All Better Now

Shusterman, Neal. All Better Now 
February 4, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The world is in the throes of another pandemic, this one caused by a virus called Crown Royale. The odd thing about this disease is that people who survive the infection seem to have their outlook on life drastically improved. Because of this, Dame Havilland, who is a fairly evil and vindictive business woman, hires Morgan, a young woman not long out of school, to take over her business empire if she dies of the infection or survives and becomes nicer, so that Morgan can continue to use her power to make money and irritate others. We also meet Gena Murdoch and her daughter Mariel, who have been struggling with poverty and homelessness. They steal a credit card and rent a very posh but inexpensive Air BNB owned by Blas Escobedo, and meet his son, Rón, who hasn't really enjoyed being related to his father. The elder Escobdeo is fabulously wealthy, having developed an effective digital N95 mask that displays the wearer's face and made a lot of money. Rón has struggled with mental health issues and twice attempted suicide.  After the Murdochs leave the Air BNB, they end up at the Pier Peer Collective,   run by a man who recovered from Crown Royale and wanted to create a community where everyone could be helped. Gena is I'll with the virus, and when she dies, Mariel is allowed to stay, although has to be limited to where she goes because she hasn't had the disease. When an incoherent Rón shows up, however, she stays by his side to help him, and realizes that she is immune to the disease. Dame Havilland recovers from her bout, and is a bit angry that she turned her business over to Morgan and tasked her with irradicating the disease. Morgan sets up a lab near the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, and isn't too concerned about scientific ethics. Meanwhile, once Rón recovers, and and Mariel go on a road trip; he is a super spreader and he and Mariel decide together whom he should infect. Blas tries to find his son, using all of the resources at his disposal, and finally locates him at a Buc-ees in Battle Ground, Indiana. Rón has managed to reprogram the masks so he can make them super heated with his phone, and there is a fire that he and Mariel both narrowly escape. Dame Haviland takes drastic measures to change Morgan's mind, even trying to threaten her ailing mother, but isn't able to make much headway. As circumstances cause Morgan, Mariel, and the Escobedos to collide, what will the future of the Crown Royale virus be?

Strengths: This was an intriguing spin on a pandemic tale, and the characters all get woven together in an interesting fashion. My favorite parts might have been Rón's description of his blue cone color blindness, and the fact that people with color blindness were more susceptible to Crown Royale; that was just a random yet intriguing facet. Pairing Rón as a super spreader with Mariel, who was immune, was also inpsired. I rather enjoyed Dame Havilland and Morgan's evil ways, especially since Dame Havilland seemed to keep some of these even after she recovered. Both the road trip across the US and locating the research lab near the Svalbard Seed Vault were amusing choices. Fans of Shusterman's other young adult books like his 2008 Unwind and 2010 Bruiser. 
Weaknesses: While this is a very intriguing premise, I found myself wondering where the plot was going at several points. I would also have liked to know more specific information about the virus and its effects on people. 
What I really think: This is similar to the some of Shusterman's other sci fi work, in that it is innovative and interesting, but this is probably best suited to high school and young adult audiences because of length, a smattering of vocabulary choices, and a general introspective tone. For some reason, it reminded me strongly of Donald Westlake's 1992 Humans.