Neal Shusterman’s books have almost always had something in them that make me think that this could be a really weird and warped version of the world we live in. He is really good at taking a what if scenario and pushing it to an extreme. All Better Now is the first book in a continuing, yet to be named series, covering another pandemic. Only the after effects of this illness leave you changed forever. If you survive Crown Royale you become Happy.

I’m going to just throw out there that I don’t know that I would have read another book about a pandemic by most authors. I feel a little PTSD anytime someone brings up the last one or the prospect of another. No matter who you are I think it impacted your life in some way and society as a whole in a big ways. But, my experience with the last Pandemic made this book feel all the more plausible and added to the foundations for emotional impact I think is needed for this story to really work for reader to connect to it.

Told from multiple PoVs we follow different characters as some try to share the illness so all can feel what it is like to have things like fear, ambition, hatred and selfishness fall away from them. Others are desperate to thwart the virus that is causing Billionaires to give up their wealth, consumers to stop buying new goods when the old ones are just fine and people who would rather take a bullet than shoot one. We get glimpses into the lives of those who have recovered and how their lives changed. Others that live in isolation and desperation to make sure they never get the virus, afraid of how it could change them.

I was captivated by this story. The characters all have different motivations, everyone thinks they are doing the right thing and most have good intentions. Mariel lost her mother to the virus but never got it herself. She and Rón, a recovery, are traveling across the country trying to find a new purpose in their lives and hide Rón from his father. Rón has a mission and no time to be locked away for his safety. The question is will Rón’s mission drive a wedge between him and the girl he has come to love.

Morgan is everything that the recovered are not. She is conniving, driven, cruel and willing to do just about anything to win. Because of someone’s need to pass on a legacy she is also in control of a large amount of money, companies and a research center. Her goal is to combat the Crown Royale virus, but the cure might we worse than the disease.

***He and Morgan were alike, in a way. Both had powerful, all-consuming agendas. But that was where the similarity ended — because, while Rón was motivated to fix a broken world, Morgan was motivated to take credit for fixing a broken world. A subtle difference, with miles between. ***

I enjoyed this book so much. Because of the multiple PoVs I found that the story moved along fast and it was interesting to see into the minds of all of the major players in the book. Neal Shusterman’s writing is always great with solid one liners and things to make the reader ponder. I look forward to seeing where he takes the story as I think this will be on par with two of my series Unwind and Arc of the Scythe.

***The beauty of disinformation was that the more outlandish it was, them more people would believe it, because it was fed by the public’s own paranoia.***

I was excited to read this one as I’m a huge fan of The Scythe series. The book started off promising, in similar Neal Shusterman fashion there seemed to be a lot of explaining, tons of telling and not actually showing. By 20% of the book there still didn’t seem to be a clear direction and I felt a little lost. The premise was interesting, while seemingly promising it fell short and lost me with the multiple POVs.

Neal Shusterman has a knack for taking simple wishes and turning them into chilling realities. All Better Now is no exception. If you've ever dreamed of being happy all the time, this book will make you rethink that wish because in this world, happiness isn’t just a state of mind; it’s the irreversible side effect of a viral pandemic. Those who survive are left in a permanent state of contentment—no sadness, no anger, no fear. But at what cost?

At the heart of this unsettling premise are two compelling protagonists: Mariel, a young woman barely scraping by while living in a car with her mother, and Tiburon, the privileged son of one of the wealthiest men in the country. Their worlds collide in an unexpected Airbnb arrangement, but fate isn't finished with them yet. As their paths continue to intertwine, they are forced to grapple with the reality of a world forever altered by the virus. Both characters are richly developed, making it easy to root for them even as the story takes unexpected turns.

Then there's Margot—arguably the most intriguing character in the book. Inheriting both a massive fortune and a powerful company from a Dame infected with the virus, she is handed a singular mission: eliminate Crown Royale from existence. But is that truly the right path? As Margot fights for answers, her storyline brings even more complexity to an already thought-provoking tale.

Shusterman masterfully balances fast-paced storytelling with deep thematic exploration. He doesn’t just present a fascinating concept. He dissects it from every angle, considering its ethical, emotional, and societal implications. Just when you think you’ve figured things out, he delivers another twist that keeps you questioning everything.

With a satisfying conclusion and thought-provoking themes, All Better Now is a gripping read that lingers long after the final page. If you love speculative fiction that challenges the way you see the world, this book is absolutely worth your time.

This was a thoughtful, deep story about navigating a pandemic from various angles. The catch is that if you survive this new pandemic, Crown Royale, you find contentment. The story makes readers think deeply about true happiness, as well as the hardships of life and whether or not eradicating those would be beneficial. Told following multiple characters, from the richest people on earth, to those living in poverty, to those working toward (or against) finding a cure for various reasons, every angle and every character is compelling in their own way.

Obviously, there were many parallels to what the world went through with COVID-19, and I would say this book contains a trigger warning because there are characters lost to the pandemic.

I have followed this author since I was much younger, and I still enjoy how he can write about current societal issues in such a relatable way.

The pacing was great and the characters were diverse. This story kept my interest all the way through.

