This one didn’t grab me like The Guncle, but I enjoyed the character development and how the story was laid out. It’s a great depiction of how many friendships grow over the years. Often times friends grow apart despite the best intentions of staying in touch. This doesn’t mean that the friendship is over. Knowing that there are people out there who have your back no matter what is huge.

I would absolutely recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me this early read!

Rowley had a big hit with his last book, The Guncle, and this one should please its fans. it has a similar charming comedic tone, but takes on some difficult subject matter, and again deals a lot with ‘found family’.

After their friend dies in college, the remaining 5 members of the friend group decide to make a pact in which at any point in their lives, they can decide to call a reunion and live out their own faux funerals - definitely an interesting concept for a novel, and Rowley takes us from the actual death of their friend, through each reunion over the following decades. It’s sweet, and has a lot of heart, and parts of it are very obviously autobiographical (Rowley’s partner, fellow author Byron Lane, has had bouts of cancer which is a storyline for the gay couple here). again, I definitely think fans of his previous work will enjoy this one.

I loved the idea of this book, but it feel flat. In the beginning, we are introduced to all the characters, but not in a way that we know anything about them. It was A) confusing to keep them in track and B) hard to care about them by the time it came to the funerals where we finally got to know them. But if we don't have any sort of "relationship" with them before their funerals, do we really care?
The book was also a slow read and a slow burn, but in a boring way. It took me a long time to finish this one.
In the end, I did feel some emotions, but just wish it had been more.

<b>The Short of It:</b>

Big Chill vibes with a slightly darker undertone.

<b>The Rest of It:</b>

A group of friends come together in Big Sur to fulfill a pact made over a decade ago. The pact in question? To throw living “funerals” so that they can enjoy them and fully realize what their lives meant to one another. The sweet memories of the deceased cannot possibly be shared with them but sharing them before they are actually in the ground? Makes perfect sense.

But one of the friends is keeping a secret. A diagnosis which could send them all into a tail spin. The idea of living funerals is a novel one, but to think that one may actually be needed for one of their own, adds a dark cloud to the gathering.

I was expecting a lighter read given the book cover and the title but it’s actually quite thought-provoking and at times very somber. It has its funny moments but for every chuckle there is a more serious tone that sneaks its way into the story. I found myself pausing to reflect on my friendships of year’s past. Honestly, it’s a good reminder that the life we are living is temporary at best. Friendships matter and the choices we make do affect us in the long run.

If you are looking for a bubbly book to kick-off your summer reading, this may not be it but if you enjoy contemplative novels about friends, then toss this into your book bag.

For more reviews, visit my blog: <a href="http://bookchatter.net">Book Chatter</a>.

This is a layered story about a group of friends from UC Berkeley who made a pact after one of their group committed suicide. They decide to have living funerals for each other to ensure they know how much they’re loved. It’s so well written, and I was sorry it had to end.

Any of the friends can say it’s time for their funeral and the group will get together. The funerals are a little awkward but things get serious when one of the members gets diagnosed with cancer for the second time. Suddenly, telling their friends how much they are loved takes on a new dimension. It’s not morbid despite the cancer diagnosis.

This author also wrote “The Guncle”, one of my favorite books last year.
I highly recommend this one, 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I read the Guncle two summers ago and absolutely adored it. I was so excited to get approved to read the Celebrants. The premise was promising. Five college students from the same group decide to have funerals for themselves whenever their life feels like it is falling apart. This would help reaffirm their worthiness and assure them they are loved. I was disappointed in the book and believe I am in the minority with this one. I did not connect with the characters and it was hard for me to feel any sympathy for them. The chapters felt drawn out with very little happening in each. I did love the Jordan/Jordy concept, but even the ending did little for my emotions.

I am still excited to see what Steven Rowley comes out with in the future because his writing style and depth is amazing, but the plot/emotional connection in this book fell flat for me.

REVIEW: If you’re into emotional books and life long friendships, then you need to read this one. There are some triggers though: death of parents, death of a friend, grief. It’s a sad but thought provoking book, really makes you appreciate life and think about how your loved ones see you and more importantly how you view yourself. It made me teary eyed and had me wondering if I made a pact to have a living funeral with my friends what would they say? I loved the friendships in this book, everyone was flawed and different and not one person’s funeral was the same because no-one is the same. It was beautifully written, honest, moving and I loved it.

“Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end.”
- Joanne Harris, Chocolat

SYNOPSIS: 5 college friends (Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle) made a pact before graduating that they would throw each other living “funerals”. A celebration to remind themselves that their life is worth living and it means something to each other and themselves. Each one triggered the pact for difficult moments in their lives and now Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

Thank you to NetGalley & putnambooks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! This is only the second book written by Steven Rowley that I have read and I have really liked both of them. This book focuses on a group of college friends that make a pact to host each other’s funerals while they are alive to appreciate it after losing one of their friends. They get together at various points in their lives, usually when one is experiencing a crisis, to do just that. I loved the focus on friendship and mortality.

I really liked the idea of this group’s living funerals. I don’t remember everything from the time around my dad’s sudden death at a young age but I do remember thinking how much he would have liked to be there to talk to everyone. We get to see these characters at different points in time and I loved how they were there for each other even after spending years apart.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Mr. Rowley did a fantastic job of reading his novel. I have to admit that I am always a bit worried when I see that an author has made the choice to narrate their own book. Not all authors are good narrators but I thought that this author was able to bring the story to life with ease. I do believe that his narration only added to my overall enjoyment.

I would recommend this book to others. I found it to be a compelling story driven by a colorful cast of characters and the bond between them. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.

I received a review copy of this book from G.P Putnam’s Sons and Penguin Random House Audio.

The Celebrants is billed as the Big Chill for the 2020s - and the comparison rings true. The book is about a group of college friends who morn the death of Alec, one of their friends, right before graduation. You have Craig, the player, Mareille, the caretaker. Naomi, single and successful but without her parents' approval. And Jordan/Jordy, the gay couple truly in love facing a major health issue. The friends make a pact that when they each need it in the future, they can call their own "funeral" and they will all drop everything and come to support the friend in need so he/she can move forward. It's a darling concept, the idea of having a group who will always be there for you in life's hardest times.

Unfortunately, the book was a miss for me. The book needs you to feel deeply for each of these characters. It wants you to emote for them in their time of need. However, the way the book was written -- alternating chapters for each character - didn't allow me to really get to know them or care about them. When Naomi is in distress in a Cessna instead of feeling, I rolled my eyes. The Jordan/Jordy character seemed interchangeable and the couple was just one person. Craig was stunted emotionally and why was his nickname Nana? (Maybe I missed that.) Marielle? All I remember is she lived in Boring, Oregon.

I would recommend The Guncle instead as there are less characters and I really felt for them.

Bravo!

I devoured this. Congratulations on another stellar book Steven Rowley! I didn’t think anything could compare to The Guncle and yet this one superseded. I absolutely loved the story and the friendships between the characters. This is one to read. Add to your summer TBR friends.

4.5*

It's going to take some time for my heart to be put back together after finishing The Celebrants. It's a thoughtful, bittersweet story of love, loss, and the power of friendship.
I think I'm going to present to my girlfriends at our yearly slumber party this summer that we should start our own funeral pact. I wish it was something I wish we had known about years ago, I know a lot of us could have used it as we coped with deaths, divorces, and a myriad of other life changing events. But hey, it's never too late to start!

While The Celebrants definitely has a melancholy feel to it, and I cried my fair share of tears, there were still moments of humor that made me laugh out loud. It's an easy read, even with the heavier topics that are dealt with by the group of friends. I loved how they were all there for each other, no matter what. They may have gone their own ways after college but the connection they forged there never waivered and only strengthened over time.

Although I knew what was coming in the end, I never gave up hoping the outcome would be different. I do appreciate how Mr. Rowley handled it, but phew, I'm tearing up again just thinking about it.
Don't wait until it's too late to let those you love know it.

OMG. Steven Rowley has done it again! How does he manage to capture such a wide range of emotions in his books, over and over again? 5/5 I AM MESMERISED STARS ✨ Many thanks to Putnam books for the opportunity to early review. ❤️

I became a Rowley fan when I The read the Guncle, but I enjoyed reading The Celebrants even better. The plot was so unique and wholesome. 5 friends who made a pact to always be there for each other and host a living funeral whenever anyone in the group needs them as a reminder of how important they're. I have never read something like it before, and I enjoyed the plot immensely. I loved getting to know all of the friends and seeing them connect and grow throughout their struggles. The dialogue, the way of writing -EVERYTHING WAS A+.

You guys need to read this book ASAP! It's a gem - a big, big gem and I cannot wait for everyone to obsess about it soon!

