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A painfully funny, painfully real love story for our time that doesn't just ask will they, but...should they?
Jess is a senior in college, ambitious but aimless, when she meets Josh. He's a privileged preppy in chinos, ready to inherit the world. She's not expecting to inherit anything.
A year later, they're both working at the same investment bank. And when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, Josh shows up for her in surprising—if imperfect—ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship forms, tinged with undeniable chemistry. It gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.
Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forward. But as the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them, Jess is forced to consider if their disagreements run deeper than she can bear, what she's willing to compromise for love, and whether, in fact, everything's fine.
A stunning debut about "a love affair that turns inferno" (People), that is "extraordinarily brave...funny as hell," (Zakiya Dalilah Harris) Cecilia Rabess's Everything's Fine is an incisive and moving portrait of a young woman who is just beginning to discover who she is and who she has the right to be. It is also a "subtle, ironic, wise, state-of-the-nation novel" (Nick Hornby) that asks big questions about the way we live now and "whether our choices stop and end with us" (The New York Times).
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 6, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797155876
- File size: 314713 KB
- Duration: 10:55:39
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 24, 2023
Rabess delivers a breezy yet unsettling debut about a liberal Black financial analyst who falls in love with a white Republican coworker. It’s the middle of the Obama years and Jess Jones, newly hired at Goldman Sachs, runs into Josh Hillyer, an old college classmate with whom she used to argue over politics. To her surprise, they slowly become friends despite his conservative views as he mentors her and helps her navigate office politics as the only Black woman in the firm. Eventually, Josh leaves Goldman to work at a big-time trader’s AI-powered firm, and he brings Jess along with him. Sparks inevitably fly between Jess and Josh as they try to work out their drastically different outlooks and backgrounds. Secrets are revealed, Jess gets in trouble with the boss, and everything comes to a head as the 2016 election approaches, building to a conclusion that lands as either shallowly romantic or an incendiary critique of capitalism, depending on the reader’s interpretation. Rabess’s humor is on-point, and the chemistry between the leads is electric; each scene involving them is fraught with a double-edged sword—after they hook up, Josh starts talking dirty and Jess responds, “Way to ruin the moment, you creepy loser,” before they have sex again. This is sure to spark conversation. -
Den�e Benton narrates this story of romance and finance with skill and empathy. Young Jess, an investment recruit at Goldman Sachs, comes face to face with her preppy and handsome sparring partner from college. Jess is the only Black woman on the floor, and soon Josh starts to support her as she encounters systemic racism and sexism. Benton creates two distinct characters in Jess and Josh, and captures their personalities with finesse. When the dialogue starts to sizzle, Benton deftly narrates in a tone of intimacy. As Jess and Josh come together, part, and then regroup, Benton keeps up nicely. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine -
June 10, 2024
No sooner does Jess leave college than she finds herself the only Black woman working on her floor at Goldman Sachs. She immediately spots Josh, a white former classmate and frequent challenger in their law and society class. Over time, an unlikely friendship between them evolves, even as Jess feels consistently overlooked and underappreciated at work. Within the cutthroat world of finance and hedge funds, over lunches and then dinners, the friendship becomes more. Navigating an interracial romance is one thing, but within the tumultuous political landscape surrounding the 2016 U.S. presidential election--as Black Lives Matter and red MAGA hats take center stage--liberal Jess and conservative Josh find themselves clashing more often than not. At one point, Josh notes that their relationship has become exhausting. While good writing keeps the story moving, and it's understood that Jess is ultimately on a journey of self-discovery, listeners may also be exhausted as they watch her constantly getting in her own way. Also, Josh's polarizing viewpoint often makes it hard to root for love between them. VERDICT Everything is far from fine, and perhaps that is ultimately the point. Rabess's thought-provoking debut will leave few on the fence.--Whitney Bates-Gomez
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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