There is no better person to make you feel the dread with every word and yet devour each page word for word.

Very over drawn out. I do not recommend this book because of that. The story itself would have been good, In theory. I love the concept this book really had a good chance had it not been drawn out.

A book can be good even if you don't like it, and I didn't like this one. The reading experience was not enjoyable. I have left the era of my life where I loved Shusterman's writing style. I didn't connect with any of the characters. But despite all this, I couldn't stop reading and now I can't stop thinking. It's insane how Shusterman has been able to raise timely issues over and over again without pushing his ideology (I saw some reviews complaining about how he seems to endorse taking off masks and purposely spreading a virus; I think that's completely missing the point). I didn't know this was the beginning of a series when I picked it up, and I was pretty mad about the lack of ending, so I'll certainly pre-order the sequel when it becomes available.

Shusterman’s writing will never cease to amazing me.

For starters, he has this fantastic ability to write about the most controversial topics (like a pandemic that leaves you so happy it makes you eschew capitalism, thus eventually toppling the world economy and the extremely rich.) but never actually taking a side either way.

Ron and Mariel set off to infect the world, topple greed and selfishness, because people who recover are neither. But the question of choice comes up real fast. By spreading the disease, you’re taking away people’s autonomy and choice.

Shusterman creates a complex story of greed and forgiveness and love and family and fear and every other emotion you could think and balances them on the edge of a knife. He weaves complex stories with profound ethical questions that he never gives you an answer to. And I love it. I’ve always loved it. I continue to love it.

The biggest downfall of this book is pacing. It starts of SLOW and it isn’t until about the last third that things really start to ramp up until the ending leaves you is a puddle of anxiety (but in the best way.)

I can’t wait to see where he takes this and how the subsequent books pan out.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the early copy of All Better Now. Below is my honest review.

Every time I pick up a Neal Shusterman novel and tear through it, my first thought is "why haven't I gone back and finished reading his entire catalogue yet?" This one was no exception.

It was a lot of fun (for us, the readers, at least) and had a lot to say in the way of social commentary regarding public health, and also carried an interesting message about how we've allowed pure unfettered capitalism to use negativity and hate and pessimism to drive us to a consume consume consume mindset.

Definitely recommended for Shusterman fans and YA readers.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC.

This was WILD. I'm not a huge dystopian lit fan or a fan of pandemic books, as we're living in both a dystopian nightmare and the remnants of a pandemic now, but the premise of this book sounded so interesting that I was deeply curious and gave it a chance. No regrets because what I found was a deeply interesting and weird book that kept me reading for several days until I made my way through to the end. It has a serious Chuck Palahniuk vibe, while also clearly being for a YA audience.

The characters are complex and you hate and love each one at some point. The story is well written in that you can understand what each character is vying for, their perspectives seem reasonable at some point in time, and that's a tough thing to do in this particular narrative.

I'm really excited to get this on my library's shelves because I know it will be become something kids will absolutely want to read.

"All Better Now" is a dystopian novel written not too far in the future. It makes it more real to the reader because of this. This was a very interesting deep-dive into the politics of a pandemic. This includes the divide between those with power and those without, and those who are wealthy and those who are not. The book also brings to mind philosophical questions of happiness, pain, and greed. It makes you ask if you are ever really happy if you don't know pain and sadness. This is a very thought provoking piece of literature, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction, learning about the world order, and thought provoking questions about basic aspects of human life.

So this is a well written book even though it is definitely bleak. Shusterman does a great job of considering what would happen if there was another pandemic but one that had interesting side effects. The story is well thought out. I appreciated the dualing perspectives and insights.

I love the idea of this book, however I wish it had been shorter. It felt very drawn out but I also don’t like literary fiction generally. Still didn’t put it down though and the idea itself was intriguing and easily reflects today’s world. It also leaves you wondering what you would do.

Before goods and bads, this was my first Neal Shusterman book. I have wanted to read him FOREVER and I was not disappointed. The only shock to me was that this was a series, but that's definitely on me LOL. This is a series. It ends on a cliffhanger, as series usually do. I was shocked so I hope you are not.

The goods:
- Ron, Mariel, and Morgan are extremely unique characters and I think each perspective was necessary.
- Dame Havilland, is someone I can't wait to see in the next book. Her character definitely brings a new thought process to how Crown Royale affects people.
- This was extremely creative and definitely had me questioning what I would do wth Crown Royale.
- I could not guess what would happen next and I really liked seeing all the puzzle pieces fall together, and see which clues are placed for the next books..

The loss of a star:
- The writing style I was not used to and it took me a while sometimes to see who's perspective we were in. Also the random perspectives of people we'd shortly see again later, while clever, did confuse me until I realized what was going on.

Overall, if you're looking for a Dystopian/Sci-Fi book, this should definitely be your next one.

All Better Now follows various characters in a pandemic ridden world, where those who recover from the virus are always happy and content in their lives. There is no more sadness and depression, which leaves people to question if this virus is really a bad thing after all.

I went into this with high expectations - as a huge fan of Neal Shusterman's other works I loved the premise of this book and was excited to dive in. I liked that this book made me really think about the different perspectives around the virus. Is this something that should be spread around to help relive those of their sadness, or will life-long happiness be a bad thing for society? It was really eye opening to see it through the different characters eyes.

