Last year I put off reading Steven Rowley’s The Guncle and I regretted it, so you know that the minute his newest book The Celebrants was on NetGalley I requested it because I can’t have FOMO. The Celebrants had me tearing up (yes, even my stone cold heart) in the first few chapters to laughing to even letting one tear fall at the end. But it was just one, which as we all know is really like one million normal person tears, I am just an unfeeling sack of skin.

The Celebrants follows five college roommates who after the death of their friend decide they will create a pact to have a living funeral for each of them at their time of need, at the choosing of the person, so that nothing is left unsaid. This pact results in funerals for divorces, parents passing and facing prison time but the most heart wrenching one is saved for the end.

I seriously enjoyed this one. I love a found family, friends as the people you choose to spend your life with story so this one was perfect for me. The characters are imperfect, their relationships messy but it made them all the more relatable. If you are looking for a found family, character driven novel that combines humor, wit and deep emotion, don’t sleep on The Celebrants.

“To think about life is to contemplate death—it’s what makes living so valuable. Our time here is limited, gone in the blink of an eye.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own. The Celebrants has a publish date of May 30, 2023.

“We weren’t meant to see everything, we weren’t built to do everything, we aren’t capable of knowing everything. At a certain point, peace has to be found with the choices we’ve made.”

I could not WAIT to read this book! The Guncle was one of my favorite audiobooks last year and I did not want it to end. It was just so heartwarming and funny and feel good gahhhh I just loved it.

“To think about life is to contemplate death—it’s what makes living so valuable. Our time here is limited, gone in the blink of an eye.”

I certainly hope Steven Rowley narrates every book he writes because he is fabulous! Maybe it’s because he wrote the book, but he always just seems to BE the character he is narrating and the listener is quickly swept up into his world. The Celebrants is quite different from The Guncle, but still with its laugh out loud moments. This one is a bit darker, though, following a group of college friends tied together by a tragedy but doing everything they can to stay strong and support one another. Steven’s writing just sucks you right into the story. He has now become an absolute auto buy author for me.

Thank you also to Netgalley, Putnam Books, and the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It's not uncommon for me to read books that are exciting, engrossing, intriguing, mysterious, or even terrifying. What is rare is to find a book that simply lifts my spirits and makes me happy. I've found two of those this month: the ARC of Sew Into You by Amity Malcolm (Release June 5), and THE CELEBRANTS by Steven Rowley. (Note that both are LGBTQ+.)

THE CELEBRANTS is a big beautiful novel about the importance of Friendships becoming Found Family and even Loved Ones. It's about living in the moment, understanding the past occurred but refusing to dwell in it, and embracing both Now and the glorious unknown possibilities of our future. Steven Rowley is such an outstanding author, with deep insight into his characters; and he peels them down to their cores, transparent to their loved ones, to themselves, and to readers. I gained so much from this novel (though I confess to continuously bawling through the final 10%). I think the last novel that affected me in quite this particular delineation, this exquisite blend of joy and sorrow, was Garth Stein's A SUDDEN LIGHT.

I think everybody needs the spirit-brightening joy of reading THE CELEBRANTS. Celebrate LIFE.

Steven Rowley does it once again and writes one of my new favorite books, ever. I laughed, I cried, and I already want to re-read this book.

The transitions from the past and present were seamless and completely transported me into the book. I loved the concept of the book also and thought the timeline flowed well with the plot. Five friends vow to celebrate their lives and invoke the "pact" to hold a funeral for each other whenever someone needs it most. Each friend has their flaws and own storyline and no one character is raised above the other.

The characters were imperfect and complex and stole your heart from the very first page. Rowley effortlessly draws you into the lives of each of these characters and drops new hints and deeper looks into each character that makes it impossible to hate them.

The premise was so unique and heartwarming and the character driven storyline was magnetic. I can't get over my love for this book, and thought it was equal parts hilarious and pure joy. This is a book I would gift to anyone - a friend, a sibling, a mother/father, a grandmother or grandfather. Any person will find joy and comfort in this book, and this is one that should be celebrated by everyone.

Well, this had me crying in the first couple chapters (and then cracking up shortly after.) This one really explored how life can really break you down and kill your spirit. Rowley beautifully writes some realistic and flawed characters. I loved seeing the group dynamics and the events that caused them to return to the pact. It was fitting that when I put this down I started Big Gay Wedding written by Rowley's husband!

I adored The Guncle so I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of The Celebrants! I enjoy when a book is witty enough to make me laugh while also poignant enough to make me cry. The message of The Celebrants was clear - make sure the people that you love know how you feel about them while they're still here.

The Celebrants centers around a group of five friends - Jordan, Jordy, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle. Shortly before their graduation from Berkeley in the mid-90s, the sixth member of their group, Alec, dies from an overdose. As they mourn the loss of their friend and the things left unsaid before his death, the five remaining friends make a pact. They will throw each other one "living funeral" per person, which they can each cash in whenever they are feeling at their lowest, so their friends can remind them of how much they love them and how important they are to them.

