All Better Now by Neal Shusterman is a Young Adult novel about a pandemic with a twist. The twist is what if the disease had a side effect that when you recovered you had no fears, no anxiety, and were generally happy? A person could notice the slightest details, the only thing you want to do is help people. Just hearing this you would think everyone would enjoy this. But there are consequences like the fall of commerce. The novel asks the question do we need people to work the jobs that they hate to make the world work? Shusterman is great at taking this dream one-sided scenario and realistically creating three sides. The sides are the infected, those who do not want to be affected, and immune people. The novel is a pretty obvious response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The mask, vaccine, and conspiracy about the origins and effects of the virus are all discussed. The only thing the novel does not touch on is the hoarding of food and toilet paper. The story is told from five main perspectives and has various short stories featuring random characters in the new world of the virus. The story bounces from a different perspective from chapter to chapter. The way the story is told keeps the pace very steady. All Better Now is a fun fast read with a story that goes in directions you can not predict. Shusterman cleverly writes the bad side of one society that cares so much about saving the other. The boat sinking scene was my favorite, and it opened my eyes to the dangers of a caring society. The characters make this book and I enjoyed my time with 3.5 of the 5 characters. This novel is the first I have read that talks about the Buck-ee's craze and has a crazy scene inside a Buck-ee's. The ending was okay I was slightly underwhelmed by it and wanted more. I read All Better Now thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. All Better Now was published on February 4, 2025.

Plot Summary: Crown Royale is a virus that starts with a fever, then the person gets a good cough and feels the signs of euphoria. Crown Royale kills 1 out of 25 but even the people who die still feel the effect of the virus and don't mind. Everyone else gets a permanent feeling of bliss. People lose stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings. The people who survived call it a gift and want to spread it. On the other side, rich people fear it as they, throw away all their hard work and donate it to charity and live on limited means. Ron is the son of one of the richest people on earth. Ron is a person struggling with depression and has tried to kill himself before he looks at the virus as a cure but his father is fighting it. Ron is color-blind and more likely to die from Crown Royale so he's hesitant but desperate. Mariel is poor and barely scraping she roams the streets with her mother looking for shelter. She meets Ron as a charity case but there seems to be a spark. They are both searching for something but what they do get is thrown into the disease. Dame Glynis is a rich older woman who has been exposed to the virus she wants to give her company away to Margot a young ruthless successor with the only catch is she must work on a vaccine. When Dame Glynis survives the virus she regrets everything and now she must stop Margot. Ron's dad fearing the worst for his son and the virus hires a team to find him and teams up with Margot to make not just a vaccine but something different that will eradicate the virus for good.

What I Liked: The storytelling is very good. Stusterman's plotting is A-plus how all the characters are linked and interact during the novel just works. I liked the budding love story between Ron and Mariel. Dame Glynis is my favorite character the virus might have changed her character to be not selfish, but her character turns her ruthlessness on helping people and it was pretty cool to watch the links that she will go and with limited resources. The sinking boat scene was my favorite. This scene shows the audience the danger of the virus. I like the twists and turns in this novel which there are many. I did like how the Buck-ee's location is used and the description of what Buck-ee's is for readers who may not know. The action at the Buck-ee's was fun, and Buck-ee's was well used in the scene. I loved Dame Glynis and the relationship she has with her long-time butler who gets the disease and continues helping her despite her being broke. I did like the way color is described after the virus and Ron is cured of color blindness. I was a little disappointed color blindness didn't play into the story because I had a theory.

What I Disliked: I wanted to know Margot more and what made her this way at 19 years old. We do get a glimpse but I wanted in her head more especially when she shows one iota of compassion and gets burned hard. The ending did not work for me I think my biggest issue was the setting. The secret lab worked for a while but the ending felt forced with who shows up at the lab at the end. The lead-up to the ending was great but I felt Shusterman did not stick the landing.

Recommendation: All Better Now is an exciting, clever, and fast-paced Young Adult novel. I like a book that makes me think and All Better Now delivered on that. After I read it I thought about how I would deal with the Crown Royale virus. The multiple perspectives storytelling is great if you read the Scythe series it is the same format for All Better Now. I will say if you are a fan of the Scythe book series then All Better Now is for you. I recommend All Better Now to my followers to check out.

Rating: All Better Now by Neal Shusterman 4.1 out of 5.

