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.

It did take me a while to fully get into this book but once in I was fully immersed.

The story mainly follows 3 teenagers during a post-apocalyptic world where a second pandemic after covid has arisen. Morgan, a girl that has inherited a fortune with the sole purpose of completing research to counteract this Crown Royale; Mariel, a girl surviving on the streets of San Francisco with her mother and the only person currently known that have a natural immunity and lastly Rón, the immunocompromised son of the third richest man in the world who has contracted and survived Crown Royale.
If survived, the side-effect of this illness is "pure contentment." The absence of strong emotions like stress and anger may seem positive at first however, as the book progress it really makes you think about what is truly better: to feel all these negative emotions or to feel nothing at all.
This book was truly thought-provoking.
Without spoiling anything, I just never knew whose side I was on. With every POV and new discovery my position kept changing. If everyone thinks they're doing the right thing then how do you decide who is wrong? Can selflessness in a way also be selfish? Even if you can only feel positive emotions can humanity truly be changed at its core and what truly is humanity "at its core." I just kept having question after question.


Overall, it was a solid read that mayybeee could have been a little shorter in the middle ( hence the 4 vs 5 start rating). BBUTTT I can't wait for the next book in the series!


Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for this honest review. :)

Neal Shusterman’s All Better Now is a thought-provoking and grimly enjoyable tale exploring a strange future. Set in a post-COVID world, a new virus called Crown Royale emerges, killing some but leaving survivors utterly happy and filled with empathy. The narrative follows three teens from diverse backgrounds—Mariel, Rón, and Morgan—whose lives become intertwined as they navigate the virus’s profound societal impacts. Shusterman’s darkly witty style delves into ethical questions, making readers ponder the true cost of perpetual happiness. A must-read for fans of dystopian fiction. 

I loved Shusterman's Scythe series and I think it caused me to go into this book with high hopes. Shusterman has interesting points throughout the book (for example, the motives of people or how being so happy has impacted choices) and it was a (mostly) enjoyable read. So why just three stars? I felt the pacing was off and the book was far too long for what it was. Good base concepts with interesting points but this should have been a shorter standalone book with a complete story line. The fact that it has no full conclusion made it a dissatisfying ending and almost ruined the book for me. I don't think I'll pick up the sequel because of the pacing issues. There were also a lot of spelling and grammar issues but this may have been from reading an advanced copy that maybe still had a few more edits ahead of it. If the concept interests you, it's worth the read, but if you just want to give Shusterman a try, I'd recommend starting somewhere else.

I wanted to like this book. It could have been smart. And deep. A second pandemic in one lifetime. But everything about it was shallow and unrealistic. For those of us who remember just a couple of years ago it should not be that hard to write realistically about a pandemic. And a pandemic that left you stress free? And the people who don’t want you to be? It could have been a statement about how little we learn with so much time to reflect. About how little we regard each other. It was so much less.

A few years after COVID, a new pandemic emerges—Crown Royale. While it shares some surface similarities with COVID, it comes with startling differences. High-risk groups include the elderly, the sick, diabetics, and, surprisingly, those who are colorblind. Even stranger, survivors undergo a personality shift, becoming entirely selfless and compelled to care for others, even at their own expense.

The story follows three main characters: Mariel, a homeless teen; Ron, the son of the world’s third-richest man; and Morgan, a nineteen-year-old intern working to eradicate Crown Royale. On paper, they’re an intriguing trio, but in execution, they didn’t quite hold my interest. There were moments of excitement, but overall, the story felt like it was building toward something that never arrived. The ending left me frustrated—not because I wanted more, but because I wanted the plot to feel like it was going somewhere. Instead, it read like the setup for a new world that never fully took shape. At its length, I expected more payoff.

I really wanted to love this book, but in the end, it just didn’t deliver.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to read this because I absolutely loved Scythe…that one is one of my absolute favorites. This one was a major fail for me.

I had an issue with several things. First, the book was about 550 pages, but I think it easily could’ve been 200 pages shorter. The author kept introducing new characters randomly throughout the entire book--we only saw them once and never again. I hated that-- he used them to show what was going on in the world, but I felt like it could’ve been done differently.

Secondly, the book started interesting enough. After a while, I thought we were getting close to the ending--we were only halfway…. That is a horrible feeling. The rest was just drudgery.