The book is centered around these living funerals, with each chapter bouncing back and forth between a different friend's living funeral spread over the course of 30 years, and the "now", in which Jordan and Jordy are married and Jordan is dying of cancer, with Jordy trying to convince him to request his turn in the pact before its too late. In each chapter, we get more insights about the person whose funeral is the focus of the chapter, as well as updates on where the rest of the friends are in their lives. Despite sometimes falling out of touch and growing apart, whenever anyone requests their funeral, the group comes together to hilarious effect but ultimately supporting the friend who is struggling.

There were so many different personalities in the friend group, each chapter felt like its own short story with getting a glimpse into the life of a specific friend. I liked that they were not all still best friends, having grown apart naturally since college and only seeing each other all at once for these sporadic "funerals". But despite their distance, they still have cherished memories and feelings that they express to help their friends during their lowest points, tied together by their shared experience of losing Alec. After so many years, they each had their role in the group and there were a lot of funny moments when they came together for the funerals. I do wish that there was a bit deeper of a dive into the friends but I see how that wouldn't have worked for this type of structure. This was a great 4.5 star read for me.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The first pool day of the year calls for busting out my new I ❤️ Banned Books tote that I picked up at @riverstonebookstore earlier this month and an ARC for The Celebrants by @mrstevenrowley which is out on Tuesday!

Spoiler alert: I loved it!

I am a massive fan of The Guncle, so I was very much looking forward to this one. It’s the story of a group of college friends that made a pact before graduation to give each other living funerals - at the time when they need it the most. The book hops throughout time - from college to the present day with stops for the various funerals. It is an incredibly witty, nuanced, and authentic take on friendship, relationships, grief, tackling the tough shit, and growing up.

It’s a celebration of life and friends - the people who are there for you through the good, the bad, And the ugly. You best believe I was laying at the pool devouring this one, sometimes snorting and sometimes crying. But in my view, the best books get you in ALL your feels like this one.

Big thanks to @netgalley and @putnambooks for gifting me an advanced reader copy. Make sure to pick this @readwithjenna selection up on Tuesday!

#scottonreads #goodreads #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #bookstagrammer #bookworm #books #stevenrowley #putnambooks #readwithjenna #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #thecelebrants

I will post this review here, on goodreads, on my bookstagram @scottonreads and on retail sites

Fans of The Guncle will not be disappointed by Steven Rowley's follow up. The Celebrants is a beautiful story of friendship, growing up and embracing your second act in life. Certain parts were skimmed over a little too quickly (ex. Mia's paternity) but the message and love felt between the characters more than made up for it. It will make you look more closely at the people in your life, even the ones you haven't spoken to in ages.

Steven Rowley can certainly write powerful and inspiring comedy-fiction. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 is going to be an instant classic for me focusing on the power of lifelong friends/found family and promises, even ones we make to ourselves. I loved it, but to be fully honest, a little less than 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙚. Easily 4.5 ★ for me.
OUT TOMORROW

“𝙻𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍.”

I laughed, cried, laughed some more, and sat in silence after the last page - reflecting on the friendships in my own life. This book is going to stick with me.

📍𝗗𝗖 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗦!!! 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟴𝗧𝗛 ✍️
Steven will be in DC at East City Books!!! In-person tickets are still available.

Instead of trying to recap the premise of the book on my own, I’m going to include the publisher description, because it’s just perfect - the this book has A LOT of things going on in it!

Book Description:

It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

Thanks to Putnam Books and NetGalley for a chance to early review this story in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Steven Rowley's books. I have read all of them and each one is different from the other. The Guncle is most similar to The Editor and The Celebrants is closer to Lily and the Octopus.

I knew going into this book that I would love it, I expected to, but what I did not expect was that I didn't want to read it fast. I wanted to let the story unfold slowly, and let the characters and scenery and story marinate in my head overnight. I had to stop myself from plowing through this. Mind you, I don't think it lends itself as a fast read, but at some point you will not be able to put it down.

This is the story of six friends who meet in college and how they progress through life. With and without each other. They are chosen family, which is my favorite type of family. Their lives are intertwined in ways that make me long for that in my own life. I miss my college friends, but things happen, paths differ, adult personalities emerge.

Anyway, I'm not going to spoil the plot of this book, but I do encourage you to read it. Even if there's a point where you feel like giving up, please continue. It's very close to perfection and I can't wait for this author's next work.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I went into this expecting something to live up to The Guncle, but I should have reminded myself that I DNF'd another of this author's previous books. This was fine. It started pretty slow for me and was almost instantly fairly sad, but it did pick up. I enjoyed it more toward the end, but also just wanted more to happen. This is a ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ read for me, I could take it or leave it.