Ranking: I have read 5 novels by Neal Shusterman. I have ranked them from Favorite to Least favorite: 1) Thunderhead, 2) Scythe, 3) All Better Now, 4) Gleanings, and 5) The Toll.

"All Better Now" by Neal Shusterman is a well-written story that will be polarizing. For some, they will love it, because everything is woven so intricately together, and the story is quite good. For others, COVID trauma will resurface, and they won't be able to surpass it to enjoy the book. The basic premise is that the world has been hit by another "show-stopping" virus. Everyone is masked, society is relatively closed down, and people are strongly encouraged to remain indoors away from the public. Everyone who catches the virus and recovers has their lives transformed into one of extreme optimism, happiness, and joy. They are overcome with the need to help others and make the world a "better" place. All "so-called" grey emotions are eliminated, and depression, heart-ache, and trauma are gone creating recoverees who have an almost naive newfound vigor for life. Those who haven't gotten it see their recovered family members as body-snatched or members of an alien cult.

Throughout the book, Neal forces the readers to wrestle with hard questions: What would a world without anger, pain, envy, jealousy, deceit be like? Is a utopian society where everything is amazing really a good place? What would happen if selfishness didn't exist? Under the current rules of economics and politics, how would society survive?

If you are a reader who lost everything during COVID (homes, jobs, lifestyles, etc.), you shouldn't read this book. It will bring back trauma that you may or may not have successfully dealt with. For all others, it is a fun read that will encourage you to start hard conversations about the nature of society and how we treat one another.

I loved the Scythe books and was excited to engage in another Shusterman novel
The start of this one was slow but ramped up at about halfway. I enjoy how the characters feel very real and distinct. Would highly recommend to anyone who liked the Scythe novels.

This entertaining book is told from several different points of view-a depressed young man, an ambitious but ruthless young woman, a wealthy old lady, a street smart girl, each adds a piece to the glorious puzzle that is this book. There is a new virus in town-Crown Royal- and survivors of the virus end up with a surprising side effect-unbridled optimism. Some people believe this is a blessing and others are determined to stop the virus with a new vaccine. Except that the new vaccine is not exactly that. This is a complicated story, full of lots of themes of mental health issues, power and wealth, family and friendship, what makes life worth living and political power. It's a wild ride of a story and I think people are going to love this one.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman is a fast-paced, gripping read that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story is thrilling, the concept is fascinating, and was hard to put down. Shusterman delivers an engaging and exciting novel that I highly recommend!

This book gave me so many conflicted emotions! Mostly from three viewpoints, one immune, one bent on finding a vaccine for the virus, and one willing to spread the virus to everyone to give them the chance to feel "happiness". I liked seeing it from three different views so you could see both the good of the virus (no selfishness/willing to help everyone), the bad side effect (putting others above yourself even if it kills you and wanting to give it to everyone, taking away choice), the selfishness /self preservation of the those who hadn't gotten sick and how it all effected the world. And then the third view (Mariel) which is in the middle, seeing the good of both and the bad. Personally, I think Crown Royale is good, as long as you can live in a completely safe area. Cause having the compulsion to save another, when you are not capable of doing so and then dying is horrible! Though I also think that I would not want to be unable to feel regret and sadness, because that is part of humanity. And I got annoyed at the leaders of the "embraced" who were exactly like cults though Morgan's hatred of the recoverees was also not fun to read about and her solution had issues too.

I did love Dame Glynis Havilland though. Her character was amazing both before and after catching Crown Royale!

A good book bringing up the humanity of people, freewill, happiness being forced on people along with a suppression of self over the greater good versus being "miserable" and selfish. It really makes you think about what the good choice would be.

A pandemic that results in utter content if you survive the illness? I was so intrigued by this plot and was excited to read this. There were parts of this I loved and parts that dragged on a bit. My main complaints were the characters were lacking depth and I couldn’t connect with any of them. I felt they were all pretty unlikable in their own ways. I loved the “battle” of the two sides and understanding each of their motivations to either spread the disease or get rid of it.

This is my first book by this author and I’m excited to dive into more of his catalog.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

What a ride this book was. It is a very interesting look into something that now doesn't seem too farfetched after the pandemic of 2020. All of the characters in this are very well thought out and progress in new and interesting ways. I really enjoyed the villian of this book, she is just perfect, when you think she is out of moves she just keeps going. It has just enough twists and turns to keep you reading to what is a very interesting finale. The only issue I have is that I am not sure if I am reading a completed story or if there is more to come. 4 out of 5 stars. Did not disappoint.