Outside of that, I was unfortunately let down by the pacing of this book. I felt like at times it was moving quite slowly, which made it difficult for me to stay immersed. I also never felt a strong connection to any of the characters which definitely caused my attention to waver from the story. I wish there was more of an urgency / higher stakes so I would've felt more of that "I can't put this book down" feeling I've had with his other works.

Overall this was definitely an interesting read, which makes the reader really think about what this world would be like. It just fell a bit flat on pacing for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was disappointing for me because I have enjoyed other books from this author. The premise was interesting, a virus that causes people to become content with their life, but the overall execution fell flat. I found no interest in any of the main characters we followed. It felt like the plot was all over the place and I couldn’t figure out where the story was heading. The story overall just didn’t hold my attention. Anytime I put this down I had no desire to pick it back up. I will try more from this author but this one just didn’t work for me.

Even though there are some things I don’t like about this book, it’s hard to give less than 4 stars to anything written by Shusterman. Without question he’s a standout in YA literature.

This book is basically a nod to the Covid pandemic. Covid is done with, but a new virus has hit the wind currents, and the public response is almost identical. Masking. Social distancing. Shutting down businesses. The difference with this virus is that recoverees are left feeling euphoric about life, more kind and less depressed. So the question becomes: If you knew what you could have on the other side of the disease, would you intentionally risk death (5% chance), to get it?

Mariel’s mother has lost the gamble. Ron has won. When Mariel and Ron’s lives intersect at a commune for the hospital overflow patients, Mariel decides she wants to take the chance. It’s a no-go since she has natural immunity and can’t catch it. Ron is the opposite. He’s a super spreader, continuing to shred the virus despite no longer having symptoms.

Meanwhile, Ron’s millionaire dad, desperately wants to avoid getting the disease and will fund any lab willing to develop a vaccine. British heiress Dame Havilland is also in the vaccine camp, leaving her entire fortune in the hands of a ruthless college student, Monica Willmon-Wu, to carry on her legacy, fully expecting to die after she contracts the disease.

The story kicks into high gear as Dame Havilland survives, Monica pushes her self interest to the limits to develop a “vaccine,” Ron and Mariel run from his father on a cross country escapade, and Ron pursues his own mission to spread the disease. The complete story is told from the coalescing of these alternating perspectives.

It’s mostly well done, but there are a few negatives. 500 pages is a slog for high school kids. A boy’s fan crush on Ron is cringey. And last, Shusterman struggles a bit with the incongruence of recoverees being kind-hearted and yet wanting to inflict their will on others.

Dame Havilland’s recovered personality, in particular, is not convincing, as much of her old selfish will remains intact. Maybe Shusterman’s point is to show that there is no way to achieve a perfectly happy society, and that there is no way to completely let go of selfish will. There’s much to ponder in this book. It’s a sophisticated read. At times I felt like I was reading a book written for adults.

Unfortunately, lame ending. Not the least bit realistic. Definitely points to a sequel.

I love Neal Shusterman’s books. He has a unique ability to think out of the box in the most delightful ways. This book was a wild ride that makes you think about life. Great for book clubs. All Better Now deserves a debate. It was a great read.

I received an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. This is the first book I have read by this author and I was immediately drawn to it when I first read the synopsis and knew that it would be a great book. I love the concept of this dystopian story, which takes place post covid. A new virus emerges, which is slightly more fatal than covid, but leaves survivors in a state of bliss. Those who survive have a different look in their eyes. They see the world differently, are more generous, and are free of emotional pain such as depression. This story is from the point of view of several different characters. This was a fairly lengthy book, but it kept me interested. I can't wait to see if there will be a sequel. I look forward to exploring more books by this author now that I have found him!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the digital advance reader copy.

Shusterman has the gift of turning real-world ethical questions into page-turning teen thrillers, and this one is another.

A new pandemic has hit the world: Crown Royale. It's deadlier than COVID, but if you survive and recover, you are transformed into someone who now prioritizes empathy, kindness, and connectedness. You will put yourself into danger to save someone else. Material possessions no longer matter unless they can be used to help others. It's an evolution into a better humanity.

Or is it? Not everyone is convinced. This new unselfish rule of order will undermine the global economy and end wars and topple authoritarian governments that care more about power than people.

Into this come Ron, Mariel, and Morgan, who are not only on the cusp of adulthood, but are at the center of this global upheaval. Each of them believes that they can fix what's wrong with the world. But are they right?

This book is fast-paced, and it does rely heavily on coincidence and characters who have access to money and power in some way. However, the ethical questions it raises are fascinating, and the plot moves fast. It'd be a great book for discussion with teens or adults - How would society change, if empathy was truly prioritized? If the disease makes society better, should people be given a choice in contracting the disease or not? How many deaths are worth making society better? Good food for thought.

For those like me who prefer a stand-alone, please be aware that this is the start of a series. I'm not sure how many books, but this one definitely doesn't wrap up all the loose ends, and it sets up for a sequel.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book.

*language, sexual references