I adored Rowley's "The Guncle" for his storytelling prowess and humor. The same can now be said for "The Celebrants." Such a wonderfully unique premise of college friends eulogizing each other in life, so each can appreciate their impact on others within the friend group. The story is structured with deep dives into each individual characters life; emanating with humor, emotion, and the discomfort that comes along with adulting. Overall, this story is a celebration of life and all it's seasons, with a deep appreciation for the found family we create along the way.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Steven Rowley's The Celebrants is more fun than a book with its premise has any right to be, a book where death is on the minds of every character and on every page. But Rowley does such a great job of fleshing out the relationships and the lives of these characters that it never feels like a downer. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Loved the author's first book. Sadly, I found the group of friends in The Celebrants to be unlikeable. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ebook.

I read the Guncle a couple years ago and found it super funny and entertaining, so I was happy to try another one from Steven Rowley! It's a quirky and charming storyline about an old group of friends. It is told by different perspectives and different time frames which is enjoyable. I didn't like this one as much as The Guncle but it's still a great book!

Thank you, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and NetGalley, for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I love anything Steven Rowley writes. This one was so unique. A group of friends have life celebrations so they can appreciate each other while they are still alive (like funerals but when you are living). I loved this idea... each friend was so different and it was really moving to see how they all loved each other.

I loved friendship in the book, which kept me really invested. I think I’ll read more of his books In the future.

A beautiful book celebrating life with all its beauty and hardships. This was a wonderful reminder to be grateful for and hold close those we walk through life with—the people who make the beautiful parts of life better and the hard parts of life easier.

This was a beautiful story of friendship and life. Rowley is excellent at deep storytelling while still keeping things lighthearted at times and adding humor.

Steven Rowley is quickly becoming a go to author for me. His books are so human and are a delight to read.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I would have loved another couple hundred pages with these delightful and hilarious people. I just finished and just feel so warm. Absolutely lovely book with so much heart and heartbreak. Everyone needs to read it. And go tell your people you love them.

While this started a bit slow for me, I was soon sucked into this adorable and quirky friend group and so enjoyed moving through life with each of them. I was laughing and crying alongside them and I really appreciated that all the characters were so distinct that I didn't find myself mixing them up of feeling confused, despite two of the people literally having the same name. Steven Rowley is very good at making you feel so connected to the characters he writes and I'm already excited to start The Guncle Abroad.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so many sad undertones but was written beautifully. Coming off The Guncle, suffice to say I wasn’t expecting sadness. But I loved the Jordan’s. I loved how the characters made a pact with one another AND THEN SHOWED UP for one another. Big “that’s what friends are for” energy. Everyone falls into their own struggles and it was refreshing to read a book where friends circle around and support one another. The thing about this book is that it was hard to really know the characters — I wish we’d gotten a little more. I think there was a little spark missing that stopped me from really enjoying this one. But I liked it and I’m glad I got to read it.

This book was a DNF for me. I got about 20 % in and it just wasn’t keeping my attention. With that said I think an older audience would appreciate it more. I did like the idea of the book though. A group of friends loses one of their own in college. So after his funeral they decide to make a pact, to each host their own funeral while alive. That way they can know how loved they each are before they pass. This book is about reunion, friendship, and pulling together time and time again.

I cried and I laughed and I cried and I laughed. Wow. I love Steven Rowley but wow. What my soul needed right now was “The Celebrants”. This book is therapy. Just read it, 10 stars if I could.

Thank you thank you thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I’ve always bought copies for my closest friends.

This book is beautiful. The friendships are so complex and they feel so real. I loved hearing about each person, and I loved the scenes when they were all together. I actually recommended this book to a patron before I even finished it, because I knew it was a winner early on. I think it's a great book for those who are looking for something more character focused, rather than plot focused. I think it's great for fans of A Little Life (though less intense and depressing, but still emotional). Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC!

Everything Steven Rowley writes is fun, phenomenal, and emotional. This is no exception. A great book to take along on a trip, gossipy, with deep themes.

This one was unexpected in the best way! I felt all the feels with this one and will continually recommend it!

I greatly enjoyed The Guncle (and am looking forward to the sequel), so I was looking forward to reading The Celebrants. This book gives readers depth and levity and heart. This one introduces readers to a dynamic friend group that made a pact in college to provide memorial elegies in advance of their actual deaths - upon request.

It's an interesting premise and builds on themes of friendship and mortality.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

The Celebrants is the story of 5 best friends who develop a pact that they will arrange and attend each other’s funerals before they actually die.

Jordan, Jordy, Alec, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle meet and become best friends while attending Berkeley. When Alec tragically dies of an overdose as they are about to begin their adult lives they develop their funeral pact so that they can ensure that they never leave anything unsaid for each other.

Over time the “funerals” become more of a lifeline as each of them struggles with a different crisis.

The Celebrants is exactly that, a celebration of the friends, the family that we choose, and how we lift each other up to keep going along the way.

I felt as though this lacked some of the character development that we experienced with The Guncle but overall I enjoyed hanging out with these five friends and had some lol moments as they stumbled through life together.

The Celebrants is about a group of college friends who upon the death of their sixth friend make a pact to hold their funerals early to share how they feel about each other. The book is set up at each of the funerals.

What I liked: The overall message of friendship is so nice. It made me grateful for the college friends I’m still in touch with.

Rowley is able to craft five very different individuals who might not be friends if they hadn’t met when they did. When they came back together for each funeral seemed to make sense.

The ending made me tear up.

What didn’t work for me: I didn’t click with this book the way I hoped. I loved The Guncle and maybe I was expecting more humor but this book is much more sad and I felt a bit disconnected with how it’s set up.

Who should read it: You vwant a sort of sad look at adult friendships.