E-galley Review: All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman
Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers on February 4, 2025
Pages: 528
Source: the publisher
Format: E-galley
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My Rating:

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness becomes contagious and the teens caught in the conspiracy by the powers that be to bring back discontent.

An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It behaves like a virus, with the first symptom being a fever, but those who contract it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone. 

Almost everyone revels in this mass unburdening. But people in power—who depend on malcontents tuning into their broadcasts, prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince people they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Soon, campaigns start up convincing people that being happy all the time is dangerous. There’s even a vaccine developed to rid people of their inner peace and get them back to normal because, surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos.

It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their own agendas, and two teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in different ways by the virus find themselves enmeshed in the center of a dangerous power play. Can they reveal the truth?

★ “Epic biological thriller … Shusterman’s cerebral third-person narration deftly unspools globe-trotting medical drama from multiple perspectives as Crown Royale’s threat to economic and political stability ensnares the intersectionally diverse cast in morally gray dilemmas. The plot twists keep coming all the way to the enigmatic, jaw-dropping conclusion in this exquisitely rendered work.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review

“In his trademark darkly witty, wonderfully over-the-top style, the author meanders through interesting ethical questions … A thought-provoking and grimly enjoyable tale exploring a strange future.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A good fit for contemporary thriller fans.” – Booklist

My Review

Once again this author has written a story that makes you think, but in a fascinating, entertaining way. Overall I really enjoyed this one, although there were one or two spots that dragged a tiny bit for me. But not enough that I ever didn’t want to keep reading, and I hated how busy everything was when I was trying to read this one that I couldn’t sit and read as much as I wanted.

So, even though the publisher did send me a finished copy, I decided to read the e-galley because the book was a little bigger and it was easier to hold my Kindle, lol. So some of the lines I’ve quoted may not be in the final copy, I should have looked to see! I wasn’t even 10% of the way in when I found two quotes that really spoke to me.

1. People who did follow the science and the rules wished death upon those who didn’t.
2. If we judge the work by the sins and temperament of the creators, the world would be virtually void of art, literature, and music.

Both of these spoke to me so much. Even if the second one was from a character that hadn’t contracted the virus Crown Royale yet and was a not so great person, it is something that seems to be more and more true the closer we look at some artists/authors/musicians. The first one is something that always made me angry at the hypocrisy of some people in certain situations, although the “science” followed wasn’t always anything more than what was being reported by the media. As a former science teacher, believe me, I did my research in all things before making decisions.

What I love about this author is that his books make you think. Not just the teens that these books are written for, but as an adult, when I’ve read all his books as an adult, they made me think too. They made me see both sides. In my opinion they call out the good and the bad and facts of both sides. Because yes, there are facts on both sides, even people don’t always follow the truth when they make their decisions, or they use it to try to prove things that aren’t connected.

Yes many people don’t want to read books about THE pandemic we just went through. And so the fact that this is about a “next” pandemic might turn some off. But wow, Crown Royale, I think I want to get that virus! I totally felt for Mariel and her bad luck with the virus, although some didn’t see it as bad luck. And then there were the downfalls from this wonderful new disease/virus that gave some credit to the idea that we don’t want everyone to think exactly the same, that there does need to be a voice out there making you think and not just agreeing with everything.

The book was so good, and I don’t know why I assumed how it would end, because the author knows how to do endings that might make you gasp a bit! Such a wonderful, wonderful story!

About the Author

NEAL SHUSTERMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe (which has sold nearly 3 million copies to date), is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. His books have also been a Boston Globe–Horn Book Fiction Award winner, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults pick, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (top ten) pick, and on the YALSA’S Popular Paperbacks list (What If category). He also writes screenplays formotion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Scythe is being produced as a feature film by Universal; Unwind is being developed as a feature film by Constantin; and Everlost has also been optioned. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com.