The Celebrants by Steven Rowley is a book about friendship most of all, but unfortunately I didn't connect to this book as much as I wanted to. Friendships can be messy and complicated especially when spanning over the course of decades, but the connections seemed forced and almost mean at times. I loved a lot of The Celebrants and will continue to read Steven Rowley, but this just fell a bit short for me in terms of emotional impact throughout the entire novel. That being said, the end hits hard.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley was basically created to hit me right in the feels. I’m convinced. A story of college friends who gather intermittently to host fake funerals for each other—where they genuinely share & talk & remind each other of their sustaining friendship, despite the distance between them—this book dared me not to feel the heavy weight & gratitude of my own lifelong friendships.

Addressing drug overdose and cancer among other topics, this read can make you feel grief & loss. But more than that, it’s about life & love & friendship, & the bonds that people can make & choose to perpetuate, even when life takes us in different directions.

Previously, friends have recommended The Guncle & after reading this one, I’m even more excited to check it out. I absolutely loved every page of this bright & shining book & wish I could give the characters—so lovely, so human, so forgiving, & so deserving of love—& my own friends—hugs.

5⭐️. Out 05/30.

CW: reference to Alec’s drug use. Jordan’s cancer. Other deaths mentioned. Describes finding Alec’s body. Reference to a secondary character’s HIV diagnosis.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook over a green meadow dotted with yellow buttercups.]

The Celebrants had me laughing out loud throughout the book, despite being about a group of friends who create a pact to have funerals for the living. Steven Rowley is so talented when writing the bittersweet moments in life.
I did struggle with the pacing of the book and found it to be a bit repetitive. However, I deeply enjoyed the relationships and many one-liners throughout.

I really enjoyed The Guncle so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Steven’s newest book. The storyline is an interesting one: throwing “funerals” for your friends before they’re gone to show how much they mean to you. I found each of the characters endearing in different ways and felt the rollercoaster of emotions right alongside them while reading it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a toughie...⁣
⁣
Summary⁣
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.⁣
⁣
Five friends, for a reason that I won't spoil, decide to have living funerals, or celebrations of life while they are still living so nothing is left unsaid about how their friends feel about them. They call it a pact and each person can use the pact at anytime in their life and the others have to come together. ⁣
⁣
I felt like I was on a roller coaster that did the same trick over and over. When each pact is called they: they get reacquainted (semi-interesting), bicker (this got old quick), do an activity all together (extremely boring and started to skim), then have a deep and meaningful time giving the eulogies (oh wow, this part was great). So here's the tough part, do I recommend it? Well, it wasn't nearly as amazing as The Guncle but it did have more depth but the depth was probably only about 30% amongst the semi-boring, I never really connected to these characters...I don't know. ⁣
⁣
Thank you @netgalley for this free review copy!⁣

The Celebrants is out May 30th
.
Interesting…I really liked it, not as much as the G

DNF @ 46%. I really liked The Guncle - it struck a bittersweet balance without being cloying. I can see the attempt to do the same thing in The Celebrants, but perhaps because of the number of characters and the back and forth over several decades it just doesn’t manage to have a similar emotional resonance. I mostly found this a bit boring and unrealistic, and after reading 2 or 3 other books instead of finishing this one I just have to admit I’m not interested enough in this to finish.

This was really, really sad and not nearly as much fun as The Guncle. I had a hard time differentiating between the various snobby and boring characters. I loved the idea of throwing living funerals, but the friend group bonded by a college trauma just didn’t work for me. I think many will find this entertaining, but it was a miss for me.

⭐️: 4/5

After the death of a college friend right before graduation, Naomi, Craig, Marielle, and the Jordans (Jordan and Jordy) all make a pact to throw each other living funerals to remind each of them that their life is worth living and they are loved, to be held whenever each of them needs it the most. Marielle used hers after her divorce, Naomi after the death of her parents, Craig before pleading guilty to art fraud, and now it’s Jordan’s turn for his funeral, which may upend their pact forever.

I feel like I only ever talk about the storytelling structure of books anymore, but this one in particular was really fun. It had long chapters for each of the characters who had a “funeral” already, with a checkin with the Jordans throughout time at the end of each one. The book started in the present, and ended in the present, which gave it a really full-circle feeling, which beautifully echoed the theme of the book as well. I always get a little overwhelmed at the beginning of books with a large ensemble cast of main characters, since I’m positive I’ll never be able to keep them, their stories, and their personalities straight, and while I felt that way at the beginning of this one too, each of the characters was so unique that it wound up being easy to differentiate one from another and keep their names straight. I will say that books written like this, in third person omniscient, always create a bit of a chaotic reading experience for me, since knowing the thoughts of everyone always feels like so ~much~, but I also see how in a book like this with themes like this, it was truly the best way to structure the book. By the end, my heart was full and broken at the same time by the beautiful story of friendship and getting older while still staying young at heart.

