Author: Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon &Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781534432758
When a new pandemicbegins, the world is thrown into chaos.
As scientists, conspiracytheorists, and talking heads converge on what to do next, three teensthey have to follow through on the decisions everyone else is justconsidering.
Veteran author Neal Shusterman returns with aninteresting premise that begins to meander in his latest book AllBetter Now.
All anyone can talk aboutthese days is Crown Royale, the bizarre new virus that is chargingacross borders and continents with no known cause or cure. If peoplethought Covid-19 was bad, Crown Royale is worse. The dying is bad,yes, but some are saying surviving is worse.
Those who recover fromCrown Royale become completely content. Their desires for materialthings and pleasures vanishes. Recoverees give away money andpersonal belongings and spend their days simply grateful to be aliveand in the presence of others. If those others are also recoverees,all the better.
In San Francisco, RonEscobedo is worried he’ll catch the disease because he’shigh-risk. A blue-cone deficiency means he can’t see the color blueand also dramatically increases his chances of death if he contractsCrown Royale. Yet in a bizarre way, he also wonders what would happenif he got the illness.
For the longest time, Ronhas suffered from depression and even attempted more than once totake his own life. His billionaire father is freaking out and tryingto take care of Ron; his latest plan is making Ron manage the AirBnbthey rent out for really cheap. Even though he doesn’t admit it,Ron enjoys meeting the guests.
A mother-daughter pairshows up for a one-night stay, and Ron feels drawn to the daughter.Mariel is about his age, and even her funny comments and confidenceattracts Ron. He wishes, more than anything, that he could be thatself-assured.
Mariel doesn’t thinkshe’s confident at all. She’s just trying to stay one step aheadof debt collectors and the other sharks after her and her mother. Foras long as she can remember, Mariel has been the one fighting to keepher head above water. Her mother is content just to ride life like alazy river.
Then her mother contractsCrown Royale and dies in a refugee camp for recoverees, and Marielfeels lost. She was supposed to take care of her mom. Now what willshe do? The answer comes in the unlikeliest of ways: Ron hascontracted the virus and has come to the camp to get away from hisdad.
Halfway across the world,Morgan Willmon-Wu has just arrived in England for an unheard-ofinternship opportunity. Driven and ambitious almost to a fault,Morgan is a certified genius and has found herself outpacing herpeers. It’s become boring for her and embarrassing for them.
That’s why, when shehears about the internship with Dame Glynis Havilland, she jumps atit. Everyone knows the Havilland Consortium is on the cutting edge ofalmost everything. More than that, Morgan feels like she and Glynisare kindred spirits. Neither of them have a problem being ruthless ifneed be.
The internship completelychanges Morgan’s life, starting with a nearly unlimited cash flow.Soon enough, Morgan knows what she wants to do with the money: find away to stop Crown Royale.
With the virus gone, people will startspending again and continue to keep billionaires like her afloat. Asthe world continues to grapple with this latest pandemic, Ron,Mariel, and Morgan will cross paths in unexpected ways and discoverthat the definition of contentment means something different toeveryone.
Author Neal Shustermangives readers a fully-realized story world. Early on he establisheshis three protagonists with a thoughtful, careful approach.
Thatdetailed world-building, however, ultimately becomes the weightdragging the story down. Early chapters will carry readers without aproblem because of the novelty of Shusterman’s invented virus.
After a while, however, it feels like Ron and Mariel in particularare waiting for something to do. A road trip makes this a literaljourney that only works some of the time.
Likewise, Morgan’sdriving need to prove herself better than everyone else all the timemay intrigue readers at the outset. Later, her selfishness seems tobe her only defining characteristic. Morgan’s part of the climaxfeels a little melodramatic, and even with the last page readers mayfeel like they’ve had enough of her.
Parts of the book arehighly entertaining in how they portray pandemic conditions, however,and most of Shusterman’s narrative observations are on point.
Thosewanting to read a pandemic story with a twist might want to checkthis out. I recommend readers Borrow All Better Now by NealShusterman.