All Better Now by Neal Shusterman is a dystopian novel with more than a passing nod at the COVID pandemic. The story revolves around this virus that seems to be spreading that leaves the people that survive the initial fever stage with a deep sense of calm and happiness. They feel no negative emotions and can do no harm to others. Just great. You can see how this goes. People are up in arms, some for the propagation of this divine condition, while others who have lost people are outraged at the former for their acceptance. The story revolves around a few people, each showcasing a different take on the virus and its effects. We have a down-on-their-luck girl who loses her mother to the virus, the son of one of the wealthiest men on the planet who does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps, a shrewd old woman who sees her end is nearing and so hatches a plan to find a cure for this virus with all her wealth, and a smart but conceited woman who is hired to execute said plan of finding a cure.

The book bounces between all these characters giving us snippets of the effect of this virus and how people at different stages seem to be dealing with it. The level of paranoia we see from the survivors of the virus gives them a cult like status, while the discontent among the major corporations of the world over a group of people who seem to be ‘happy without any regrets’ seems like a reaction we would see in today’s climate. This book reads like a conspiracy theory but unfortunately a fairly plausible one considering the reactions to the pandemic we just lived through.

The plot is fairly straightforward but the initial half of the book had me quite annoyed at a lot of characters because of their acceptance of the virus and their subsequent lack of empathy for the people that do not make it (this is because once they survive the virus they can feel no negative emotions as such, but still). If the pandemic is associated with strong negative emotions I may give this book a skip. Can’t really bring myself to recommend it. Looking back, over a few weeks after reading it, what I remember the most is a feeling of frustration about some of the characters and their choices. So, make of that what you will. Still a solid read, and there’s a book 2 coming that may help round out the story a bit. Only time wil tell.

Links:

• Goodreads: All Better Now – Neal Shusterman