Everything’s Fine

Author: Cecilia Rabess

Genre: Fiction

Format: Digital ARC via Simon Books

Publish Date: June 2023

Read: May 2023

Favorite Quote: Sometimes it’s better to be happy than right.

Story Synopsis: Everything’s Fine begins when Jess Jones gets a job at Goldman Sachs after college, where she’s thrust into the world of golf and finance bros. Despite Jess’s brilliance and ability to outperform her peers, being a Black woman in finance is a constant uphill battle. Jess must work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously as her white male counterparts. While at Goldman, she’s on the same team as her college frenemy, Josh, a trading analyst wunderkind with a perfect future before him. Surrounding Jess, and her budding friendship with Josh, the USA is seeing increasing political divisiveness around race and political ideologies. Jess grapples with her identity and her responsibility to stand up for herself and for the Black community in her bubble of predominantly white, affluent people. Everything’s Fine will make you question if love really does conquer all, and if it does, at what cost?

Why does this book beguile? Everything’s Fine is one of the best books I’ve read, and the story will stay with me for a long time. Rabess’ writing is approachable, quick-witted, and hauntingly beautiful. As a woman who’s worked in financial technology for over a decade, I felt connected to Everything’s Fine through Jess’ experiences. I loved how Rabess describes the constant awareness one feels in an environment where you’re different. Rabess beautifully articulates the emotions, feelings, and awareness a Black woman feels all the time in these environments. I am not a Black woman, so I can’t begin to imagine the inability to let your guard down for even a moment when you feel aware of those key differences.

In addition to eloquently discussing race and challenging unconscious biases, through Everything’s Fine, Rabess explores socioeconomic disparities through the characters. Some of the characters have luxury and privilege, while others feel they do not. Through the lens of wanting more and achieving more, Rabess challenges readers to question what happens when you feel like parts of you are incongruent as you grow.

Everything’s Fine will make you question what you think you know about bias, race, politics and ideology, and about socioeconomic differences - but done in such a way where you don’t know it’s happening until you have an “oh shit” moment.

Rating: 6/5 - perfection

Link*: Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess - Amazon | Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess - Bookshop.org

If you liked this book, read: Hell of a Book by Jason Mott