Steven Rowley is a highly skilled writer whose imperfect characters are expertly crafted. His depiction of grief and wit working together to demonstrate the value of life despite its challenges is truly moving. The Jordans were particularly endearing to me and I felt great sadness for them. Even Alec, who is deceased at the beginning of the story, evoked feelings of grief within me

Initial thoughts: Steven Rowley has written another emotional book that is packed with heart. My first experience with Steven as a writer was with his first novel, Lily and the Octopus, a heart-wrenching love story between a dog and a human, the love, joy, and pain of being a pet owner. The story forever touched me as we both share a deep love of dogs, especially Dachshunds.

Last year, Rowley gave the world the most fun book of the year in The Guncle, which is packed with laughs and heart-warming dialogue between kids and their uncle, who was “forced” to care for them while their father was getting mental health care. The Celebrants is a perfect mixture of both of these books; it’s a bit sadder similar to Lily, but packs in the laughs like the Guncle.

More detailed review to come, closer to publication.

Pub Date: 30 May 2023
Star Rating: 4.5

Synopsis: “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. That’s 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—and living well.

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.”

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This title publishes May 30, 2023.

This is Steven Rowley’s next book after The Guncle. This book was a solid combination of joy and melancholy - I laughed and I cried. It uniquely explores themes of friendship, hardship, love, and telling people how you feel about them before they die.

Summary: A group of five friends make a pact to celebrate each other’s funerals while they are all still alive so that they know how they impacted their friends’ lives. Each part of the book is a different friend’s funeral.

Positives:
-The tone. The tone stays light and fun despite exploring dark topics. The book felt unique because of this.
-Originality and pacing. Even though we read about several different funerals throughout, each funeral felt original and not repetitive since each one is held under different circumstances, at different locations, and with a different character’s emotional arc.

Criticisms:
-I mainly only cared about two of the five people in the friend group, Jordan and Jordy. As for the other three, while well developed, I didn’t feel as emotionally compelled by their arcs. This would have been a five star if I had cared for the rest of the friend group.

A fantastic new book by the author of The Guncle. The Crlebrants is a soul-stirring gem full of humor, grief, growth, and warmth.

I almost screamed out loud when I got approved for this book. My hands were shaking a little when I started reading. I gulped down the first words at a furious pace. And when I read the last sentences, I didn’t want to let go. There’s something about books that nestle themselves into my heart. They cause this fuzzy feeling inside my chest and make me want to read on and on and on. They put smiles on my face and make tears cloud my eyes. They make me stare in the distance and muse. And I keep thinking about them for a long time after I finished them. The Guncle was such a book, and I’m happy to announce that The Celebrants is too.

Steven Rowley is a writing genius. His imperfect characters are perfection. Grief and wit take each other’s hand and show that even though life can be hard, it’s so worth living. The Jordans were my favorite characters by far, and my heart ached for them. But I also grieved for Alec, although he was already dead at the start of this story.

Read this book if you love a whirlwind of emotions. Read it if you loved The Guncle. Or just read it because I highly recommend it!

What an interesting premise. Five friends, having assembled Big Chill-like after the suicide of their friend, decide to have funerals while they're alive. They agree that if they're ever feeling so down they can't cope, they can trigger a funeral. Over the course of the story, funerals are held, each very different and entertaining. I laughed out loud, I cried, I got pissed off. Through the eyes of the five, the reader visits a house in Big Sur, skydives in Puerta Vallarta, enjoys a rich museum experience in New York City, and more. Each of the characters undergoes a developmental arc as they experience their funeral, and what began as a bit of a joke becomes serious, given the diagnosis one of the characters has received.

There's a lot to this story, including a trove of heartfelt observations about human nature, community, mortality, change, loss, recovery....well, it's Rowley. At the end of the story I cried. The story begins slowly and the point-of-view characters change too quickly, sometimes within a paragraph. But all in all, a treasure, as with his others. Recommended.

This book was something I really needed at this point in time. I just lost my grandpa and this book really made me feel things. It was so nice to see friends sticking to together celebrating each other well they live when they had hard moments. I liked the characters a lot as well, each of their stories something someone can relate to. There were a couple things I didn't love, some of the jumping back and forth was a little confusing at the time of reading but once you got past it you figured out the story line. Also the switching between character perspectives could be a little confusing as well as it happened fast sometimes. Over all though it was a very lovely read, with a lot of meaning.

4.5 rounded up. Guncle was a favorite last yr and this one didn't disappoint either. Loved the premise, writing was great, perfect ending. Auto buy author for sure.

This book was a good story overall. I enjoyed hearing about this group of friends and their lives over many years. The characters were all so relatable which I loved. My only complaint was that I fell a little flat at times. I wanted to know more about the friends, but I wasn’t feeling like I needed to know more. I recommend this book to all, but know it is a slow read.

Steven Rowley is becoming one of my favorite authors for the emotions he’s able to evoke throughout his novels and the way my love for his stories grows during each read. The Celebrants promised big time drama in its premise and it did not disappoint, but each character had enough real-life depth that it felt both comforting and heart wrenching to follow along. Excellent!

Like a lot of people on here, I adored The Guncle and I'm sure it was hard to write something else after its success. This one had its moments but I just didn't really feel connected to any of the characters (The Jordans were the most interesting to me).

