Since I enjoyed The Guncle a while back, I was interested in reading The Celebrants, especially during Pride Month. Steven Rowley is a strong writer and I loved all the detail and nostalgia he put into this novel.

While there were LGBTQ+ characters, the focus was more on the friend group and how they all leaned on each other during difficult times. There were a lot of rewarding moments and the dialogue didn't hold back. I even laughed out loud at times. The descriptions of characters and settings brought the story to live and made everything so easy to visualize. I also like how he took the characters out of their comfort zones.

Even though this was a good story overall, I had a hard time connecting to the characters emotionally. I know they've been through a lot over the span of the novel, but I just wasn't feeling that even as much as I wanted to. Maybe because they were so fenced off for the most part. Or because they were this close knit group of friends who barely saw or talked with each other unless it was convenient or they needed something.

It's a worthwhile read, especially if you are looking for motivation or a new lease on life.

Movie casting suggestions (focused mainly on their forties and fifties):
Jordan: Wilson Cruz
Jordy: Matt Bomer
Marielle: Maggie Siff
Naomi: Keiko Agena
Craig: Chris Messina

Brilliantly written, funny, and moving. This is another win for Steven Rowley, perhaps his best yet.

✨Book Review✨
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUB DATE: May 30, 2023

First, thank you to @netgalley for my gifted copy of this ebook for my honest review

This book will equally make you cry and appreciate those closest to you. I absolutely adored this one. Though I loved Guncle for it own reasons, this one just hit me different. Not sure if it’s because I too have lost someone close to me or for an entirely different reason but this book has me in my feels.

Steven Rowley’s writing style is unique it is storytelling way. Pulls you in. And keeps you invested in every single character!

Definitely recommend picking yourself up a copy of this book if you haven’t done so already!

There is a reason the Celebrants was selected as the RWJ book - because it is truly phenomenal. Steven Rowley is a master storyteller; he creates the kind of world and story I want to get lost in and can’t help saying - just one more chapter. The Celebrants is a true gem of a novel and I highly recommend!

Five friends, a pact, and a lifetime of memories. The Celebrants follows the Jordans, a husband duo with the same name, and three of their college friends, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle. In their final year of Berkley they lost the sixth friend of their group and made a pact to celebrate one another in the form of living funerals. If one of them called, they'd be there. The idea seems preposterous, no one thinks they'll really follow through, but as life happens they find one another together, celebrating the beauty of each other in the midst of their lows.

The Celebrants was my final June read and boy did it knock every other book out of my mind. I couldn’t put it down, Steven Rowley's writing pulls you in like you’re watching a movie. It features 5 friends and the events of their lives that pull them back into one another’s’ orbit. Instead of celebrating just the wins, these friends celebrate the losses, the hard times, the moments where you need the uplifting joy of friends. It’s emotional, complex, a journey in a book that is beautiful and soul-shifting. It made me consider my own friends, my own trials and tribulations, and the love that helps you carry on. I loved every single character, I appreciated the emotional rollercoaster it took me on, and I’m now going to shove this in every person’s hand that I can.

Steven Rowley does it again! The Celebrants revolves around a group of friends, decades after their college friendships were formed. They gather to celebrate each other by throwing "living funerals". While this theme of reflective friendship has been done many times, it did not feel redundant or old. Steven's way of narrating the human relationship is unlike any other. I would recommend for a lovely summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! I love a book that focuses on the friendships between a cast of characters. While romance is obviously fun to read about and experience, I do feel like books tend to overfocus on it, forgetting about how important and equally rewarding a strong platonic friendship can be. So I loved that this book is centered on a group of friends who have all been friends since college who have a pact to get together and hold a 'living funeral' to celebrate their lives anytime one of them needs it. The characters were so wonderfully flawed and realistic - I absolutely loved reading about them. Highly recommend this one to anyone looking for summer read!

The Guncle was one of my favorite books so I was super excited to read The Celebrants. I love the idea of having a pact amongst friend and no matter when or where they each get to call to have their funeral while they were living so they don’t leave anything unsaid. Although I didn’t fully connect to their friendship or characters it was still enjoyable and I give it 3.50 stars. Some if my favorite quotes from the book were:

“What do I do now?” Marielle finally asked. “With what?” “With my life?” Jordan fluttered his lips until they tickled. “Anything you want.” “Be serious.” Jordan was. “It’s all going to kill you. You might as well do something fun.”

