If you're as hooked on the Scythe series as I am, you’ll understand my excitement at diving into any new Neal Shusterman sci-fi release! This time, we’re thrust into a world gripped by a unique pandemic, fittingly named after an alcohol brand, “Crown Royale.” The virus gifts its hosts an intoxicating state of bliss, offering clarity and euphoria that seem almost utopian—until it begins to threaten the fragile systems built on ambition, power, and human imperfection.

At the heart of this pandemic are four compelling characters whose lives intersect in unexpected ways to shape humanity’s future. Ron Escobedo, son of one of the world’s wealthiest men, battles clinical depression and the scars of multiple suicide attempts. His unlikely counterpart is Mariel Murdoch, a resilient, immune young woman living in a car with her mother, whose life tangles with Ron’s when she saves him from a fateful decision at the pier. Meanwhile, Margot Willmon-Wu, a ruthlessly ambitious 19-year-old, inherits the empire of her eccentric mentor, Dame Glynis Havilland. Margot’s goal? Exploit the pandemic to create a vaccine for profit and dominance. But Glynis, now humbled and transformed after surviving the virus, regrets her choice to empower Margot, fearing her protégé’s unchecked greed and manipulation.

As Ron, inspired by a former window cleaner turned community leader, embarks on a mission to spread the virus for humanity’s collective benefit, he enlists Mariel’s help, unaware that her immunity may complicate his plans. Meanwhile, Margot begins her morally dubious experiments in a secret lab funded by Ron’s oblivious father. With competing visions for humanity’s future, the stakes couldn’t be higher. What if the cure for this happiness-inducing virus is something far more devastating? Could erasing ambition and anger truly lead to balance, or would a world devoid of its dark edges spiral into chaos?

This thought-provoking novel raises existential questions: Is unfiltered happiness a gift or a curse? Does erasing humanity’s darker impulses destroy its essence? And what, if anything, should counterbalance this blissful contagion—depression, despair, or something even darker?

Overall, this is a brilliantly executed sci-fi story with a unique premise, engaging pacing, and rich characterization. Dame Glynis is a standout, her arc fascinating both before and after her transformation. And Margot—undeniably a cunning, merciless villain—adds layers of intrigue and tension, elevating the plot into a riveting, unpredictable ride. While the beginning starts off slow, patience is rewarded as the narrative builds into a captivating exploration of morality, power, and human nature.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing me with this remarkable dystopian tale in exchange for my honest thoughts!

3.5 stars

Shusterman nails the dystopian world again. This particular book felt a bit drawn out for me. Around 20-30% I lost interest a little, but it did pick back up.
It felt somewhat predictable if you've read him before, but you’ll find that to be common with most authors. Overall, it was a good read.

I’ve been waiting to see what the post pandemic YA literature will have to say about the pandemic, Shusterman adds to the conversation with this book, which has a lot to say about humanity, viruses, and the best and worst of us, this one doesn’t shy away from big conversations and ideas. However, I don’t like the characters as much as I do in other books by this author, I have to say I like the first book of Scythe even more, and so do students, since I’ve bought ten copies of it over the years. However, thoughtful readers and sci-fi fans will enjoy this one, too. The info about viruses, places like the seed vault, and implications of human medical experiments would all be great writing/research topics for the classroom as well.

All Better Now centers on a society where survivors of a recent pandemic are left as content, unselfish, and happy. Following three characters and how they approach this new pandemic, All Better Now gives a complex story about survival, mental health, and sacrifice. Especially coming after the COVID pandemic (which is referred to throughout the book), I think that this would make a great choice for book club discussions.

Pandemic fiction at its best. Imagine being infected with lasting contentment… but course there are forces trying to destroy the good feeling. This YA book is definitely recommended for adult readers, also. Once you start reading, you will want to finish it in one sitting .

"All Better Now" is a YA novel by Neal Shusterman. In the near present day, there is another pandemic. The illness is called Crown Royale, and those that get it mostly survive (1 in 25 people die) and those that do survive seem to end up in a permanent state of contentment and often give up their worldly goods to help others. Some people claim that this is a hoax and are trying to stamp out the virus, while others think that CR is amazing and everyone should be infected. We follow three different teens as they face the CR pandemic and make up their own minds about it. The story setting is believable, especially having gone through a recent pandemic and most of the characters are realistic. A must-buy purchase for YA collections, especially where Shusterman is popular.

I could not get into the book at all. The premise sounded wonderful, but I stopped reading about 30% in. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book.