After the sudden and unexpected death of a close friend while just a few weeks out from their college graduation at Berkeley, The Jordans (Jordan and Jordy), Marielle, Naomi, and Craig decide to enter a pact to each have a living funeral to serve as a reminder that each of them is loved. The pact has been already enacted by Marielle, Naomi, and Craig at points of great difficulty in their lives. However, the most recent enactment of the pact hits different than the rest.

This book takes us through the initiation of the pact and each time that a member of the group has triggered the pact and has reunited the group. I love the bond that this group of friends have and the support they provide one another through life’s greatest challenges even though they might not be seeing each other regularly. The book has excellent pacing and despite the time jumps due to the different times the pacts were triggered, the author does a great job of filling in the gaps and keeping the reader aware. I alternated tears and smiles throughout the book and I loved the message the book shares.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this but not as much as Rowley's other novels. I think the diverse ensemble cast made me struggle to get to know the characters well, which is typically his strength as a writer - developing an authentic, interesting, thoughtful protagonist. Even though "the Jordans" take center stage slightly, there just wasn't enough meat in them to make me feel connected. Rowley's signature wit and slightly morbid way of making readers take stock of this thing called life still had me laughing and tearing up a bit!

Steven Rowley does it again. Another book with all the feels. 6 college friends at Berkeley - and after a young loss, 5 come together with a pact to celebrate and remember each other before they are gone too.

The Celebrants traces them through the years as they periodically come together. I loved reading from each of their perspectives and seeing how their dynamic simultaneously evolved and stayed the same. Ups and downs, lived experiences centered around each of them.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Group for the ARC.

This was my first Steven Rowley novel. After hearing rave reviews of the Guncle, I think perhaps my expectations were too high for this novel about a group of college friends who have been through ups and downs over their thirty-year friendships. After losing someone in their group, they decide to hold "funerals" for one another in order to say to one another what they mights say after they pass. It's a beautiful concept that was slowed by pacing and left me feeling detached from these characters. There was a lot of conversation / dialogue. An excellent idea, the execution unfortunately didn't hold my interest. But I'm still really looking forward to reading The Guncle!

Oh, wow. This book was hard to read in the VERY BEST WAY. I so deeply related to feeling like you don’t know where time has gone, the desire for honest connection that comes from those who’ve known you longest, and the need to feel that you mattered in this world. It is a powerful read about complex and enduring friendships.

After the death of their friend Alec weeks before college graduation and their realization that they didn’t tell him how important he was to them until after he was gone, five friends make a pact. They will give each other “living funerals” in times of need so that no one doubts they are loved when they need it the most. The book chronicles 1995 to 2023 through the events that caused each to call for their funeral.

Unlike some books with a friend group, within this short novel, each character has their own space and feels whole. It is heartbreaking, funny, and thought-provoking. Please read it.

Thanks to Net Galley, Putnam Books, and Steven Rowley for the opportunity to read this book before publication in exchange for my honest review.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Another winner!! Rowley really knows how to pull at your heartstrings! I’ve read three of his four books and I loved this one equally to Guncle. This book was about friendship, relationships, heartbreak, and death. Everything you want in a book!

Five friends started a pact after their friend died days before graduation. Anytime one feels like their life isn’t going the path they want divorce, jail, death they will call their friends and trigger the pact. What is the pact? They have a living funeral, so their friends can tell them all the things they love. Follow the five friends as they trigger the pact! What has their lives become and what will their future look like?

This is about a group of friends that meet in college. After they lose one of their group close to graduation they enact a pact that when one of them needs it, they will gather and host a living funeral to remind that person that they are loved. The friends grow apart over the years but come together for the pact when one of them needs it. There are friends who are more like family and friends that it doesn’t matter the time apart, you can pick up where you left off.

This is one of those books that I found myself laughing out loud one minute and tearing up the next. I fell in love with this group of friends.

This was my first Steven Rowley book, it will not be my last.

Well, @mrstevenrowley has done it again! The Guncle was one of my favorite reads of 2021 and I can say with certainty that 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 will be among my top favorites this year. Simply stated, I loved, loved, loved this book!

Beautifully written, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 touches on themes of friendship, found family, and grief throughout life’s ups and downs. It’s a touching reminder to cherish those that you love, and leave nothing unsaid. Evoking a range of emotions, including joy and sadness, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗥𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 is a book that will stay with you long after turning the final page.

A must read!