We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory

Five Things We Liked About We Are All Completely Fine:

1. Group dynamics.  It’s very hard to have a true ensemble cast in a novel. Usually you need a focus. Gregory actually managed to have an excellent group dynamic. The way that different characters interacted and how they handled themselves differently depending on their situation was interesting and also felt very true to life. Managing various characters with skill, Gregory made us like all of the characters and their various plights. It was great to see the way that the group shifted and changed, drawing you deeper into the story as a result. You could watch the group sessions turn into individual character studies.
2. Interesting characters. The way to make an ensemble cast work, is to have every character be interesting and different. This book is a perfect example of this idea. Every character was unique in an interesting way that allowed you to become attached and interested in their story.
   

   Dany: I remember being, “oh” with Stan. Cause at first you just have all the POVs that aren’t Stan and I was like “maaaan, dude, you’re a little bit annoying”. Then I read Stan’s POV and it actually made me like him
   Rosey: hahaha. I never liked Stan ^^; but I get what you mean. You learned so much about [the characters] from their character studies.

3. Thought-provoking.  We Are All Completely Fine made us both think. There was a lot of interesting content about mental health and what it means to heal. Getting through trauma and how do you keep going when you feel like you’re all alone. Despite being not in a genre either of us would usually read (supernatural and possessions) it touched on a lot of real and grounding realities that happen for people who experience trauma.
   

   Dany: “ah let’s go analyze why this gives me all the feels. *peers into the darkest recesses of her mind for half an hour*”

4. Ending No spoilers, but the ending of this was well done. The last sentences really made it clear what the book was about. There was no fade out of story, but a clean cut. This was the point things changed. Endings are impossibly hard to do right, and here is one book that managed it quite well.
5. Compact storytelling. They tell you when you write that you should try to use the least number of words to tell the story. Well, Gregory certainly got that down.
   

   Rosey: I just wanted more information. ALL THE TIME. I was like “sir, please, can I have some more?” about these characters.
   Dany: yeaaah. I was all “can’t they just meet AGAIN? … there are like 100 pages missing here. at the very least. please????”
   Rosey: I would have totally been okay with another 100 pages, where we got to see more of the sessions and learn more about the characters. I mean, it worked as it was, so I guess we didn’t NEED more, I just wanted it.
   Dany: It totally worked for me, but the characters were so interesting I just certainly wouldn’t have minded more.

   I would call his style stripped down to the bare essentials of what this story is about. There were no frills or flourishes — just story. The book was relatively short, but it provided a full view of the characters in a way that really made them interesting and well displayed.

Overall, this was a great book. We both enjoyed it and found it to be interesting and thought provoking. Our only complaint, which isn’t really a complaint, is that it wasn’t long enough! We wanted more, even if it wasn’t necessary.

Dany’s rating: 5/5 stars
Rosey’s rating: 4/5 stars