Review: All This and More

Author: Peng Shepard

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4 / 5

Features:

• A once-in-a-lifetime chance to rewrite the past but things aren’t all what they seem

• A Science Fiction “choose your own adventure” story with a dose of mystery

• Explores how our choices influence both our own lives and the lives of those around us

• Examines what it means to feel fulfilled in a career, relationship, family, and life in general.

Do you ever wish you could do something over? Ever wonder what your life would be like if you had made different choices? On the show All This and More, one lucky contestant will be able to do just that! All This and More is an adult ‘choose your own adventure’ story is extremely clever and you quickly find yourself fully invested in main character Marsh’s life. Though the book allows you to skip around (make choices) at certain points, you are also able to read straight through on a ‘golden path’ if jumping back and forth isn’t for you. Because of its structure, the heart of the story takes a while to develop (or piece together) and there may be times you loop back to sections and choices you might have already made. As a result, this book will speak more to readers who don’t mind a slower paced story or who like the idea of wandering around in a story for a while. Overall, this book far exceeded my expectations and it is definitely one I would recommend!

Cleverly immersive and encourages exploration

It was a night like any other when suddenly the show All This and More came on and changed the world. Using a new technology called ‘quantum bubbling’, the show’s contestants can rewrite their past in order to live the life of their dreams. After season 2 was mysteriously canceled, the show is finally back for season 3 with middle-aged Marsh as its star. Marsh will face a series of choices that will help the bubble create the life she dreams of. But nothing is ever that simple, is it?

I was interested to see what an adult choose your own adventure book would look like and this one did not disappoint! I appreciate that the book never tries to hide what it is going to be and the concept of the TV show All This and More is a clever framework for the choices you are going to be making. As a character, Marsh is very cookie-cutter and somewhat bland, but it really works in this scenario. There is something about Marsh that everyone can connect to and so you are personally connected to the choices you are making. 

The experience of making choices is further enhanced by some of the overall mysteries surrounding the show itself. From the beginning, the narrative encourages you to explore many different pathways and I found myself more than willing to do so in order to uncover more information about what is truly happening. Ultimately, I was left with a lot of interesting thoughts about the ‘role’ of the reader in this story and I love that this book was able to make me approach it in this way. 

A long and winding road

This book is a choose your own adventure. However, each of the ‘episodes’ that comes as a result of your choices are pretty long. In fact, there are relatively few choices to make throughout the book and it is also structured in a way that allows one to read straight through if they really wanted. However, there are only a few endings it is possible to get no matter your choices and some of the choices you make will loop back on each other as you jump around the story. Where I think this makes an interesting statement about the nature of these choices and it is easy to skip through sections you have already read, it sometimes makes the book feel like it’s dragging on. 

The factors that make Marsh easy to get invested in also make her less compelling once a choice has been made. Marsh occasionally makes some intriguing observations, but it takes a while to get from one choice to the next and not every section develops the mystery or Marsh as a person in meaningful ways. I chose not to read straight through at the start, but I can see how this factor would be more noticeable if you are reading straight through. I think some of this is purposeful because another choice is being set up and the reader still needs to feel free to make it, but it is worth noting. 

Get this book!