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man I really wanted to like this book. I loved the Guncle. But I just really did not like this one. I felt like I couldn't connect with the characters. I felt like this book was a little all over the place for me. I just wish this book was better. But I am so lucky to have received and ARC.

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Six college friends become five after the overdose of one member of the group. The other five form a pact to schedule their own funerals when they are still alive and times in their life get tough. The scheduled funerals are meant to remind them that they are loved and lift them in their lowest moments . Friendships drift apart, and years go by before the first person decides to invoke the pact and call for the love and support of her old friends. Throughout the years, each friend takes a turn triggering the pact, until one year where the funeral scheduled might serve as final goodbye. 🗓 Pub Date- May 30, 2023

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
For lovers of “The Guncle,” Steven Rowley strikes again. This time with a slow burn book that makes you ball your eyes out. Steven Rowley has a way with words that makes you feel everything that is written so intensely. His words are witty, funny, yet emotionally wrecking. His story telling ability is unmatched. Unlike “The Guncle,” this story is a little more intense. I wouldn’t say there is any sort of climax, nor is the ending a surprise in any way. It is a book that reminds us that friendship is golden and “nothing should be left unsaid.” It is our responsibility to tell our loved ones the positive impact they have on us while we still can. Pick this book up when you feel emotionally stable, or need a good cry! Be ready to fall in love with each and every character as you indulge in this adult fiction book. Jordan, Jordy, Craig, Naomi, Marielle, and Alec have left an imprint on my heart, and I know they will on yours as well.

📚Read this book if you like
💫Queer characters 🌈
💫 Long lasting friendships
💫Scattered timelines
💫Emotional and reflective reads

👎Although I loved this book, I found that the scattered timeline confused me a bit until I got the hang of how the chapters were organized. (More of a me problem 😜).

⚠️Trigger warnings of overdose, cancer, and death.⚠️

🌈 𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🌈
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💕Q U O T E S
“ Everyone was on the same ticking clock. They might fool themselves into thinking that more time affords them opportunities to do more things, but the future is open-ended. But the world is simply too big. 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.”

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Steven Rowley for this beautiful ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

The Celebrants is a book about a group of college friends, after the death of one of their own, they make a pact to have a living funeral, a reminder that life is worth living.

Rowley has created a memorable group of characters. The conversations between them are bitterly funny, honest and true. This book is an excellent example of a found family story.

Loved "The Uncle" so very much, so the author's latest "the Celebrants" was an automatic add to my TBR! Happy to report that it's also very, very good. And yes, it does give off serious "Big Chill" vibes, for those that remember that excellent 80's film. This group of friends who continue to meet & celebrate life and the loss of one of their own are just so well-written! This novel is very, very character-driven, and it also really made me reflect on both life & death (my own and others). Highly recommend. My sincere thanks to the publisher for the complimentary DRC widget and to Net Galley - all opinions & ratings my own.

Steven Rowley can do no wrong. This was a beautiful story of loss, love, friendship, grief, and growth.

In The Celebrant, a group of college friends lose one of their own unexpectedly. After the loss they decide to make a pact to drop everything and each have a living funeral when life becomes unbearable to make sure nothing gets left unsaid. Like the Guncle, Steven Rowley has dialogue that feels like you’re in a room with the characters, and can feel the emotions they convey. This book made me laugh, cry, and most important question how I want me life to be and what relationships I have in my life that make it great. This book gave me Big Chill vibes, and makes you really feel like friends can make the best family. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, I’m grateful.

I finished this book without realizing this author was the author of Guncle! And that just made me love it more! This was sentimental and entertaining story of friendship. I was here for the vibes and really enjoyed it! Steven Rowley has become a must read author for me!

I really liked this book, it was very different from anything I have read recently. I had a hard time at the beginning get all the names straight, but once I learned each of their stories you start to fall in love with each character!

This story was what my heart needed. Complex, beautiful friendships, set amongst the decades, with humor, intrigue, and genuine connection. While still sad at times, really felt like it was an ode to those who see you through the different phases of your life - even in the most interesting of ways.

Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the ARC!

BOOK REVIEW!
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Publishing date: May 16, 2023

Well, now that my tears have slowed, I can write this review.

The Celebrants is a character study, focused entirely on the friendship of five friends (six, including Alec) that met in college. The story is less driven by events and more driven by the development of these people as they go through different stages of life but still find the need to return to the comfort of their chosen family. This is a love story of friendship at its core.

We lose Alec before the book even begins, but oh how we feel his presence throughout the story. This is so beautiful to me. It makes me treasure the deep friendships I have and hope that I, too, will be felt when I’m gone.

What Rowley does best is humanize his characters. You know them. You believe in them. The conversations are not just words on paper, they feel honest and hilarious and true. And he makes the act of grieving so fucking beautiful that I smile through my tears. The sadness is raw but real. And just when your heart hurts the most, Rowley has us laughing. I don’t know how he does it while making it all feel so genuine, but it’s a skill I rarely see and in which he excels.

Look, death has always scared the crap out of me. Whether it’s the death of someone I love or a complete stranger, death is a reminder that life is not infinite. That has always shook me. I have never read an author that handles death the way Rowley does. He has a way of making me appreciate the time I have left without the fear that normally comes with it. Each day is a gift. Instead of dreading and anticipating the end, love the present. Every book of Rowley’s is a spiritual experience that rocks me to my very core.

The Celebrants is a true treasure.