All this and more A novel

Shepherd (The Cartographers, 2022), outdoes herself with her third novel. Advances in quantum physics have made it possible to create a "bubble" of self-contained reality, unconnected to the "real world," and a television reality show has capitalized on this breakthrough. All This and More allows a contestant to see what their life could be like by trying out various careers, relationships, and so forth, all in the hope of finding a perfect version of their life. This seems too good to be true to this season's contestant, Marsh, a woman with a history of failed relationships and an unfulfilling professional life, but as she samples the different paths her life could take, she begins to discover a new, better version of herself. Until the world inside the quantum bubble begins to feel a little quirky. Buggy, you might say. As if there's something strange going on behind the scenes. This is such a wonderful tale: it has a fascinating cast of characters, a can't-miss idea, and a story that is absolutely spellbinding. It's one of those novels that, just when you think you've got a handle on where it's going, something forces you to rethink everything you think you knew. Shepherd's latest deserves to be a smash hit.

In Shepherd's imaginative latest (after The Cartographers), a middle-aged woman wins the chance to star in a mind-bending reality TV show built around a new technology called The Bubble, which allows contestants to choose different lives for themselves and adjusts their memories to match. Marsh, a recently divorced paralegal, begins her tenure on the show by repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempting to rekindle her marriage. Eventually, she constructs new lives as a high-powered lawyer in Hong Kong, a wildlife photographer in Iceland, and more. She also pursues a romance with her high school boyfriend and improves her relationship with her teenage daughter. Each life feels like an improvement on her real one, but when glitches appear in The Bubble, Marsh worries her chance at a perfect life will slip through her fingers. In the chapter endings, Shepherd playfully mines nostalgia for Choose Your Own Adventure series ("If Ren didn't break up with Marsh last night: Turn the page"). Whichever path readers take, they'll find a tantalizing and well-knit story. Reality TV fans especially ought to take note. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, CAA. (July)