For people with problems, there is something appealing about the changes that the virus triggers. But for others, particularly with things to lose, the virus is dangerous. With no cares, greed is eradicated and along with it capitalism. With fear erased and war ended, power structures that rely on them are threatened. While many recoverees come to embrace the changed world and promote the spread of the virus, a shrinking group works hard to find a vaccine that will curb the infection.
Three young people with an important role to play form the crux of the story. Ron, the son of one of the richest men in the world. Mariel, penniless, but ultimately one of the most powerful people on the planet. And finally Morgan, ruthless enough to make the decisions that could change the course of humanity.
Given the time that has passed since the COVID pandemic, the themes of the book feel less vital and vibrant, but Shusterman's exploration of the spread of greed and fear, a countervailing movement of empathy, and the struggle between them feels quite relevant in the present day. Making the contemporary clash of social movements that currently wrack havoc in our world into viral pandemics may lack subtlety but it provides biting commentary in a highly digestible form.
In the end, I enjoyed this action adventure with some moral heft. The storytelling itself is lively and page-turning and most of the time Shusterman keeps the philosophical debates to a minimum (not that those are not interesting, but it can become burdensome and negatively impact the pacing). The balance between action and social commentary that he achieves left me feeling entertained but also full of thought-provoking questions (like whether infecting the world with kindness would make us truly better off or whether people should have the right to make wrong decisions).
