"The Celebrants" by Steven Rowley is a heartwarming and honest portrayal of the enduring bonds of friendship and the complexities of navigating adulthood. Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle, college friends who have reunited over the years to celebrate living "funerals," find themselves at a pivotal moment in their lives as they approach a new decade.

Rowley's storytelling is both touching and humorous, and he beautifully captures the essence of these characters as they grapple with the ups and downs of life. The concept of living funerals is both unique and thought-provoking, serving as a poignant reminder of the importance of cherishing the moments we have and the people who enrich our lives.

The main plot of this book is a group of college friends fulfilling a pact to attend each other’s “funeral” while they are still alive. The point of these gatherings is to profess the love they have for each other while they can still experience it, rather than afterwards at the funeral. The Celebrants features well-written, interesting characters, though I admit I wish more time was spent on the “funerals” of characters as much as was spent on Marielle’s. The Jordans, a married gay couple, and their journey through their relationship and battle with cancer I found the heart of the book, and sometimes I wish they had been the sole focus. Still, I found the content thoughtful but not morose, though anyone existential anxiety should prepare themselves prior to reading.

Couldn't really get into this one, despite all the hype. A little too wordy for me. I may give it another try since the reviews are great.

Thank you NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and Steven Rowley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Sadly, this book wasn’t really for me and I didn’t finish it… However, I could see why other people would enjoy it a lot more, so be sure to give it a chance if it seems like something you would like!

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley tells the story of a group of friends that create a pact after the sudden death of a friend. They vow to gather for a "funeral" once for each member of the group whenever they call for it, in hopes of showing their love and appreciation before it's too late and they can no longer tell them how much they're cared for.

This book had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. Steven Rowley crafts such a wonderful story of love, heartbreak, and found family that had me aching by the end.

I really enjoyed this author's other books and I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it fell short for me. All the right ideas were there but the characters were just not as lovable as the characters in The Guncle. The premise is great, loyal college friends that are there for each other in times of need. The Celebrants had all the right pieces, but I finished wanting a little more.

Not quite as endearing as The Guncle, but Steven Rowley is excellent at creating lovable characters. This was maybe a little too sweet here and there but overall I really enjoyed getting to know this group of friends.

Full of feelings, heart, and wit, this title is another winner. I appreciate the humor that suffuses this book which covers so many emotions that friendships endure over the years. The pace and setting in this book really draw you in and you end up staying for the love and honesty brought by each of the characters.

I couldn't bring myself to continue reading this book after the first three or so chapters. I started and stopped a couple of times but was underwhelmed with what I read. I had such high expectations because "The Guncle" was SO good.... but the beginning felt abysmal and that even if I kept reading, it wouldn't be the extraordinary read I was looking for. I was drawn to the setting and premise and even the promise of rich characters. I think it could have gotten there but this one just didn't hit me the same way. I hope to re-read at a later time and overall, will still recommend the author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This story had an 80s John Hughes quality to it that was very endearing! It starts out with a group of 20 somethings that meet at college and form their own clique that follows them through a few decades of love, loss, success and death of one of their own. In losing Alec, they form a pact to come together again, no matter what, when someone is in dire straights. At which time, they will hold a funeral so that the person can realize how much they are loved and wanted while living. It is incredibly rare for a group of college friends to stand the test of time, so it was pretty special getting caught up in their lives and a moving tribute to lifelong friends. Hug yours tightly!

OMG!! This author is definitely a favorite since, "Lily & the Octopus." This man knows how to write and pull on every emotion of his readers from start to finish. This book is so relatable too. You feel strong emotions to all the characters and their struggles throughout the book. I do not want to spoil anything.

Recommended book and author! Lily and the Octopus is still my favorite.

Thanks to Netgalley, Steven Rowley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available

this was our #alltheradreads book club pick for september since i had loved the guncle and heard early rave reviews about this one, but i sadly didn't love most of it 😢 from the jump, it was hard for me that one of the main characters had the same name as my toxic ex (authors! don't make your men have j names!!!). the friend group at the core of this whole story also was hard for me because they genuinely didn't seem to really like each other? i genuinely didn't like any of them until the last 5o pages or so... it just seemed to drag on and feel pretty lackluster until the very, very end. the end did tug on my heartstrings and get me choked up, which almost made me give it another star, but truly, this was just a very, very okay read for me.

I loved the concept of this book!! The idea of making sure your loved ones know they are cherished and celebrated before they have passed on is truly heartwarming. I love Steven Rowley’s writing, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I had trouble connecting with the characters and the extremely long chapters were a challenge for me too. Regardless, I will read anything Stephen writes, and I look forward to his next novel.

Steven Rowley knows what he's doing and honestly I will read everything he writes. This book was touching and funny and emotional.

