A fun romp! If you like the Thursday Murder Club series, this one has some similarities, but less mystery and more individual stories woven together, IMO.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

4 stars for Lydia, Daphne, and the entire Mandel(a) Community Center crew!

This is my second Clare Pooley read and I simply adore the way she makes found family such a prominent part of her stories. Chaos and laughter abound when a middle-aged woman and the group of septuagenarians from her newly created seniors club cross paths with a teenage father and his eight-month-old daughter.

Alongside all the book's humor and wit, Pooley's characters are battling a range of true to life problems - loneliness, loss, and gang culture to name a few - and have flaws that make them feel real. At it's core, this story is a reminder that growing old doesn't have to mean slowing down, and community is an important part of life, no matter your age.

“How to Age Disgracefully” by Clare Pooley was such a fun read! I made the big mistake of reading it on the train while commuting to work, and I’m sure I startled a few passengers with my out-loud laughs. A group of senior citizens—ranging from a chronic shoplifter, a woman whose five husbands came to mysterious deaths, a former mobster moll, a former paparazzi photographer-- start meeting at the local community center for the newly launched senior club to make friends. Lydia, the 54-year-old community center worker, had lots of plans in store for them—jigsaw puzzles, macrame, etc. But these seniors had other ideas!

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for brightening up my day with such a heartwarming story. Looking forward to more work by Clare Pooley. Strong five stars!

I am a Clare Pooley super fan and was so thrilled to receive this early copy of her new book. I adore Clare’s writing style. Clare excels at creating a wide, eccentric, endearing, and all immensely lovable cast. I hope she continues to stay in this alley. Her books are heartwarming, make me laugh and smile so much, and I have major character attachment to so many in her book. The characters in this book are all a bit chaotic but together, they shine. Daphne is a real treat and made me laugh so much - easily one of my favorite characters of the year! Clare’s writing is just so charming and there is such great human connection and found family here.

Recommend if you enjoy:
▫️Short chapters
▫️Multiple POVs
▫️Senior citizen characters
▫️And senior dogs!
▫️Found family
▫️Cast of wildly eccentric characters - all quite endearing

Clare Pooley always strikes the perfect balance of heartwarming humor, interesting challenges, and found family and how to age disgracefully is no exception. I so enjoyed spending this novel with these characters and their antics and I didn’t want it to end. A perfect comfort novel once again!

How to Age Disgracefully is Clare Pooley’s latest book but the first of hers I’ve read. It was a fun, lighthearted romp, but with some serious, heartfelt moments mixed in. I recommend it for when you need some laugh out loud moments and a big smile plastered on your face.
The story follows four characters, all involved in a community center. Daphne has just turned seventy and decided she needs to get out and meet people again. She’s obviously had a very colorful past, which gets revealed slowly. Art is an older actor, who’s no longer getting parts and is a little short of money. Lydia is the woman tasked with running the senior meetings, trying desperately to find confidence. And Ziggy is a young single father whose baby daughter attends the daycare in the building. They all bond together when the council threatens to close the building. Oh, and there’s also an older dog of indeterminate breeding who binds them. The chapters alternate between these four. I adored Daphne. She’s a grammar nerd with a unique command of the English language. She tends to say what I think. Her comment about men who send dick pics is priceless.
The book tackles the invisibility that comes with age, which while annoying, also has some positive aspects.
Warning - do not attempt to finish this book one hour before a Zoom meeting. Tears. Big tears. Red eyes.
I recommend this for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group/Viking for an advance copy of this book.
How to Age Disgracefully is Clare Pooley’s latest book but the first of hers I’ve read. It was a fun, lighthearted romp, but with some serious, heartfelt moments mixed in. I recommend it for when you need some laugh out loud moments and a big smile plastered on your face.
The story follows four characters, all involved in a community center. Daphne has just turned seventy and decided she needs to get out and meet people again. She’s obviously had a very colorful past, which gets revealed slowly. Art is an older actor, who’s no longer getting parts and is a little short of money. Lydia is the woman tasked with running the senior meetings, trying desperately to find confidence. And Ziggy is a young single father whose baby daughter attends the daycare in the building. They all bond together when the council threatens to close the building. Oh, and there’s also an older dog of indeterminate breeding who binds them. The chapters alternate between these four. I adored Daphne. She’s a grammar nerd with a unique command of the English language. She tends to say what I think. Her comment about men who send dick pics is priceless.
The book tackles the invisibility that comes with age, which while annoying, also has some positive aspects.
Warning - do not attempt to finish this book one hour before a Zoom meeting. Tears. Big tears. Red eyes.
I recommend this for fans of The Thursday Murder Club.
My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group/Viking for an advance copy of this book.