A new global pandemic has begun. Dubbed "Crown Royal," this corona variant has a strange side effect: those who survive are changed. They are happier, more empathetic, more altruistic. Some see the risk of death as a worthwhile tradeoff for an enlightened life; others fear the lack of agency (and potential chaos) that comes with having all your negative emotions dampened. And three teenagers find themselves on the front lines of this evolving war.

Rón, the young son of one of the world's wealthiest men, finds new meaning when he discovers he's an alpha spreader: capable of "embracing" both the willing and unwilling into shared enlightenment. Mariel, a homeless girl who falls for Rón, is the yin to his yang, naturally immune but wishing for a way out. And Morgan, handed immeasurable wealth so its infected former owner couldn't give it away, searches for a cure: not out of kindness, but out of a belief that competition and dissatisfaction power our world. Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, many will die along the way—some from Crown Royale, others as collateral damage.

All Better Now comes on the heels of a massive pile of "COVID books," which ran especially rampant in the sci-fi and horror sphere. While a global pandemic will certainly spur discussion and creativity for years to come, it takes dramatically new angles and insights to keep a title from retreading old ground. All Better Now is about six of one and half a dozen of the other. Hidden in its musings on the morality inherent in the human reaction is the fascinating fictional idea of the perfect viral adaptation: desirability. The book does ask many fascinating questions: is altruism really altruism if it's not a choice? Do we have the right to force betterment on others? Do we really want to numb our darker emotions, or do we need them? While Shusterman's work is filled with excellent prose, interesting characters, and evocative questions, the story itself often feels as rudderless as Rón on his mission of enlightenment. Even clocking in at over 500 pages, it never quite has room to explore everything it's laid out for itself. As a series of philosophical questions posed, All Better Now succeeds; as a story, it flies, then fizzles.

This thought-provoking novel raises 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.
Schusterman tells a great story and his stories always seem to make you think- what if? This is going to be a great book for book clubs and discussions. I think our post COVID students and young adults will enjoy the discussions and debates that this book may evoke.

When a new pandemic begins, the world is thrown into chaos. As scientists, conspiracy theorists, and talking heads converge on what to do next, three teens they have to follow through on the decisions everyone else is just considering. Veteran author Neal Shusterman returns with an interesting premise that begins to meander in his latest book All Better Now.

All anyone can talk about these days is Crown Royale, the bizarre new virus that is charging across borders and continents with no known cause or cure. If people thought Covid-19 was bad, Crown Royale is worse. The dying is bad, yes, but some are saying surviving is worse.

Those who recover from Crown Royale become completely content. Their desires for material things and pleasures vanishes. Recoverees give away money and personal belongings and spend their days simply grateful to be alive and in the presence of others. If those others are also recoverees, all the better.

In San Francisco, Ron Escobedo is worried he’ll catch the disease because he’s high-risk. A blue-cone deficiency means he can’t see the color blue and also dramatically increases his chances of death if he contracts Crown Royale. Yet in a bizarre way, he also wonders what would happen if he got the illness.

For the longest time, Ron has suffered from depression and even attempted more than once to take his own life. His billionaire father is freaking out and trying to take care of Ron; his latest plan is making Ron manage the AirBnb they rent out for really cheap. Even though he doesn’t admit it, Ron enjoys meeting the guests.

A mother-daughter pair shows up for a one-night stay, and Ron feels drawn to the daughter. Mariel is about his age, and even her funny comments and confidence attracts Ron. He wishes, more than anything, that he could be that self-assured.

Mariel doesn’t think she’s confident at all. She’s just trying to stay one step ahead of debt collectors and the other sharks after her and her mother. For as long as she can remember, Mariel has been the one fighting to keep her head above water. Her mother is content just to ride life like a lazy river.

Then her mother contracts Crown Royale and dies in a refugee camp for recoverees, and Mariel feels lost. She was supposed to take care of her mom. Now what will she do? The answer comes in the unlikeliest of ways: Ron has contracted the virus and has come to the camp to get away from his dad.

Halfway across the world, Morgan Willmon-Wu has just arrived in England for an unheard-of internship opportunity. Driven and ambitious almost to a fault, Morgan is a certified genius and has found herself outpacing her peers. It’s become boring for her and embarrassing for them.