I thought this story had an interesting start. However, I lost interest starting at around 20%. I was hoping the story would peak my interest again, but it ultimately did not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Shusterman's books always have such an amazing premise!
All Better Now takes place in what could be today's world. A few years after the COVID pandemic, a new virus is spreading. When people recover from this illness, they have a new outlook on life- selfless, optimistic, never angry or sad.
Through the lens of several characters, you're faced with the questions: Would this attitude make a better world? Without the dark, is the light less valuable? What happens if no one puts themselves first?

This was a deep, thought provoking book.
I recommend for both YA and adult readers!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster publishing and Netgalley for an early copy for review.

Neal comes up with such unique, thought-provoking concepts for books. If you liked the Scythe series, you’ll like this book.

I didn’t realize it was the start of a series (i believe, after reading other reviews) and thought it was a standalone, but either way, the ending leaves things up for speculation — which i assume will be wrapped up if there are other books.

Based in a world that is similar to the current 2024 world, there’s a new pandemic. This pandemic kills 4% of the population, but for the rest of the population, when they recover, they are in a happier state of mind. Those recovered find new purpose in life, are selfless, and are never angry or sad — they’ll always find the glass half full.

Sounds like it could actually be good for the world — but capitalism persists, and groups are working to spread disinformation and create a cure to stop this. Because without other emotions, the economy could collapse.

Overall, it’s thought provoking and interesting to dwell on. I kept finding myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading and wanted to know what was going to happen. I cared less about the characters and more about the general world.

It follows three people’s journeys through this pandemic. They’re all super interesting and bold personalities, and good choices to follow, which I feel like was hard to get right when you moreso care about the virus, rather than individuals. They all contribute to the overall plot and their stories are part of a larger story.

The weirdest part to me was that Iowa was mentioned. And not just Iowa, but Des Moines and then my hometown, Davenport, and some of the plot takes place in Davenport. Neal, why do you know so much about Iowa??

Would recommend! I’m just disappointed I didn’t know it was a series. Give me the next book now (please).

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

An amazing start to a series (so be prepared for a cliffhanger). A disease is spreading that is changing the very fabric of who you are. I loved getting to see both sides of the coin in this one, those who saw it as a change for the better and those who wanted desperately for it to stop.
Although coined as young adult, this definitely will appeal to all those who love a good dystopian/disease novel. It doesn't feel young, although the main characters that we follow throughout the story are.
And the pacing is superb. There is a lot of world and characters to build up, but it never felt like a drag to me. In fact, I finished the 528 pages in three days!

In my reviews I often say a book is “YA for YA,” meaning a book is OK young adult lit for a young adult audience. This is to contrast it with those rare books like this that elevate the genre and cross over into being “YA for everyone” because they are so well done. This 4 star read is one of those books. Good show.

A new pandemic is spreading, but those who survive have long-term….contentment? All their negative feelings, stress and depression are gone. Oh, I want some of that.

And you would think it would be great, but, of course, we can’t have nice things, plus it’s sometimes fatal, plus the power people who rely on people’s dissatisfaction to sell their products just aren’t having it. Those people/entities start campaigns to convince people that happiness is dangerous so the race to find a cure begins, because we, my friends, are complete and absolute morons as evidenced by….well, you know what. Anyway, another group of the population rejects this and wants the virus to spread as quickly as possible.

Three older teenagers, Mariel Mudroch, who is homeless, Ron Escobedo, son of the world’s third richest man and Morgan Willmon, who takes over a fortunes from a misanthrope who instructs her to eradicate the virus have their lives changed in very different ways as they become caught up in this mad new world.

What a wonderful, deep story. So enjoyed how thoughtful this was. This is how you do smart, relevant YA.

This is Shusterman doing what he does best! The way he intertwines dystopia and utopia is such a treat!

A few years after the COVID epidemic, a new pandemic has arrived called Crown Royale. If you manage to survive the disease, you come out of it a changed person where you see life much differently--you no longer view the world in a negative fashion and are filled with joy, peace, and happiness. At first, this seems like a wonderful side effect, but when the economy starts tanking because people aren't spending money because they are busy just enjoying life, the people who haven't had the disease have a new enemy: the happy-go-lucky Crown Royale survivors.
There is a plethora of characters and storylines: Ron and Mariel, who are traveling around the country spreading Crown Royale, Dame Havilland, (my favorite character), who survived, but gave her money away to Morgan, who is trying to eradicate the disease, and nothing is going to stop her from doing this.
Right when I feel like I keep reading the same basic book over and over, Shusterman publishes this book, which is unique, funny, and thought-provoking. With the multiple storylines and characters, I would recommend for 8th grade and above, so it will be fabulous to hand this to my students who finish the Arc of the Scythe series and want more Shusterman. I will definitely purchase a copy for my middle school library.

