Fans of Shusterman’s Scythe trilogy (among his numerous other hits) are going to devour his newest, All Better Now. In a post-Covid world, there’s a new pandemic, but instead of leaving the infected with a lingering cough or weakened immune system, this virus leaves them feeling happy in ways they never imagined. They do everything for the benefit of the greater good, but if that seems too good to be true, it’s because it is. Three teenagers get wrapped up in major ways as the world grapples with competing agendas, conflicted societies, and moral dilemmas. This is a fast-paced thriller featuring various perspectives, and in true Shusterman-fashion, ties things up while leaving us eager for the next installment.

Shusterman is an author that I can always guarantee is a win with teen readers. As a classroom teacher, he was always an easy recommendation. His catalog of books keeps kids hooked, but also inspires them to dig into the information that informs the fiction. This book is no different. He writes teen characters that we root for and admire; he paints a dystopian society that felt too close and too real at times, and he left me thinking about the plot, the characters, and what’s next for days.

Took me a few days to finish All better now, thank you to the publisher & Neal Shushterman for the ARC of this. I loved it, I couldn’t imagine a virus like this. Or which virus I’d rather have. To be happy forever? If I don’t die first… I want to say sign me up. Sometimes though, you have days where you need to be sad. Another great by Neal Shusterman.

I've been reading Neal Shusterman's work for well over a decade now, and this was my ~10th book of his. While it had many of the elements that I enjoy about Shusterman's writing, I must admit this was probably my least favorite of his books.

What worked well:
- The premise of this book was super intriguing. In general, appreciate the way that Shusterman creates these dystopian worlds based on interesting philosophical and ethical dilemmas. In this case he explores the question: How would people react when faced with a rampant virus that leaves recoverees feeling only joy and gratitude (thus creating a pandemic of happiness)? The way the author approaches these philosophical topics through the eyes of his characters is always captivating, and for All Better Now I was hooked pretty early on.

What didn't work for me:
- Unfortunately, the initial premise was just about the only thing I enjoyed. The book felt so underdeveloped (especially for being over 500 pages long). The characters didn't grow; the plot didn't progress; and the romantic relationship was so forced, the only way I knew they were in a romantic relationship was because Shusterman kept telling us the characters had never loved anyone else so much.
- Above all else, I found some of the writing to be cringeworthy (at best). At one point the straight protagonist kisses a queer character (with a crush on him) out of pity. Shusterman also wrote phrases like: "[She was] irked to be mansplained by a woman" or, "She was Brown, but not Latina. Her accent pointed to India."

After sticking it out and completing all 500 pages, the book ended on a cliffhanger that left me feeling ultimately unfulfilled and frustrated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy.

This may be my favorite Shusterman yet. I think it is perfectly timed. Young people are starting to begin to process the pandemic. I love how the protagonists are also the antagonists. I will definitely be using this book in my young adult literature and writing courses.

This was so interesting and quite a scary concept of a world we could live in. I don't know how I'd like this world. The characters were all so different and fleshed out and I like how none of them were really perfect, good people. They all were in that Grey area. Especially Morgan, she was an interesting character, while on the other hand, Ron was getting on my nerves.

I read the Scythe series and enjoyed the premise of it, but not necessarily the writing (dry and slow for me for parts of the books, but not the whole series). This one is much better! I was into the book the entire time, and the writing was very easy to read.

The plot is interesting and actually made me think about how things would pan out if the virus succeeded. It’s honestly an intriguing idea, and realizing that being eternally content and willing to help others may not be a good thing is a bit of a wake up call to me. The characters are interesting enough, and I like the little backstories and side characters we get to know while reading. It’s also a wonderful addition to see into the minds of each side of the virus.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, and the ending is diabolical. If this isn’t a series, the ending is very thought provoking. 4.25⭐️

All Better Now is a fresh look at the question of what emotions are allowed and acceptable, and what happens if people simply can't feel 'bad' emotions. It wrestles with the real questions and posits convincingly the dangers and losses of unbounded optimism. Neal Shusterman's story is compelling with well drawn deep characters that are worth spending time with.

I wasn't sure I was read for a post-covid pandemic book, but the premise of a virus that makes you happy in a YA novel? I decided to give it a spin. Glad I did.

