%20(1).png)
Sidekick Super Review: All Better Now (2025) by Neal Shusterman
- Dec 12, 2025
- 7 min read
The Basics
Page Length: 528
Audiobook Length: ~14 hours
Grade Reading Level: 7+
Target Audience Age: 12-18
Goodreads Score: 3.64 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: A near future, dystopian America
Genre: Dystopian/Science Fiction Thriller
Topics: Global Pandemic, Contagion, Scientific Experimentation, Surveillance, Conspiracy, Politics, Mental Health, Emotional Transformation
Plot: This book follows multiple points of view—too many to count—but it primarily centers on three teenage narrators. When a global virus outbreak called Crown Royale hits America shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is thrown into immediate turmoil. But this virus is different. Rumor has it that if you catch the virus and survive it, it takes away all unhappiness. Depression, fear, mourning, jealousy, anger, dissatisfaction—it all disappears. People say you’re “called to a higher” way of living. Recoveries are peaceful and blissful. For some, this feels like an answer—a cure for mental-health struggles and a broken, cruel society. To others, the virus is a “body-snatching” disease. Once you’ve recovered, you’re replaced with someone completely new. Personal autonomy is gone. World systems collapse. Capitalism vanishes. Political structures crumble. The world as we know it falls apart.
Rón “Tiburón” Escobedo is the son of the third-richest man in the world. But money can’t save him from the episodes of depression he faces. Catching Crown Royale is all he can think about. He views it as his saving grace—and at first it seems like it is—but how much of a hold will the virus take on him? Will he be able to control its grip on his healed heart and rewired mind?
Mariel Murdoch lives in her car with her mother. But when her mother catches Crown Royale and doesn’t survive, Mariel is forced to build a new life on her own. Before her mother dies, she tells Mariel that for the first time she can see clearly—and it makes Mariel wonder if catching the virus is the only way she’ll ever be happy. Despite all her attempts, she cannot catch Crown Royale. She is immune. And now she finds herself stuck between two warring sides: those who worship the virus, and those who are desperately fighting for its eradication.
Morgan Willmon-Wu becomes a nineteen-year-old billionaire after an elderly, wealthy woman catches the virus and leaves her entire fortune to her. With more money than she knows what to do with, Morgan dedicates her life to ending Crown Royale for good. But will her newfound wealth and influence give her too much power to shape the virus’s future? And what kind of science is her money really funding?
Themes: Free will and control, the ethics of science, survival, wealth and power, the cost of happiness, mental health and the culture surrounding it, moral ambiguity
You might like this book if you like:
Books like They Both Die at the End, Legend, The Rest of Us Just Live Here, The Program, Asylum
Shows like: The 100, Between, Black Mirror, The Society, Lost
Movies like: Contagion, World War Z, I Am Legend, Equilibrium
Other books written by this author: Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1), Unwind (Unwind, #1), Dry, Challenger Deep
Teaching All Better Now in Class
Content
Language: Frequent use of moderate language.
Sex/Romance: There is a romantic relationship between two main characters. They kiss, but the act is not described in detail. There are a few instances of sexual innuendo in dialogue from other characters.
Violence/Scariness: The book contains significant violence, including attacks, beatings, and rioting. One POV is from a violent inmate in prison, who describes some of the attacks he has committed; it is implied that he has sexually assaulted people. Another POV follows a girl who has been abused by parents and boyfriends. There is a scene where characters are trapped in a fire, resulting in fatalities, and another where characters drown. Several POVs depict heavy mental illness and reference suicidal thoughts. A character is shot with a rubber bullet. People and animals are also subjected to medical testing.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: Minimal. Some adults occasionally smoke or drink. There is one instance of a minor drinking wine with her mother.
Class Novel-ability: I think this would be a difficult choice for a full-class novel due to its content. There are numerous elements that could serve as emotional triggers for students. Additionally, the book is quite long, making it challenging to incorporate into lesson planning—it would take students a significant amount of time to read.
That being said, this would be an excellent choice for a “for-fun” book club for older students, provided you include trigger warnings and clearly inform them about the content. The plot is incredibly engaging, the themes are compelling, and the story is unique and thought-provoking. This is one of those perfect book-club books because it encourages discussion, explores morally gray areas, and provides so much to talk about! It's been one of my favorite reads so far this year.