After reading the Guncle i knew I'd love this and I was writting. So heartwarming and thoughtful would read again

A wonderful book about found family and friendship. 5 college friends make a pact to plan and attend each other's living funeral after Alec, the 6th in their group, passes away their senior year. The book starts in the present year (2023) with Jordan calling the group together for his funeral. Each chapter jumps back to another character's funeral, the circumstances that lead them to call for one, and how the funeral (and the group) comforts them to move forward.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was comforting to read about characters that are middle-aged, still figuring out their lives, and having decade long friendships to help guide them along. Steven Rowley captures the essence of adult friendships well. You can be across the country from one another, not talk for months, but you know that they'll be there when you need them.
Highly recommend to any reader who loves found families and recognizes the struggle of rediscovering yourself as an adult.

“The Celebrants” is a heartfelt novel following a group of five friends from college who have known each other for nearly three decades. At the end of their senior year of college when their friend Alec dies unexpectedly, Naomi, Marielle, Craig, Jordan, and Jordy make a pact to throw each other “living funerals,” celebrations to remind each other that they are loved and that life is worth living. Over the past 28 years, they have been there for each other through divorce, grief, and job loss. As they reunite for another living funeral, one person has a secret that will upend their pact.

This was a very heartwarming and thought-provoking book about the power of friendship and mortality. It will have you laughing on one page and crying on the next. A great reminder to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you while they’re still alive to hear it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't think I could love a book more than Guncle, which is still in my top five favorites of all time. The Celebrants made me laugh and it made me cry, sometimes at the same time. I finished this while walking on the treadmill and honestly almost fell at some parts because I was so captivated in the story. Steven Rowley, I bow down to you. The Celebrants is the book I will push on everyone I know for the entire summer/2023 and beyond. Five stars aren't enough.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

A heart-warming story about 5 friends who agree to come together whenever one of them is in need...After losing their friend Alec before their college graduation, the friends invoke a pact for "living funerals" to let each other know how special and loved they are. Marielle invokes hers after her divorce. Naomi after losing her parents to a plane crash and Craig was "surprised" with his after pleading guilty to art fraud. Only the Jordans (Jordan Vargas and his husband, Jordy Tosic) have yet to invoke the pact, and Jordy has decided that it is time for Jordan to do so, He beat cancer 5 years ago but it is back and he only has limited time left. What you get is an honest portrayl of love and friendship with Rowley's signature humor and heart.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's sons for this e-arc.*

I was so excited to read this book, but it unfortunately didn’t work for me. I thought it was hard to keep the friends straight and wanted more from all of them in regards to emotions. I’m also just not a fan of long chapters, which is a personal preference. I am so excited that it’s been picked by a celebrity bookclub and I wish it all the success.

Rowley can do no wrong, this book is so good. It’s funny, it’s emotional, and it’s so well written. I really loved this and I think everyone should read it

Thank you for allowing me a chance to read this book! I really enjoyed it. I read The Guncle right before reading this one in order to become more familiar with the author. Both books have a ton of heart, and Rowley handles loss and grief in such an important and meaningful way. He really has a gift to make the reader laugh one moment and then cry the next. So many of us don't take the time to tell people what they mean and their worth while they are with us. Just today at the pool, Sirrus had a Tina Turner afternoon to celebrate her after her death this week. Why didn't we have Tina Turner afternoon before? We honor people after they're gone, and The Celebrants really got me thinking about finding ways to make every day meaningful while I'm here. I also have very best friends from college, and we're a male/female mixed group as well. I thought of them the enire time I read this book, and I'm going to include a photo of us from college as my Instragram review of The Celebrants. Made me want to book a trip to get us together more often. Bravo, Steven Rowley, on an amazing new release!

Review will be up on Sunday, May 28th at my Instagram page as well.

Steven Rowley’s newest release, The Celebrants, follows the lives of 5 friends over decades, after they experience the death of one of their own in college. Determined “to leave nothing unsaid”, Marielle, Naomi, Jordy, Jordan, and Craig all make a pact… to celebrate each other by giving living funerals at the pivotal times in their lives, ensuring that each of them knows just how much they are loved.

Steven Rowley has proven himself to be an author who digs deep into the topic of grief. Both The Guncle and The Celebrants are novels that explore grief, how it shapes our lives and changes us, and how we move through and beyond it. In The Celebrants, each character is struggling with some sort of loss, and it’s heartwarming to watch how the friends come together to support each other through each loss. There are nuggets of wisdom throughout the book, with witty banter amongst the Celebrants, as they call themselves, to lighten the overall mood of the novel. I absolutely loved how Rowley combined humor with grief in The Guncle, and truly felt emotionally connected with the characters in that novel. In The Celebrants, that combination of wit and depth is still evident, but I didn’t feel as connected to these characters. This could be due to the fact that there were more of them, but none of them truly burrowed into my heart like GUP did. Regardless, The Celebrants is a novel that reminds you to live life to the fullest, to say the things that need to be said, to make sure that those around you have no doubts as to your love for them. It’s a testament to the power of friendship and found family, in the midst of the good times and the hard ones. You’ll finish this book with a reminder to cherish those around you and to savor life, and that feeling is one that lingers long after the last page is read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.75 rounded up