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From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness becomes contagious and the teens caught in the conspiracy by the powers that be to bring back discontent. An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It behaves like a virus, with the first symptom being a fever, but those who contract it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone. Almost everyone revels in this mass unburdening. But people in power—who depend on malcontents tuning into their broadcasts, prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince people they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Soon, campaigns start up convincing people that being happy all the time is dangerous. There’s even a vaccine developed to rid people of their inner peace and get them back to normal because, surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos. It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their own agendas, and two teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in different ways by the virus find themselves enmeshed in the center of a dangerous power play. Can they reveal the truth?
Publication Year: 2025
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0 0~~Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!~~
I just - can't. This book is both overwhelming and underwhelming all at once.
I really feel like Shusterman's pandemic dystopia is far too soon, especially since, in large parts, COVID is very much still a problem, despite the pandemic being "over." Reading about improper masking, people purposely spreading a 5% mortality rate disease, worldwide shutdowns, it's practically a replica of what we experienced. Maybe I'd feel different if this was published in the 2030's or 2040's, but as is, it just isn't hitting.
Outside of that, Shusterman is trying way too hard to be philosophical here. It's not subtle, whatsoever. Rather, it feels like it's jammed directly down your throat. It very much gave off "I'm not like the other YA books" vibes with the story showing off how "deep" and "insightful" it is over telling a good story and characters. This whole tone kept throwing me off so much that I dreaded picking up the ARC; books should not make you feel like this!
The characters aren't really characters, just devices Shusterman uses to fit the message. The main characters aren't even interesting enough for the story to pay attention to, because we kept jumping into random side characters' who I care for even less. There was nothing for me to get invested to, whatsoever.
All in all, this was just not it for me. I recognize that Shusterman's talent as a writer, but this book was just too condescending in its tone for me to like in the slightest.
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