5.0/5.0 ⭐

Clare Pooley's 'How to Age Disgracefully' is an absolute gem that shines among the silver-haired protagonists who are having a moment in literature. It's a delightful, feel-good, and inspiring read with outstanding, witty writing and vibrant characters.

When the community rec center, home to both a daycare and a senior citizens group, faces closure, they unite to save it and solve each other's problems. The story unfolds through alternating perspectives of the seniors, the group coordinator, and a teenage dad. It begins when they are all traveling on a bus stopped by a police officer. As they each begin to reveal their reasons for fearing they are who the police officer is out for, the narrative backtracks through recent events, painting whimsical portraits of their lives.

It's perfect—chef's kiss!

If you enjoyed Netflix's 'Grace and Frankie' or Jesse Sutanto's 'Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers', mark your calendar for this June release.

Kindle Version | ARC

Thank you to Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, Pamela Dorman Books, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I have enjoyed the authors other books and enjoyed this sweet read as well. Such a cute book about community coming together. All the characters had fun, interesting backgrounds. A great quick read.


Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy. My opinion is my one.

Clare Pooley is consistently a delight and this doesn't deviate. A recommended purchase for collections where her previous titles and WF is popular.

This book is another home run by Clare Pooley. It has the perfect balance of humor and grittiness. The characters are relatable, flawed and lovable. You can't help but cheer for this unlikely cast of characters as they deal with family, aging, loss and friendships.

Over the past few years, I have found myself drawn to vivacious, troublesome elderly main characters. Perhaps it’s because people are generally cast aside (as protagonists or otherwise) past a certain age and are all typically put in the same unassuming, harmless mold of old age.

Enter Daphne and the gang of the senior social club at the Mandel Community Center. They show that their age is but a number, and the different personalities of the group — along with those of Lydia, the unassuming leader, and Ziggy, the hapless teenage dad — make this book a really fun read! The antics and shenanigans are silly but engaging and I kept wanting to read on to find how Daphne would tackle each problem in her own unique way. Her mysterious backstory also provided continued fodder to keep reading.

I have previously enjoyed Clare Pooley’s work and this book is no exception!! Knocked off one star only for the really awful formatting on the Kindle ARC but it doesn’t take away from the story and the book as a whole. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A delightful cast of characters from 8 months to 75 years old bring a lot of heart to this madcap adventure. When a senior citizens group loses their meeting place to ceiling damage, they are mixed in with the local daycare next door. A variety of temperaments, life experiences congeal and combust but ultimately band together against the council that would see their community center be sold.
What ensues is a comedic take on aging, the reality of loneliness, teenage and adult mistakes, do-overs, and starting fresh. The very real benefit of pets and children around seniors is explored gently within the context of this humorous tale.

4.25

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books for an early e-copy via Netgalley

I really liked this book! It was so cute and wholesome. Some happy and sad tears were shed throughout reading this book. It reminded me so much of the movie POMS, which I loved!!!

“Maybe it was time, whatever the consequences might be, to re-engage with the world, to make some friends.” The problem was, Daphne didn’t actually like other people very much, and she has no idea how one went about making friends as an adult, in any case.”

Lydia is finally headed back to work and running the Senior Citizens Social Club. She expects it will consist or tea, cake, and some crafts, but she was not expecting this. Art is trying to keep his career as a D list actor alive, Daphne is trying to meet new people, Ruby is knitting up a storm and leaving her creations for all to find, and one of the members passes away at the first meeting. When the council starts talking about selling the building, this cast of characters comes together to try and save their space.

