Title: All This And More
Author: Peng Shepherd
Genre: Science fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: July 9, 2024
Format: Paperback 
Length:  469 pages

Read if you like: choose your own adventure books, time travel, magical realism, unlikeable characters, family drama, reality TV
 
Rating: 

All This And More has been on my TBR since it was released partly because of the unique premise and choose-your-own-adventure style, but also because I was such a big fan of The Cartographers, another novel by Shepherd. I loved the uniqueness of that story and felt like Shepherd’s writing style was really enjoyable, so I was confident I’d like this one too. 

All This And More was, in some ways, exactly how it was described, while also taking me completely by surprise. The premise was exceptionally unique, to the point that it was almost challenging to wrap your head around at times, and the characters, who I expected to like upon first glance at the start of the book, became much more nuanced and complex, resulting in kind of a mixed bag of feelings for me. It’s such a relatable concept at its core, the natural tendency to wonder if we’ve made the right decisions, to wonder if we would be somewhere different had our choices differed from what they were, and I think Shepherd handles the actual ramifications of what would come if it were possible to revisit your choices with exceptional poignancy. It’s messy and uncomfortable and easy to go way too far, to overcorrect in terrible ways, even with the best intentions. 

The Book Synopsis: All This And More by Peng Shepherd

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences.

Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything—romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure—and is desperate for a do-over.

She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time.

But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off.…

Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it?

The Review

This was a reasonably original book with a unique premise. There were many things I liked about it, and admittedly I was turning pages intensely towards the end so that I could reach the conclusion.

The notion that there could be a quantum bubble where realities could be altered was fun, but what was even better was the way it was used for such a ridiculously vain purpose. I think everyone wonders what may have happened if they’d made different choices at one point or another, so in that sense, the plight of the characters was rational and relatable, but when you step back and look at the concept as a whole, the use of it as a reality tv device is really funny, and perhaps also indicative of the ways that we sometimes waste the potential of technology and it’s developments.  It’s both far-fetched and also maybe pessimistically accurate to think that if technology like this were possible, instead of solving major world issues, it might be used instead for cheesy reality TV. 

The main character Marsh, to me, was thoroughly unlikeable. To be honest, I didn’t find anyone on the cast overly likable. Each was intentionally flawed, and despite the tweaking Marsh attempts over and over throughout her experience, human nature prevails and she never really manages to overcome every quirk and nuance to herself or those around her. That’s largely the point, that you can’t scrub someone clean of what makes them unique, or the experiences that have shaped them— there is no perfect person, just imperfect people making the best of what they have. I felt like Shepherd handled the consequences of what it would mean to go back and change your past quite well. It wasn’t always a complete implosion of the world Marsh knew, but there were always unintended impacts, and those impacts most often resulted in the destruction of those around her as much as it did to her own life. 

I loved the Choose Your Own Adventure, but it also gave me anxiety at times. In full transparency, I read all three available endings because I simply couldn’t leave without the knowledge of all that could have transpired, and I did love the way that Shepard was able to use the various endings to shed light on the different aspects of Marsh’s personality and the inevitability of unintended consequences when altering the past. Each ending felt authentic to the character she’d developed, and I appreciated that none were perfect. That was the main takeaway from the entire experience, and it was unsurprising to me that Marsh was left dissatisfied by that very realization each time. 

This was a thoroughly interesting book, though I hate the notion that there are aspects I didn’t get to because of the choices I may have made when reading. Once again, that’s probably part of the point, but it still grates on me a little (though not enough for me to take a full second pass at the book). For that reason alone, I rated this one four out of five stars.