It's a lot and it jumps around。 Like there are whole sections of the book that are doing nothing with the romance， and then we suddenly get back to it。 The pacing is weird and I was left at the end feeling really dissatisfied， wondering what the point of what I just read was。 There are good bits and pieces of ideas， but they never really progress much beyond that。 Which is unfortunate。 I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
kylee
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I did not expect to love this quite as much I do。 Easily my favorite of the trilogy， and such a good send off for the bright sessions universe！！ My heart is happy and sad lol
Trinity Huszar
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I， maybe naively， picked this book up without knowing it was the third in a series， and definitely not realizing it was part of the Bright Sessions Canon。 I knew the bare minimum about the podcast， and I assumed each book in the series was a standalone， so I trooped on， but I think it was worth it， and I think fans of the podcast and other books will really enjoy this。 Despite having no knowledge of the rest of the series and only having seen a handful of things pertaining to the podcast， I felt I， maybe naively， picked this book up without knowing it was the third in a series， and definitely not realizing it was part of the Bright Sessions Canon。 I knew the bare minimum about the podcast， and I assumed each book in the series was a standalone， so I trooped on， but I think it was worth it， and I think fans of the podcast and other books will really enjoy this。 Despite having no knowledge of the rest of the series and only having seen a handful of things pertaining to the podcast， I felt like it was very easy to follow along with Rose， and there wasn't too much Picked This Up And Its Definitely Not The First Book Confusion。 I thought the relationships in Rose's life were probably the most compelling part of this book。 She struggles with being the only one in her family that isn't Atypical。 She's just a regular girl， and it can definitely isolate her from her family。 Anyone who felt like they were the odd man out with their family can definitely relate to her struggles with this， and I really enjoyed this aspect of the book。 Another relationship in Rose's life I feel that people will LOVE is her sweet， poetic， skateboarding， fanfiction writing girlfriend， Emily。 Rose and Emily's relationship had its fair share of page time， and it was nice to see a pair that had felt like a real relationship that people have outside of books。 I liked the references to things that people like me， who are online all the time in fandom spaces， will instantly recognize or relate to， like Aaron's Reddit questions， Emily's Tumblr posts， or her Stucky fan fiction （Don't let her watch Endgame！） And I think it's a nice nod to wear the author and the series got its start。 Rose's situation with her dad could be truly heartbreaking， and it felt very real and authentic in its portrayal。 Rose's dream walking and her journey with that was very interesting。 Meeting Damien about halfway through kind of threw me off， but I just looked up his character and it was almost immediately easy to jump back in again。 I also liked the use of Aaron and Emily's social media posts and how they explained things about Atypicals and the Atkins family situation and how Emily's let us see more into her head about what was going on with Rose。Overall it was an enjoyable book， and I would reccommend it to anyone who wants a soft， sapphic meet-cute， cool superhero-like powers， and fun internet asides （that， realistically， might be outdated in a few years） then I would definitely say read this book （and maybe the two before it as well， lol）Thanks to Lauren Shippen for her work， Netgalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge for the eARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Some Faraway Place
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Some Faraway Place&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Some Faraway Place&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0