You all know my love for Clare Pooley! Within the first chapter of this book I had already laughed out loud AND copied down a quote. I mean seriously, Clare can do no wrong! This book had the all the quirky characters you love to question, and you love to love! I just adore how Clare has a way of bringing characters together from all different walks of life, as well as all different ages. And gotta love a little Iona call out! I adored the questionable first chapter that kept me wondering all book long, but overall I just cherished every second of this ride. Like each of her books in the past, Clare hit this one out of the park, as always!

Loved this for the hilarious cast of misfit characters of all ages and backgrounds who come together for a common goal. Plenty of satisfying character growth, unexpected and heartwarming relationships, and sweet found family who truly care for each other. I’ll be moving Clare Pooley’s other books up higher on my TBR now!

ARC Review - thank you to the publisher and Negalley for this opportunity to read this book in advance and share my honest thoughts.

What a great collection of characters author Clare Pooley has pulled together in this book. The folks who show up to join a newly formed Senior Citizen Social Club are not your stereotypical seniors. They are lively, quirky, spirited, opinionated, and quite mischievous! They are also determined and fiercely loyal as they join forces to support each other and to save the Community Center. The ensuing adventure is both hilarious and heartwarming.
Such a fun read! Now I want to go back and read some of this author's other novels.
Thank you to Net Galley for this advance copy.

I picked this book for the title alone. I was expecting a zany grandma figure, a bit like the grandma from the Stephanie Plum series. That is not what I got. Which isn't a complaint, just a statement of fact. The book begins with a scene from a policewoman's point of view as she searches a bus for someone. You see most of the characters through her eyes, with no frame of reference. Then the story moves back in time to introduce you to them.

I found Daphne hard to like at first. It is a testament of the author's skill that she can have readers cheering for Daphne by the end without really changing much about her - only how the reader sees her. The author does the same for the other characters, jarring you with their introductions and then weaving the story of their lives into a fun and enjoyable novel.

I liked this book, and I think you will too.

Not family friendly due to profanity.

Clare Pooley is an auto-read author for me. I love all her books, but this is her best yet.

-Heartfelt? Yes
-Restores faith in humanity? Definitely
-Overstated or in-your-face? Not a bit
-Twee? Never

How to Age Disgracefully is magical in that Clare Pooley writes the interwoven lives of these vastly different characters of vastly differing ages/genders/lifestyles in a way that the reader can't help but somehow directly relate with them all.

If you're still on the fence, please know that at some point, several old people conspire to turn a scooter into a giant yarn penis.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy! This is a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me.

At it's core, the book has a great premise. The cover and description both had me REALLY excited to dive into this story.
Unfortunately---in my opinion---the surplus of characters and the overall lack of plot for the first third of the book keeps the story from reaching it's full potential.

Plot:
I won't linger on this point to long. For some authors, the characters are more of the main focus than the plot, which I completely understand and honestly prefer of more plot centered stories. However, a good amount of this lack of plot was due to the fact that all but one of the characters didn't seem to do anything to help solve the problem for the first third of the book. Luckily, this does eventually change and the characters become much more active in both their own personal plotlines and the overarching plot of the story. This is where the story truly begins. I just really wish it would've happened sooner.

Characters:
Pooley clearly had fun writing the internal thoughts and banter between these characters. Each of them have their own little quirks, and are definitely the highlight of this book. My only complaint with the characters is that there are simply too many of them. I felt we didn't get to spend enough time with some of the characters which is such as shame since many of the characters that I feel got sidelined were some of the ones that I also found the most interesting.

Overall I think this book could be improved if it was just a bit less. Cutting out a good deal of the first third would resolve most plot issues and having less characters would allow us to spend more time with the remaining ones. There would be more time to expand on their relationships with each other and their personal stories that weave together in the book.

Charming and insightful realistic fiction about what it means to age in our society and how to "rage against " the process. Clare Pooley has written a dynamic and vivacious heroine in Daphne and her attempts to live life to the fullest. I laughed out loud and cheered for Daphne to fight for justice and the underdogs. The cast of characters point of views style is compelling and a joy to read. I loved the hilarious hijinks and how the characters seemed to interact like real people you might meet in your neighborhood anywhere in the world. Daphne was my favorite character, and yet the whole cast of characters were well-written. Pooley has a gift for illuminating the humanity of her characters and touching your heart.