A new virus with a slightly higher death rate than covid, but if you recover, you become very Zen about everything - relaxed, happy, calm. Sounds great right? Well, when the uber wealthy recover, they give away all their money and give up their power. If you have yet to be infected, this appears to be a horrible outcome! And what about the economy if everyone is content with what they already have? This could spell disaster for the planet! But we are early on in the new pandemic and it may go one way or the other, and there is a fight on to influence the outcome. A few recoverees want to spread the virus so that others can feel their new-found inner peace. Influential non-infected people want to stop the spread ASAP and are researching a vaccine solution. And these two groups are actively working against each other, trying to foil each other's plans. Where will this end? Read the book and find out.

Neal Shusterman's All Better Now, publishing on February 4, 2025, is an intriguing take on a pandemic thriller. Here the virus has a long-term side effect of leaving the infected feeling content. On it's face, the concept of no longer feeling things like fear, anger, disappointment, etc. sounds appealing, but the situations the characters are faced with soon bring forth questions about moral and ethical dilemmas, disruptions to political and economic structures and so on. This was a fun and wild ride.

For me, the pacing felt off. There were sections that felt too slow to me where I found myself resisting the urge to skim through to get to the next part. Other than those spots where I felt it slowed down a bit too much, I thought this was a really enjoyable, thought-provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Neal Shusterman's books have been at the top of my list of recommendations for independent reading for my middle school students for years, and I was excited to read his latest novel. The concept of a virus which has the long-term effect of making people more uplifted is unique and and the book elicits fantastic ethical and moral questions about life. Overall, I felt the book was a little slower-paced that previous books by the author and some scenes and conversations between characters could have been eliminated to speed it up. However, there were enough action scenes to keep me intrigued, and the ending has a great setup for a sequel. I would recommend this more for independent reading for high school-aged students than my student population as some topics such as suicide may be challenging to read about without the guidance of an adult. If I could, I would give this 4.5 stars as I did enjoy it very much.

Since reading Scythe, I’ve been a big fan of Neal Shusterman, and his take on a pandemic story doesn’t disappoint. In this book, a virus has a bizarre long-term side effect—it makes people content. The idea of a world without dissatisfaction raises fascinating social questions: would the peace it brings be worth disrupting the economy and society as we know it? The characters are torn, with some wanting to eliminate the virus and others believing it’s exactly what the world needs. While I didn’t love it as much as the Scythe series, it’s still a thought-provoking and very good, 4.5 Star, read.

Neal Shusterman’s “All Better Now” is a wild ride as society is gripped by another pandemic. This virus is deadly, but survivors are left with a deep sense of peace and contentment. Daily irritations no longer bother them and negative impulses no longer govern them. Powerful people see this as a threat to society and will do whatever it takes to stop a kinder, gentler world from taking hold. Three teens end up at the center of the fight, but which will they choose? Let the virus play out or eradicate it as quickly as possible?

Schusterman gives the reader a lot to think about. What would happen to society if suddenly people were no longer interested in conflict and no longer experienced the daily frustrations of life? What if the richest people in the world decided to throw their money behind a cure…no matter the cost in money or damaged human lives? What if you were given a directive and ample funds to carry it out, but the directive is ultimately morally gray? Would you carry it out? What makes an action heroic?

Overall, this is an entertaining and thought-provoking story. It was hard to put down because you know there is more action right around the corner. There is room for a sequel and I would be interested to know what comes next.

Classroom considerations: “All Better Now’s” accessibility makes it great for small classes that might discuss morality, ethics, or what makes society function. There are variations on the Trolley Problem and discussion on what makes an action moral (or not).

This book is great for teens and adults who enjoy thrillers.

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A good thriller following a formula Shusterman uses in his Scythe and Unwind series. In this book, a global pandemic leaves its survivors content and altruistic. Wealthy individuals want to find a way to stop the virus before it leads to economic and social upheaval. Three teenagers find themselves in the middle of this dilemma: one convinced the virus paves the way to a better future for humanity, one who will stop at nothing to put an end to the virus, and one who values human agency and choice. Who is right? While I appreciate the ethical dilemma the book poses, I have to wonder if there’s a missed opportunity to explore the importance of both positive and negative emotions - that too much of one or the other can be problematic.