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make the most of your moment. But that starts by living in the present.”

“I learned something today, and I want you to learn it too. We think we have control over everything—we hold on so tight—and the truth is we don’t. We don’t have any control at all. Not over the big things.“

“Do as many things as you can to remind yourself you’re alive.”

“There is fire in us still.” He took Jordan’s hand. “In all of us. And there will be right up until the end. Nothing is over until it is.”

“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 Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

book featured here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs34ihWr3A8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Uhg this made me so emotional. This was expertly written and I loved the layering of past and present, and how deeply I loved every one of these characters.

representation: Asian woman, gay latino, gay white man

spice: none

tw: overdose, suspected suicide, cancer, death of a loved one

The Celebrants is a unique found family story about a group of college friends who created a pact to celebrate each other’s funeral while they are still living. This book really highlights how life and friendships change over time and how it all comes to an end eventually.

The Celebrants doesn’t have the same pizazz and heartwarming feeling as the Guncle did but it still managed to tug at my heartstrings some at the end.


Thank you @putnambooks and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was a wonderful read with found family, friendships, and explored grief and love. I thought it was a really unique take and different concept from his other novel, The Guncle. The characters were relatable and multi-faceted and will leave you both happy and sad as it balances the emotions throughout the book. Very character driven, and though they were flawed, there was something to love and relate to about all of them!

Steven Rowley writes beautiful stories. I absolutely adored the Gungle and The Celebrants is equally impactful. I found myself in tears from page 10 and they never stopped coming. This is a book about loss, appreciating the moments, and celebrating life to its fullest while we can. The characters are so human and relatable. I could write an incredibly long review about The Celebrants, but I would be taking away from the impact of this book. Some books will stay with you for a long time to come and Steven Rowley's books are exactly that.

A group of friends from college makes a pact to throw each other a “living funeral” when they are having a difficult moment in their lives. The idea is to say the things they love the most about their friends while they are all still alive and when they need it the most. Even as they go separate ways and move on with their lives, they keep reuniting for this living funerals.

From the very first page, you know this book was written to appeal to your emotions and wreck you at the end. I definitely enjoyed Steven Rowley's signature humor but if you read The Guncle, don’t expect warm and fuzzy feelings after reading this one. The book serves as a reminder of the importance of celebrating the people you love while you still can, doing the things that make you feel alive and always treasuring your true friends.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G. P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted digital copy.

Fun and engaging read about friendship. The good, the bad, the lonely, the love and support. This isn't normally the type of genre I'd read. There was something about the synopsis that grabbed me and I had to read. I laughed, cried, and went through it emotionally with the characters. Satisfaction is what I felt when done. Looking forward to more by this author.

#NETGALLEY
#STEVENROWLEY
#THECELEBRANTS

It absolutely pained me not to love this book. I was a huge fan of The Guncle, and I think my expectations were unfair. I wasn’t expecting the heaviness of this book.

I've read all four of Steven Rowley's books. The Celebrants continues his excellent sweep. A slow, but pleasant start, I felt about halfway through everything cliqued and I got to know the five main characters more intimately. A fascinating premise that has made several conversations around our library focus on how can we honor our friendships with the ones we love? Beautiful.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, it was very unique. A college friend group begins to hold "living funerals" after one of their friends passes away. Each member of the friend group can hold the funeral when they're feeling like they aren't doing great and need a little encouragement. It was great to see this group of friends be there for each other during all the rough times.

What an incredible celebration of friendship and growth! In Rowley's latest novel, we follow a group of college friends as they navigate life in the wake of the loss of their "leader" and go-to-fun-guy. As each character enacts their pact for a "Fake Funeral" you learn more about the dynamics of the group and of each individual as they face the challenges of adulthood. Filled with sharp wit, sarcasm, and Rowley's signature humor - you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you may even be inspired to host your own "fake funeral".

A story of friendship, loss, and perseverance told from multiple perspectives. I enjoyed the guncle but this book was hard for me to follow and I never felt invested in the characters. Maybe just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the electronic copy.