All Better Now

By: Neal Shusterman

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay, Neal Shusterman

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness is contagious but the risks of catching it may be just as dangerous as the cure.

A deadly and unprecedented virus is spreading. But those who survive it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen before: utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone.

More and more people begin to revel in the mass unburdening. But not everyone. People in power—who depend on malcontents and prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince others they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos. Campaigns start up to convince people that being eternally happy is dangerous. The race to find a vaccine begins. Meanwhile, a growing movement of Recoverees plans ways to spread the virus as fast as they can, in the name of saving the world.

It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their agenda. Three teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in very different ways find themselves at the center of a power play that could change humanity forever.

©2024 Neal Shusterman (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

I loved it!

Ever since I read the Unwind series I have been in love with Neal Shusterman's books. Always engaging with fleshy characters that you feel like you really get to know. He's works are thought provoking as they deal with societal issues that are easy for you to see as frightening possiblities. This book delivers. i was so happy to see that I fell in love with this books concept and characters. Please try it!

Loved it!

I do read or listen to nearly every of Neal Shustermans books, since Scythe was my absolute favorite, this one gave me exactly the kind of world building I was hoping for.
BUT the ending? Seems like there should be another part, but I thought it will be a single story. So a little confused there.

Fantastic concept well written!

Neal Shusterman has been able to do no wrong as an author for me since I read his Unwind series many years ago. This book is NO exception! The readers performed beautifully and the idea of happiness being a sickness that you could catch... breathe in me, Neal!

I love this new drama! What a crazy dilemma.

First, have to say, I love the cover art!! I wish I could just keep listening. I was so sad when the book concluded 🥲This would make a great movie…just saying.

Another Shusterman-Tremblay Adventure

Absolutely loved it! Always an adventure with the best story and the best character development!

Neal At It Again

I love Neal and his writing. I love his books. The narration was great like usual. However, this one didn’t really vibe with me that much. I dragged myself through it when usually I can’t put the books down. Taking me like three weeks to get myself through this book. I really only liked one or two characters, and even then I wasn’t too attached to them. I did enjoy this book, and I will most likely pick up the second one and see where it goes, but on the tier list of Neal’s book, this isn’t near the top.

Justice for Morgan!

As much as she was a manipulator, I feel like she still had the right idea. The idea of forcibly being happy disgusts me in multiple ways. I enjoy feeling all kinds of emotion.. While the counter virus wasn't the ideal scenario, if it had more work done with probably would have given people a better option. A world without it is just a monopoly on the other. I'd love to see more of the story.

Pleasantly surprised

When I read the description of the book the idea I had was nothing like what the book ended up being. This medical “what if” story just hits so close to home on a lot of issues right now. Great book.

Is there a sequel

It needs a better ending or a sequel. It was too much of a cliff hanger.

Mostly enjoyable story, flat ending

For most of the way, I was pretty engaged with this story. Which is why I was surprised to find the plot just petered out. The story didn't go anywhere. The narration was good, though.

Personally, I found all the pandemic puns in end credits to be in very poor taste. I was expecting this story to be a little bit more of serious commentary on how the world responds to a pandemic. I quickly realized that wasn't going to be the case. I still wasn't expecting the book to end with a bunch of jokes about a topic that has reshaped our world, caused many deaths, chronically impacted the health of so many survivors.