That’s why, when she hears about the internship with Dame Glynis Havilland, she jumps at it. Everyone knows the Havilland Consortium is on the cutting edge of almost everything. More than that, Morgan feels like she and Glynis are kindred spirits. Neither of them have a problem being ruthless if need be.

The internship completely changes Morgan’s life, starting with a nearly unlimited cash flow. Soon enough, Morgan knows what she wants to do with the money: find a way to stop Crown Royale. With the virus gone, people will start spending again and continue to keep billionaires like her afloat. As the world continues to grapple with this latest pandemic, Ron, Mariel, and Morgan will cross paths in unexpected ways and discover that the definition of contentment means something different to everyone.

Author Neal Shusterman gives readers a fully-realized story world. Early on he establishes his three protagonists with a thoughtful, careful approach. That detailed world-building, however, ultimately becomes the weight dragging the story down. Early chapters will carry readers without a problem because of the novelty of Shusterman’s invented virus. After a while, however, it feels like Ron and Mariel in particular are waiting for something to do. A road trip makes this a literal journey that only works some of the time.

Likewise, Morgan’s driving need to prove herself better than everyone else all the time may intrigue readers at the outset. Later, her selfishness seems to be her only defining characteristic. Morgan’s part of the climax feels a little melodramatic, and even with the last page readers may feel like they’ve had enough of her.

Parts of the book are highly entertaining in how they portray pandemic conditions, however, and most of Shusterman’s narrative observations are on point. Those wanting to read a pandemic story with a twist might want to check this out.

God, I love Neal Shusterman. He's such a master at creating the creepiest, otherworldly scenarios and having it set just after Covid was a bold choice. I loved the premise and the dystopia-like feel and it is certainly a timely book right now.

This was the first book I've read by Neal Shusterman, and it did not disappoint! The premise of it was really interesting and the execution was well done. I really liked the different characters, and it helped me understand the full scope of the pandemic through the different storylines. I think this would be a good book for teens and adults. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

This was so different. As someone who loved Neal Shusterman's Scythe series, I had high expectations for this one and while I still liked it, I did find some pacing issues in between that could have been avoided if the book were about 50-75 pages shorter. That said, the premise itself was intriguing and it shows the cons of living in a world where people are only happy and altruistic with no sense of self preservation

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for approving me for one of my most anticipated books of 2025! After reading and absolutely loving the Scythe series, I knew I needed to read Neal's newest book. A virus is spreading (which even happens after COVID, which is also mentioned in this book), and the long term effects, no one has seen before: utter contentment. People in power believe that this will be bad for business, because why would someone with utter contentment need all the biggest and best things out there? Soon, there are campaigns that try to convince people that being happy all the time is dangerous. A vaccine is being developed to rid people of their happiness and to get them back to normal because what is life without anger and jealousy? But the other half come together to spread the virus, believing this is what is going to save the world. Two teens with very different backgrounds, both who have had their lives upended by the virus end up being in the middle of this dangerous virus. Can they do what's right and reveal the truth.

I truly wanted to love this book so much, but I couldn't. The book is 528 pages long, and it easily could have been 100 pages less and the story would have had been the same. The synopsis of the book is what had me hooked. It's more than just a virus, it's choosing between what is right and wrong and what side of history you will be on. It truly makes your mind work, makes you think deeply, debating the meaning of life, and makes you wonder what side you would choose. Shusterman's writing is addicting and makes you want to continue to read the book, but as much as I loved it, I didn't at the same time. There were scenes in the book that made you think "why is this necessary?" like a scene that involves a rotating door because it just kept going on and on, and in the end, you just don't care. The pacing was all over the place. In between chapters, there were scenes with other characters not invovled in the story, and how their life was changed by the virus. I just didn't care about those people and they didn't forward the story in any way. Even though this book is YA, it shouldn't scare you off because it can be read by anyway. This book is important in today's society, and should be read by anyway interested in the story. Overall, besdies the slow parts, I really enjoyed this story and I'm excited to see where it is going to take us.

Neal Shusterman is a hot or cold author for me. Either I LOVE his book or I really don't. Unfortunately this one fell into the latter category. I liked the premise of the book, but it felt almost stagnant throughout. Ironically it felt like there wasn't a lot of emotion put behind the words. Not an awful read, just not for me.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman is a young adult thriller that follows three teens from vastly different backgrounds as they navigate a new pandemic. Mariel is homeless and living in a car with her mother, Ron is the son of one of the world’s richest men, and Morgan is an intern tasked with helping to eliminate the virus. Yet, despite their differences, their stories converge as the world grapples with the deadly disease and its unprecedented effects.