Last, none of these characters were likeable or even understandable. We see one character who is actively trying to spread this virus knowing 1/25 will die---it’s just gross. I guess it’s supposed to be gross but I'm truly not sure. He wasn’t really presented like a villain--he was the protagonist. The villains were the ones trying to stop the virus--it was very weird.

I had other issues, but they are spoilery. I would totally skip this one. If you like dystopian, I would try Scythe or even Divergent instead.

Thank you, Netgalley for this copy.

2.5 rounded up

I have been a fan of Neal Shusterman since i was a teenager, so I was thrilled with getting the opportunity to read and review his newest book All Better Now prior to publication. Unfortunately, it wasn't a favorite of his.

The book is set shortly after the Covid 19 pandemic, where a new disease known as Crown Royale is becoming a new pandemic. We follow various characters, which at times made the story feel more complicated than it needed to be. Some characters I enjoyed their storylines, while others I didn't care much for. I also felt like the book took a bit too long to get to the point. The beginning caught my attention, but the middle dragged a little bit. I feel like there was some scenes that could have been edited out.

But I love the way Shusterman incorporates societal issues into a Dystopian landscape. It forces readers to really think about situations and the pros and cons of decisions. In All Better Now, Crown Royale survivors find themselves with a new positive and blissful view of life. Which sounds amazing, right? Well, not exactly. At various points in the book, recoverees seem to lack basic self preservation when someone else is in danger. So it begs the question, is happiness, empathy and the pursuit of the greater good always what we should strive for? Going into the book, I would have answered a quick yes. Now, I am not so sure.

I still think the book is worth the read, despite the less than stellar rating I gave it. The book follows an interesting concept, just be prepared for the possibility of varying pacing.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 / 5

Though this book brought me a lot of flashbacks of COVID (shudder), but the concept of a virus affecting people emotionally after the fact is so intriguing and worked really well.

Summary: A virus called Crown Royale has suddenly overtaken the world. But unlike a normal virus, this one leaves survivors feeling utterly content. Gone are any negative feelings they used to experience before they were "embraced." Most people who have experienced the after effects, or have witnessed loved ones experience it, believe the virus could be a gift that is meant to bring the world back into balance. But people in power see it as a disease that snatches the person you used to be and replaces it with a more genteel and docile person. They also don't like that the embraced are not buying into the greed and desires that go along with a capitalistic society. Even just having a small amount of the population "embraced" has left the economy in turmoil, putting those in power into a panicked spiral wondering how they can combat this virus. The story follows two teenagers who are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to the virus, but can they help reveal the truth of the virus? Or are they meant to remain enemies forever?

My thoughts: All Better Now has such an engrossing plot with plenty of action and intrigue that kept me rapt with attention and guessing until the end. It was so interesting to watch this pandemic play out on both sides. We follow Morgan who is completely opposed to the virus, Crown Royale, and the "embraced" survivors, and we also follow Rón who survived Crown Royale and is able to spread the virus even though he is fully recovered.

Both teenagers have their own vendettas when it comes to the pandemic, and though one has more resources at their disposal, it's amazing what one can do when they have the backing of so many others who have been embraced by Crown Royale.

We also get to watch another character, Mariel, as she grapples with whether the virus is good for humanity or should be eradicated. She gets to spend time with both Morgan and Rón and has to decide where her loyalties, and morals, lie in the end.

I found All Better Now to have a powerful message of choice embedded into the thrilling story. It's one I'd recommend for fans of dystopian novels with complex characters and an ending that will leave you satisfied yet wanting more.

No one does sci-fi and speculative YA fiction like Neal Shusterman! This novel n is no exception. In this pandemic story-which definitely has some nods to COVID-a new pandemic blazes through the population, causing death for many, and… happiness? Those who survive are left with contentment, a commitment to help others and a deep sense of joy. Sounds amazing, but markets are shutting down as no one needs material goods, people die trying to save others at their own expense, and the desire to spread the disease so others can feel that same sense of enlightenment drives the “embraced” to go to extreme lengths to meet their goals. Much like other Shusterman novels, there is a diverse cast of characters and an almost adventure-like feeling to the story. Will it be a series? This reader hopes so.