The Star Qualities
This book has so many different points of view—honestly, it’s hard to even keep track of them all. A lot of the perspectives are completely random, one-time occurrences that never show up again, but somehow that makes the story even richer. You get to be inside the minds of so many different characters, each landing on a different side of the virus. It’s a really cool aspect of the book.
The ending is NOT a beautifully wrapped bow. You don’t finish the book with a clear sense of what’s right. Throughout the story, you’re constantly trying to decide which side to be on. Is the virus good or bad? Who’s acting with the best intentions? In the end, you still don’t really know—and I kind of like that. You don't even know how the characters end up. Usually, I want a nice, happy ending. This one doesn’t have that, but I found it really interesting. It's unique.
The concept of this book is fascinating—a cure-all happiness virus?! The premise opens the door for so much social commentary and so many ethical dilemmas. It makes you think deeply about government control, scientific experimentation, the power of the wealthy, and more. This book is definitely a thinker, and I believe students will enjoy that aspect as well.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 1- top of page 6 through the phrase, "Hope told her that maybe something better was."
If you don't, read the same pages in the Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
This passage is incredible. First of all, it’s essentially one giant, winding sentence, and the long, layered structure is fascinating. The repetition, the strategic paragraph breaks, and the richly detailed descriptions establish the setting so effectively. Because this location is so important in the book, the dramatic introduction feels brilliant and intentional. The final two sentences are especially striking. They’re packed with irony, dark humor, and a kind of mythic tone that elevates the whole moment. This is my favorite passage in the entire book, and it feels truly unique. I’m curious what students could do with it—it offers a lot of compelling craft moves worth replicating.
This passage is loaded with great craft. I love the opening fragments that capture the narrator’s internal monologue while he’s swimming—they immediately anchor us in the rhythm and urgency of the moment. The sensory details are fantastic, too. The historical reference to Alcatraz, paired with the metaphor of the water as a jailor, adds depth and tension. The drama of the rescue mission is heightened by the shouted dialogue and the coughing in the background, which makes the whole scene feel chaotic and real. It’s a great passage—you can picture it so vividly in your mind as you read.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"The gastropub has three TV’s, and although two of them were showing sports, the third showed the news." (All Better Now, p. 7)
The gastropub has three TV's.
Two of them were showing sports.
The third showed the news.
"The place was filled with the ghosts of last summer’s spiders, and the timeless mummies of mice in every nook and cranny." (p. 168)
The place was filled.
It was filled with the ghosts of last summer's spiders.
It was filled with the mummies of mice.
They were in every nook and cranny.
"Once in the bright blue coveralls, hoods in place and secure, they cranked open a hatch, and climbed down a steep set of stairs to a brightly lit corridor with glass-windowed labs on either side." (p. 192)
They were in the bright blue coveralls.
Their hoods were in place and secure.
They cranked open a hatch.
They climbed down a steep set of stairs.
The stairs led to a corridor.
The corridor was brightly lit.
There were glass-windowed labs on either side.
Sentences for Imitation:
I know that em dashes have gotten a bad rep since AI's hit the scene. But I personally love using them--and this author does too! Below are a TON of examples. Give these to your students as a model for how to use them correctly and have maximum impact.
"The Titanic did not sink due to incompetence, bad decisions, and bad luck–the real cause was hubris." (p. 337)
"This place–this grand estate in the lush English countryside–was already overwhelming." (p. 22)
"Alone. It was such a foreign concept to Mariel–because although she often felt solitary, she never really was." (p. 69)
"Solicitors. Lawyers. Attorneys. Morgan had never needed one before. She didn’t trust them–because anyone who claimed to be serving your interests instead of their own was lying." (p. 74)
"And Dr. Bosgraf smiled–or at least her eyes smiled, because Morgan couldn’t see her horrible teeth through the hazmat mask. Which was a mercy." (p. 195)
"It wasn’t until they reached the final set of labs that Morgan realized where the weak link lay–and it wasn’t human." (p. 193)
I like the simile and the drama in this one.
"Like a pair of oxygen molecules, she and her mother were bound together by forces that only outside intervention could break." (p. 69)
I like the humor and the voice of this sentence. And I think students would have fun recreating it.
"Morgan was not going to Thornwick Nab to gloat. All right, maybe she was, but that wasn’t the only reason." (p.169)
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
Want to be updated when our next book review comes out? Subscribe here for weekly posts featuring fresh book reviews with brand-new sentences and passages. Your inbox’s new favorite destination for new YA reading and writing inspiration!
Comments