This is the preorder book for 2025! 📚❤️

I cannot stop talking about this book.

Set in a not-so-distant future, a new virus, Crowne Royale, sweeps the world, and those who survive it suddenly find themselves… content. No more worry—just a deep sense of purpose, of love, of wanting to serve others.

But truly, feeling that way cannot be good for the world, right? After all, who will buy all the things? Who will ignore the problems of the world? Who can be exploited if what used to matter simply doesn’t anymore?

If you loved Scythe, if you love dystopian fiction, if you love fantastic world-building, fleshed-out characters, and multi-perspective narratives… If you love a great story, then this is the book to order.

Coming out in February of 2025, I cannot wait for all of you to rave about this book as much as I am.

So grateful for my access to it through @netgalley—fantastic YA. This post is not paid for, I accessed the book like any other educator can 😊

Neal Shusterman has compelling ideas for books that hook me in, and I generally recommend his books to a variety of audiences, including for classrooms and whole class discussions. Despite my positive bias, I did not feel as bought into this story, and I found the characters forgettable. With underdeveloped characters I would push for a format closer to Adam Silvera's The First to Die at the End, where offering episodic glimpses of different storylines is more acceptable and intriguing. The book felt long and as though it could have been faster-paced. I will still recommend this for purchase by libraries and reading, but I do not see myself encouraging teachers to add it as a book club option.

A virus that, once recovered, leaves its survivors feeling content and always seeing the sunny side sounds like heaven on Earth but not everyone sees it that way. Shusterman’s book revolves around a wealthy and vindictive businesswoman, the successor to her power and money, the 3rd richest man in the world and his young heir-apparent and a stubborn, homeless teen girl and their reaction to the new pandemic and its effects. The storylines begin separately and then begin to intertwine as Shusterman weaves a thought-provoking read for 7th grade through adult. Filled with the science of viruses and vaccines, economics, a touch of romance, manipulation, revenge and efforts to reconcile with a new way to look at the world, all readers will find something that sticks with them with every page turned.

While not as riveting as Shusterman’s Arc of the Scythe series, standalone Roxy and Dry, All Better Now will appeal to fans of the authors work and likely attract a few new ones. Establishing the characters and setting the stage for power grabs and creation of a vaccine with far-reaching consequences takes a little more time than usual for Neal Shusterman, but as the course of the main character’s lives change and intertwine, the excitement builds to a crescendo, ending with a twist that will surprise but, at the same time, feel absolutely correct.

When considering All Better Now for junior high readers, librarians will need to consider that there is some mild profanity, no F-bombs or God’s name used. Small references are made to Dame Glynis’ companion being her “sex butler” and her successor being repulsed at the thought of “old people sex.” It is somewhat implied but never directly stated that teenaged Ron and Mariel have sex and in an off-hand and absolutely discreet way, it is known that Morgan begins (and ends) a sexual relationship with her assistant.

Representation: Ron and his wealthy father Blas Escobedo are Hispanic, key figure in new community-building for virus recoverees is Black, important player in Ron and Mariel’s flight from capture is gay and has had a fan-boy crush on Ron before meeting him, Morgan is mixed race Chinese-Anglo, Mariel is Caucasian.

All Better Now is your classic Shusterman dystopian tale. It has the same feel and rhythm of his previous series: Scythe and Unwind, which is almost a detriment because the story was predictable having known Shusterman’s style. There definitely are the usual uncomfortable, thought-provoking scenes Shusterman does well, like the spread of the virus (with that Covid like feel). Overall, this story falls short. It is almost as if the story was too long and drawn out. It took me longer to read; whereas, I’m usually glued to every Shusterman word. While teens can relate to surviving a pandemic, I think they will struggle connecting with the characters. A bit more development would engage the reader and make the characters stand alone.

A very interesting premise. A pandemic that brings unbridled happiness? What could go wrong? This book was a great set up for the series and established the landscape well. The questions posed are very intriguing and morally ambiguous. Will be interested to see where the story goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Shuster Children’s Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Neal Shusterman book and I absolutely loved it. This book has a slow start but once it picks up you won’t be able to put it down. The world in which Shusterman built is unique. I definitely recommend for anyone looking for a gripping ya thriller that is different and fun!