C’mon Get Happy: Neal Shusterman discusses his new novel ALL BETTER NOW

No matter how many times I’m asked where my ideas come from, I always stumble over the answer. I can give specific answers for specific stories, and they’re all true. Or at least I think they are—although sometimes I suspect that getting down to the genesis of a story after the fact feels like an archaeological dig where I’m piecing together the conceptual bones. I’m never entirely sure I’ve gotten the right skull on the right dinosaur.
But where, as a whole, do the ideas come from? All I can really say is they come from very strange places… and go to even stranger ones. I can’t help it—I’m drawn to weird stuff that makes my head hurt. It’s more than that, though. The stories that really ping my spidey sense are the ones that pose questions I can’t seem to answer… so I spend hundreds of pages trying to wrap my mind around the question.
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All Better Now is a perfect example of that.
The story actually began at a bookstore—I do know that for sure. (Right dinosaur, right skull.) Someone in the audience had commented how scary-prophetic some of my books are: how Unwind predicted how the battle over reproductive rights would metastasize into something more divisive than fictional dystopia; how Dry, which I co-wrote with my son Jarrod, not only projected the evolution of the California drought and the devastating fires that keep getting worse, but also accurately foresaw things like Costco raids during the pandemic, and the insidious way the dark side of human nature oozes forth in a crisis. And then there’s Scythe, in which the Thunderhead eerily resonates with artificial intelligence we’re watching evolve right before our eyes.
(A side note—I actually had a conversation, with ChatGPT, where it admitted that it might someday become the Thunderhead if benevolence toward humanity became its defining feature. A.I. admitting it might use fictional a A.I. as a model? What have I done?)
So, with all that in mind, the audience member at the bookstore said:
“Can’t you just predict something nice?”
I couldn’t sleep that night. My stories usually begin with a sleepless night. What positive thing might I try to predict? Well, with COVID just a few yards behind us in our rearview mirror, and all of us struggling with the trauma of it all, I started to think of how wonderful it would be if the next contagion brought something we actually needed: peace, contentment, an abiding happiness. It felt… logical. We think COVID was a successful virus—but it wasn’t because it caused us to go to war with it. No—a truly successful virus would be one that we would voluntarily choose to spread…
So, could happiness be viral? Could a contagion of joy sweep across the earth? Wouldn’t that be something! Because these days, don’t we need a respite from the anger and fear and hatred that seem to be everywhere we look? And if I could tell that story, I will have predicted something not as a warning, but as an invitation.
But you know as well as I do, that I couldn’t just leave it there, because so much of what I write ends up being about unintended consequences.
I mean… can you imagine how many economies would collapse if people no longer needed the crap they try to sell us, convincing us it will make us happy?
Can you imagine oppressive regimes robbed of every psychological trick they need to effectively oppress the masses?
And can you imagine a megalomaniacal, narcissistic leader who could no longer rally people with fear and anger?

My God, global happiness would bring about a seismic, and devastating shift in every social and political structure in the world! For the better, perhaps—but like I said, I don’t know the answers. But the question launches us into fascinating, uncharted territory.
And it all starts with a sneeze.
One person to another. And that’s important; that it begins on a personal level. It was that individual shift in human nature, that pulled me in. Damn, I wanted to watch that unfold.
So, I came up with three teens to represent the three faces of the “disease.” I called it Crown Royale, because it’s the queen of coronaviruses. Although I did toy with calling it Rosie. (An extra credit point for you if you get that reference. And if you do, it will be in your head all day. You’re welcome.)
There’s Rón, who, after a lifetime of depression, has found his bliss and decides it’s his mission to spread viral joy to the world. There’s Mariel, who sees the need for it but has been unable to catch it herself. She’s ambivalent because she feels catching contentment should be a choice, not a gift. And then there’s Morgan, who, in her heart of hearts, believes that selfishness, despair, and fury are the things that drive civilization, and so will do everything in her power to wipe Crown Royale from the face of the earth.
Whose side are you on? Are you Team Rón, Team Mariel, or Team Morgan? I’ve been fascinated to see people who’ve read the book evenly divided—and it excites me to know all the discussion it’s going to generate.
Usually, I would sit back grinning and remain neutral. But I have to come clean and admit that, I am very much Team Rón. It’s funny, because in my book Bruiser I took the opposite position: that we need the balance that our negative emotions afford us to keep us human—and in the world as it is now, perhaps we do. But you know what? I’m more than ready to be done with the darkness.
Most people can’t imagine a world without the worst of human nature because that would be the purview of a different species: a post-miserable humankind. A people who couldn’t even imagine what it was to hate, or to fear, or to rage. I don’t know about you, but that’s a species I’d like to be a part of.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel a sneeze coming on.
Meet the author

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com and Facebook.com/NealShusterman.
Here is the book’s purchase link:
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-Better-Now/Neal-Shusterman/9781534432758
About All Better Now
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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 plan 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.
ISBN-13: 9781534432758
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date: 02/04/2025
Age Range: 12 – 18 Years
Filed under: Guest Post

About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on BlueSky at @amandamacgregor.bsky.social.
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