Title: All Better Now
Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date: February 4, 2025
Length: 528 pages
Genre: Young adult dystopian/Science fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

All Better Now is a propulsive page-turner about viral contagion, with an incredibly interesting premise that provides all sorts of food for thought.

In this YA sci-fi thriller, a virus known as Crown Royale is sweeping the globe. It’s only been a few years since the last pandemic; no one wants to go back to lockdowns and mask mandates. Crown Royale is highly contagious and has about a 4% mortality rate for those infected. People who test positive for the virus experience dramatically high fevers and other dangerous symptoms. But in some ways, it’s the aftereffects that are most shocking.

Crown Royale recoverees are… well… different. Without exception, recoverees are happy and peaceful. Their aggressions, greed, drive for competition, avarice — all are gone. Recoverees are kind, driven by altruism. They’re non-violent, and have an unstoppable urge to help others, even at the risk of their own lives.

On the surface, that sounds pretty great. But big business and governments alike are worried. What will this mean for the economy? What does this mean for international politics, struggles, and power plays? If people are no longer motivated by consumerism, what does this mean for production? And of course, the billionaires are the most worried, both for their own enormous profits and what it might mean if — heaven forbid — they themselves become infected. Already, a worrying number of very wealthy people have recovered from Crown Royale only to give away everything they own.

Within this intriguing premise, we’re introduced to three teens with very different backgrounds. Rón (yes, with an accent over the “o” — it’s short for Tiburón) is the youngest son of the third richest man in the world. He’s a bit of a lost soul, constantly fighting the depression that threatens to pull him under. To Rón, a virus that will leave him happy for the first time in his life sounds pretty good. Mariel lives on the streets with her flighty mother, and after her mother’s death from Crown Royale, finds herself connecting with Rón at a pop-up commune for recoverees.

And then there’s Morgan, a hard-driving prodigy who lands a coveted internship with a very wealthy consortium — only to discover that the old woman who owns the consortium is signing over all her assets to Morgan in the event she contracts Crown Royale. Dame Havilland lives for spite, and hates the idea that she might turn into a kinder, gentler version of herself if she gets the virus, and so she creates ironclad legal documents to permanently keep control of her assets out of her own hands.

As the story progresses, we see how each of these three main characters, as well as the many people they’re connected to, navigate a world that’s changing before their eyes. Rón and Mariel develop a very deep connection, but seem to be diverging toward quite different trajectories. Meanwhile, Morgan shows all the cunning and ruthlessness that landed her the job in the first place — but with limitless power now in her hands, she has her own agenda when it comes to Crown Royale.

I’d hate to give away any more of the plot. Suffice to say, the story is twisty and turny, and goes in directions I didn’t see coming. There are fascinating moral dilemmas at the core of this story. Crown Royale is deadly for a relatively small percentage of its sufferers, but the rest experience beauty and true happiness in its aftermath. So should the world be trying to fight Crown Royale at all? Would the world be a better place if everyone was transformed by the virus? If war and cruelty could be eliminated, isn’t that a good thing?

Because if you took everything into consideration, from war to apathy, from greed to racism—all the self-destructive, self-loathing, self-annihilating tendencies of human nature—Crown Royale might just be the best thing to ever come along.

But on the other hand, many believe that the recoverees, although happy, aren’t truly themselves any longer — and for those with that belief, there’s a deep-seated fear of the virus and a hatred for it and those who might spread it.

“Despair builds character!” countered Morgan. “It’s what motivates us—but Crown Royale denies people that! You’re just too naïve to see it!”

For those who truly believe Crown Royale is a blessing for humanity, there’s a feeling that they’re called to pass it along to everyone else. But what about free will? Shouldn’t it be a choice? And when a potential vaccine or counter-virus seems possible, the same question applies: Should Crown Royale be absolutely eliminated? What about the people who want to seek it out and experience a better version of their lives?

I picked up All Better Now after seeing it mentioned in this Reactor article about what to read after watching Pluribus (AppleTV). I though Pluribus was terrific, and I’ve read and enjoyed several of Neal Shusterman’s books in the past (including the Arc of a Scythe series), so All Better Now seemed like an obvious choice for me.

I’m glad I stumbled across that article, and I’m glad that I gave this book a try! I actually didn’t realize that it was a YA novel (although I should have known based on the author and the publisher). And really, apart from the fact that the main characters are teens, I’d say this doesn’t have to be shelved as YA — it’s just a really good sci-fi book about a world-changing virus!

I also didn’t realize that All Better Now is the first book in a projected duology. Until I went back to the Goodreads listing as I neared the end of the book, I had no idea that I wasn’t reading a stand-alone novel. The book does have an open-ended conclusion… but given the subject matter, I suppose it could just be seen as ominously open to interpretation. I suppose I’m glad to know that there will be more in this world, and that the story will continue (and get wrapped up) in one more book — but I think I could have been satisfied with All Better Now on its own as well.

(According to Goodreads, book #2 will be called All Over Now, and does not yet have a release date.)

Once I started All Better Now, I just couldn’t put it down. Sure, there are plot points that stretch credulity, and I never quite bought Morgan’s trajectory. Likewise, having teens driving the plot make sense from a YA branding perspective, but left me at times wanting to know more about what the grown-ups were up to.

Still, quibbles aside, there’s no denying that this was a fascinating, utterly absorbing read that kept me up late turning pages, then not being able to get the various scenarios out of my head.

All Better Now wasn’t on my reading agenda for this year, but I’m so glad I picked it up!

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