A virus has been spreading. And whoever's been infected gets the worst fever. Unfortunately, some have perished. However, some of them gets better and they experience contentment like any other. The type of contentment that people give up their homes and riches, and experiencing bliss and happiness like never before. So now, some wants everyone to be infected, but some feels like this phenomena is comparable to body snatching and would never want to get sick.

I read a Neal Shusterman book before, but I haven't read a lot of them. And this book feel as though I actually experienced Neal Shusterman's writing. He really knows his audience. He knows that his readers are so into the book, that there's stuff that will be missed. So what he does is he'll actually explain the metaphors he puts in there. It was so amazing to see.

Anyway.the book itself is familiar to what the world has experienced. But this takes it up a notch. It was interesting how the author presented full contentment and how it affects society. For a bit there, it felt as though the author was explaining what heaven is like whenever healed people explain the feeling of contentment. It was truly interesting.

It's crazy having to read multiple POVs because the reader gets to see the degree of how this virus affects all the people. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's no holes because you get to read everything. The writing is just genius.

This book was full of twists. It was one thing after another after another. It was totally entertaining and there's even points where you'll ask yourself what would you do if you were in that situation. Very interesting and very twisted for sure. This was definitely a good real.

* I received an eARC of this book

This book was pretty fascinating to read post-pandemic. It was a bit mature for my 5th and 6th graders, but perfect for upper middle school. It really made me think and made me think of the influence of people in power.

Thank you for the eARC!! Neal Shusterman has done it again!

All Better Now takes place in a post-Covid world that is once again ravaged by a pandemic— only this time, the virus makes you happy.

The way Neal Shusterman is able to build a world and cast of characters is incredible to me. Each character has motives to fulfill their own needs and are given incredible challenges to overcome. He is also able to lightly examine the way our society works and how misinformation can spread without being heavy-handed or overly political.

This novel is a MUST read.

Shusterman takes this wild premise to it's logical conclusion, exploring the lengths people would go to to keep or change the status quo. No one comes out with clean hands, which makes the story feel more realistic. A little too long for my tastes but overall a good read.

I was hooked by the layers of moral implications in All Better Now by Neal Shusterman. He is the modern-day dystopian author that is favored by many of my middle school students. The premise of a second pandemic will ring true to readers that lived through the first. His characters are diverse, and their struggles and conundrums bring them to life. The idea that a virus could bring contentment to all infected brings into question the ideal of happiness and how much faith is put into that concept. So hard to decide... Would you want to be infected or not? Read this to help you decide!

I thought All Better Now was propulsive and thought-provoking, if a bit long. I think what sets this book apart is that there is not a clear delineation between the right and wrong sides. Two of the main characters represent polar extremes and a third represents the moderate center / voice of reason (it felt very apropos of our current U.S. politics). I especially enjoyed the “elsewhere” chapters that occasionally fed back into the main story, and the ending perfectly set this book up for a sequel. But the nature of the virus and some of the more outlandish plot points required too great a suspension of a disbelief for me to fully enjoy this story.

A classic case of “what would you do?” When faced with the idea of a contagion that you either believe changes who you are completely or just takes away your worries and your fears, what would you choose? Contract the virus and live a life of nonstop contentment or fight for your right to choose? Or live it fear of all choices?

The concept of this book was definitely interesting. A story that is a dramatized play on how we were effect by COVID and how extreme the 2 sides of beliefs could be. It had you thinking constantly what your belief would be in that situation. It also had me teetering the whole time. Parts of it felt like the meaning of the story was just going right over my head but in the end I think I got it. There really is no right choice.

Morgan was irritating the whole time. The fact that she was just a teenager both blew my mind and just made sense with how she thought she knew everything. Mariel and Rón were great and perfect for each other. I actually loved Dame Havilland 😅 I felt for Blas and his undying love for his son. The end of this book kinda felt like nothing was actually resolved. No one won, no one really lost. I guess that may have been the point though?

Overall, not a bad read but definitely takes more brain power to get through that I was expecting. You actually have to pay attention the whole time or you’ll be lost from one chapter to the next.