All Better Now reimagines the pandemic, if the side-effects of Long COVID were a newfound and permanent sunny disposition. Who else but Neal Shusterman could come up with this stuff, right? Now, don't misunderstand: this pandemic is equally deadly, or rather, more deadly than COVID. It's just that if the person does recover, they don't have heart problems and chronic fatigue, they just have... perma-rose colored glasses.

Yes, it is weird, but because it is Shusterman, it somehow inexplicably works. You buy it, it seems plausible, even though your logical mind is asking if you've gone mad. We get point of view accounts from several different characters. Some are into this idea of becoming enlightened via the virus, such as Rón ("with a pretentious accent above the O"), and some are adamantly against the whole thing, and trying their best to put the kibosh on it (not for any altruistic reasons, mind). Basically the problem is, everyone takes everything too far. Rón decides that everyone should have the virus, even though it can kill. Mariel, one of the very few immune, knows she cannot allow innocent people to die. Basically everyone has an agenda, and since there is no clear "right" move, it makes for a very morally gray story, which I adore.

I won't say too much else, but it is light and fun at times, and definitely darker in others. The whole concept is incredibly thought provoking, and as such quite readable. It seems like it may be part of a series, though I am not finding any confirmation (or denial), as the ending tends to leave things a bit open for my liking (but I don't mind if it is a series). I would, of course, be reading any further books if they exist!

Bottom Line: It's so bizarre, yet it somehow works for providing great thought provoking commentary, as always.

My favorite thing about Shusterman is that his books revolve around morally complex issues with no clear “correct” answer. All Better Now definitely felt similar in spirit to his Scythe series.

Based not long after COVID, All Better Now is about a new pandemic. One with twice the mortality rate, but a weirdly positive twist: those who do survive end up with a deep sense of contentment and altruism.

Shusterman’s books always leave me considering what I would do if I ended up in his worlds. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC, and I hope this gets a sequel 😅

Happiness is contagious in Neal Shusterman's new book, All Better Now.

Having just recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is dealing with an unprecedented condition. It acts like a virus. Patients suffer from fever and coughs, and some lose their lives. But those who recover from the infection experience a "mass unburdening." Recoveries find their stress, anger, lack of empathy, and despair are gone. Money and jobs are no longer a concern for the recovered. The money they spent on needless things is now funneled toward charity and helping others. Those who have yet to be infected worry that the Recoveries' newfound carefree lifestyle will destroy the world.

I can always count on Neal Shusterman to write unique stories that force readers to sit with their thoughts. All Better Now was so good. I am still thinking about it days later. I have discussed the concept of the book and the questions it raises with all my friends and family. I genuinely want to know how they think the world would react if we were all suddenly empathetic and put others' lives and feelings above our own. As beautiful as it sounds, Schusterman raises realistic consequences for a world that is all better now.

The story follows multiple POVs, and I found several characters multi-faceted and interesting. The morally grey and more villainous characters are especially well-written.

I did a tandem read with both the ebook and the audio. Greg Tremblay once again delivers a fantastic performance.

I highly recommend All Better Now for those who enjoy thought-provoking science fiction, stories that raise interesting questions about society, and good vs. evil. While marketed toward young adults, I think those readers who typically shy away from YA may find this an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, and Simon Audio for advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.

A virus that may begin with a fever but ends with long lasting happiness is sweeping through. Sounds great, right? Well, the widespread contentment has powerful people worried. What happens to the drive to succeed when everyone is happy where they are? What happens to the sale of products aimed at repairing the flaws some focus on? Where does this leave the economy long term?

There are some excellent discussion points to be tossed around in these pages.

The main characters are older teens from different walks of life. The book is told from multiple perspectives which ended up being a double-edged sword for me. On a positive note, it showed a broad range of how the virus affected different areas and many differing views. However, the constant jumping around made it impossible for me to connect with any of the characters. The large cast of characters felt like bare bones representations of archetypes. There was so much back and forth I struggled to stay engaged, but I understood that the author was trying to demonstrate far-reaching consequences.

The novel was unnecessarily long. The minor plot threads that tie in eventually are compelling, but it took so long that it lost some of the punch that it would have had if the writing was more concise.

The premise was intriguing, and the novel definitely had its moments, but the tone didn't grab me.

***If mentions of Covid are triggering for you, this may be one to avoid.**

Currently Available

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing an Advance Reading Copy for review. All opinions are my own.