I'm sure you've seen a gajillion reviews for this one. I picked up this book after DNFing another book because I wanted a "sure fire win."

Wellllllllll.....I liked it. But it didn't quite live up to expectations. I liked The Guncle much better. I just kind of lost interest the last half of the book. That's about as insightful as I can be because I read it last month! So good, not great.

Read it with a specialty cocktail while playing a beach ambiance video on You Tube.

Five friends in college experience the pain of a friend passing way too young. When they go to his funeral they leave thinking, “was that a funeral for the same person we knew?” It seemed more a funeral for the child the parents thought they knew. So, the five friends decide to band together with a pact that no matter where they are in life they will throw each other living funerals when said friend requests one.

A living funeral celebrates that person’s life and will help them get through a hard time. Before this book starts they’ve celebrated Marielle when her marriage crumbled, Naomi after her parents died, and Craig when he had to go to prison for a while. Now Jordan and Jordy are looking to call another living funeral because a secret is about to brim over.

I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading The Guncle finally. 😜 Also, I noticed Steven Rowley shared on his page the other day that he’s got another new book coming out soon, yay! Here’s to hoping its another fantastic read as well!

Steven Rowley is an #autobuyauthor for me - The Guncle is one of my all time favorites and while this one didn’t top that one for me, I still 11/10 absolutely adored this one and it’s quirky cast of characters and unusual premise. This one will have you calling your bestfriends and holding them extra close. So happy, sad, funny, and dark all simultaneously. This modern retelling of The Big Chill will capture your ❤️ entirely.

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Nearly thirty years ago, a group of Berkeley grads and bestfriends’ lives were forever changed: they graduated college and moved onto adult lives with joys, sorrows, challenges, triumphs, and everything in between - but they also were forced to bury their larger than life friend, Alex, after a tragic overdose.

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The experience led them to make a pact: they would in the worst moments of their life all get together - regardless of where they were in their lives - and hold a funeral for the person in need. In other words, they would ensure that the friends they loved most knew exactly how much they were loved and the impact they had on their friends’ lives while they were still living, as opposed to after they were already gone.

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Jordy, Jordan, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle join together for one last time in Big Sur, California, for a final funeral, and as they look back on their own funerals and the worst and best times of their lives - and the people and moments that brought them back to life - they are forced to reckon with both the beauty and darkness of life, and the people, so very flawed and yet so very wonderful, who make it worth living.

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A phenomenal #read.

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📖 BOOK REVIEW

BOOK: The Celebrants
AUTHOR: Steven Rowley
FORMAT: eBook
GENRE: Literary Fiction
DID I CRY: i don’t think so but maybe
PUB DATE: 5/30/23
RATING: 8/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much @putnambooks for my #gifted advanced copy of #TheCelebrants out now!

MY THOUGHTS

After absolutely adoring THE GUNCLE, I was extremely excited to dive into this one! It definitely is a slow-burn, heavily character-driven story but I enjoyed it!

It took me a while to get into it (3 months lol) and I definitely think that took away from my feelings for the book overall, but once I got to 30-35%, I found myself thinking about it when i wasn’t reading it & feeling excited to pick it back up.

I really truly loved the concept of this book. It’s original & it’s powerful and I think for the plot alone id recommend it to anybody. The writing, as always, is full of rich detail helping create these intensely developed characters that we follow throughout the book.

What went awry for me was the amount of main characters, and how long it took for us to get to know them. They each get a section of the book and to not fully know some of the characters until their section (aka the last 80-90% of the book) caused me to feel that it was underdeveloped as a character-driven story. And because there was 6 of them, they all felt a little half-baked. I wish there were fewer so that we could know them and connect with them a little better.

All in all this book is really strong in its concepts & makes for a really great discussion. Happy to have chatted with my #LowMaintenanceBookClub girlies about it!

The concept of this was one was so great: it follows a group of friends that met in college who made a pact to celebrate their funerals while they are living after their friend dies prematurely. The story has the trademark humor and heart of Steven Rowley (author of one of my favorite books THE GUNCLE) but to be honest it fell flat for me 🥲

My main problem with this book is that I didn’t connect to any of the characters. I felt like I didn’t understand them or really care what happened to them 🫣 I don’t know if it’s because there were so many characters (but I usually don’t mind this) or the story itself. To be honest, the characters were hard to keep straight. Cute that the author thought that I could keep the Jordan and Jordy straight in my head 🙄

TL;DR: I had such high expectations from THE GUNCLE and this didn’t live up 🥲 still enjoyable and sweet though!

Steven Rowley writes big feels books and this one did not disappoint! I was both laughing and sobbing in the same moments. This book is about growing into middle age and how friendships change over the years. Loved this book and will continue to seek out his newest releases.