Set in a post-COVID world, a virus named Crown Royale spreads across the globe, leaving many dead in its wake. However, those who survive emerge with new personalities and unshakable contentment. Free from stress, greed, depression, and other negative emotions, survivors revel in their newfound happiness and in caring for others — even when doing so puts them at great risk, as their empathy outweighs fear and self-preservation.

At the other end of the spectrum, people in power quickly realize eternal happiness is bad for business. Believing the world will grind to a halt without jealousy, greed, and anger driving productivity, they start spreading the message that being happy all the time is dangerous.
As opposing forces clash — one seeking to make the world a happier place by spreading the virus, the other racing to develop a vaccine — Mariel, Ron, and Morgan embark on desperate missions to save humanity.
But which side is right? And, more importantly, which will win?

My Review

This is the first book I’ve read by Neal Shusterman, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. After hearing great things about his other work, I was excited to read All Better Now.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I love the concept of a virus triggering profound happiness, and while I enjoyed the book overall, there were points where I felt like it was never going to end. With 528 pages, it’s a hefty read. I don’t read a lot of YA, but 500+ pages seems like a lot for younger readers. It was a lot for me, and I’m a fast reader. The story feels like it should be coming to a conclusion near the halfway point, and once I finally reached the end, I was left feeling unsatisfied. It wasn’t horrible, but after trudging through over 500 pages, I expected a better payoff. Editing out about 200 pages would make for a stronger storyline with the fast-paced thriller feeling I was anticipating when I started reading.
It wasn’t all bad, though.

The concept is a thought-provoking one, and I enjoyed how Shusterman explores a deadly pandemic from opposing sides. All Better Now raises interesting questions about wealth, society, bodily autonomy, and good versus evil while driving home a message that things aren’t always what they seem. The main characters are well-developed, and I enjoyed reading about Crown Royale from their varying perspectives.
While All Better Now wasn’t as great as I’d hoped, its intriguing premise and interesting characters made it an enjoyable read overall. I think it would make a better standalone novel due to its length (500+ pages is more than enough to tell the entire story), but I’m intrigued enough that I’ll likely stick with it if it becomes a series.

If you enjoy dystopian thrillers with complex, morally grey characters, definitely check this book out! Just be prepared for some pacing issues.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

DNF at 50% and I’m devastated. 2.5 stars for the badass Dame character.

I had such high hopes for this one! I love Neal’s books, Unwind being one of my favorite books of all time. Scythe was awesome and I’m about to start reading it with my (almost) middle schooler). But unfortunately, this one didn’t hit. Partly it’s me, but partly it’s the book.

His writing is engaging, the plot (per usual) is unique and thought provoking. What would a world look like if post pandemic, the effects of the virus gave you pure happiness. Contentment and with it lack of ambition/greed/selfishness? Would it be Utopia or would the world collapse with the economy faltering to new lows? Sounds cool. Sounds fun…it isn’t.

I found the plot to be so slow, so boring, and honestly a bit triggering. I’m tired of reading about pandemics. We lived through Covid pretty recently and I know I’m not alone in saying that we just aren’t ready to read about it. Even if it’s a new invented virus cleverly named Crown Royale. Then, the characters. Ooof. They just aren’t endearing or likable or memorable, and I just do not care about any of them with the exception of the very wealthy old lady and her butler. They were pretty interesting. One of Shusterman’s greatest strengths is his main characters and how invested you become in then, and sadly it didn’t happen for me. There were too many storylines, too many people, too many viewpoints, and you don’t care for hardly any of them.

I’m so sorry I had to DNF this one, but I felt like I was just doing homework vs enjoying myself.

Thank you to the author and net galley for allowing me to read this even if it just wasn’t for me.

Neal Shusterman is always a success. This was another awesome story that causes you to truly think about what makes us happy and why emotions are so important. It’s poignant and raises amazing discussions for readers.

I am here because of Neal Shusterman's Scythe series, but unfortunately, All Better Now is just not it. I cannot believe this book was written for a YA audience. Written in a vague and disconnected third person voice with a plethora of characters and a meandering plot, this story is extremely hard to follow, much less stay in engaged with - not to mention its obscene length! If I had this much difficulty finding my way through this story as an adult, I have no idea how the intended teen readers are going to wade through this muck. The concept of this novel definitely has great potential, but this book is such a miss.