Thank you to @netgalley and @putnambooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

We have my favorite book of 2023, The Celebrants!! I may have been in my feels but this book was EVERYTHING.

I loved this group of friends and their funeral trips AKA life lessons. The growing up together dynamic really spoke to my soul. I believe “THE GLOW UP” is real and have been so blessed to have done it with my core group of friends too.

If you do not like @mrstevenrowley sense of humor, we are not the same because I find Rowley’s writing ✍🏼 HILARIOUS

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: May 30th (@booksoup)
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: @mrstevenrowley
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Fiction

I do not want to give to much away but read this book!!

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓘𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮:
Puerto Vallarta
Ax4: Aging, Avocado 🥑, Aloe, Agave
Life Long Friendships
Vacations With Friends
Humor
Glowing Up

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All the stars!

Get your tissues ready and prepare your feels, because you're going to be all up in them. Told in alternating timelines, we watch a friend group come together again and again to host living funerals for each other. If that premise alone doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what to tell you.

This is as much a book about life as it is about death. Rooted in showing your loved ones what they truly mean to you before they're gone, this is a poignant novel that will leave you changed. I found myself highlighting quotes left and right and bracing myself for the end. While you know how the book will end, it's the journey to that ending that makes it all meaningful. And Steven Rowley makes it really damn meaningful.

*Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this incredible book. I loved the Guncle so was very excited to get my hands on this one!

These five friends who are "found family" have captured my heart. They each had their own unique way of living in this world.

I loved the idea of a funeral while you are still living. They say funerals are for survivors not the dead. I truly believe this.

Pick this one up if you want a good laugh, an ugly cry and a few emotions in between.

This book was so cute! I loved it!! Not my normal genre of thriller or smut reading but it was a good book to read about a group of friends with intertwined secrets. I loved learning about this group of friends. I have never read a book by this author. It went fast. Highly recommend.

I would like to thank Putnam Books and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I have read 2 other books by Steven Rowley and really enjoyed them, I had high hopes for this book. The blurb made it sound like a version of The Big Chill. Five friends get together to mourn the loss of a 6th friend. They make a pact that they will have a funeral for each of them while they are still living.The friends will pick the time for the funeral, based on what is happening within their lives- the death of parents, a divorce etc. The idea is that when one of the friends needs to feel better about their lives and their choices, they call for a funeral and hear the others talk about the positives in their lives. It is a good idea in theory, but life is messy . The friends meet at various points in their lives for the living funerals, and try to help each other through the rough patches of life. I liked the premise. My problem was that the characters were not likeable. I had a hard time really caring about any of them. And at one point I was wondering how they even became friends in the first place. Steven Rowley has a good writing style, and I really liked the idea. I just wasn't so fond of the characters.

The Celebrants ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Celebrants is reminiscent of The Big Chill BUT with a modern day flair and a big twist that will have you look introspectively at your own life and the lives of your closest and most cherished friends.

Following a shared tragedy, five college friends on the brink of turning fifty, make a pact that if one of them finds themselves in a personal crisis, they will assemble with no questions asked, to show support and love to that friend by conducting a celebratory “living funeral.” These gatherings unveil so much about each of the individual celebrants as well as the meaning and depth of one’s family of friends.

In his signature style of writing, “The Guncle’s” Steven Rowley can take the heaviest of topics and infuse dialogue that is witty, bold, heartwarming and effective in bringing levity to the situation. There are so many delicious layers in this book in plot and character development, all building to a magnificent and emotional crescendo that will leave you gutted yet inspired!

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP/ G.P. Putnams Son’s for the much anticipated opportunity to receive a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Think THE BIG CHILL but better. A close-knit group of college friends are gathered together after the sudden death of one before graduation. They make a pact to reunite for a “living” funeral when anyone is in need, to honor that person, get them through a difficult time, and leave nothing left unsaid.

Find out how friends Marielle, Craig, Naomi, and the Jordans (aka Jordy and Jordan), who once lived together in Berkeley, now gone their separate ways, come together, and if they invoke their turn, how it affects them as adults. Though each character faces challenges, the book won’t weigh you down emotionally, and Rowley, with his magical touch, brings brightness throughout, touching your heart every step of the way. Most definitely making you laugh.

When they’re together, there is a level of comfort and intimacy with this group who have a clandestine scale they compare people to, idiosyncrasies they love about each other, and one nickname I found so endearing, every time I read it, I nearly wept but with a smile on my lips.

The novel is about feeling loved, friendship, life, and the notion that it should be celebrated before you’re gone, and in the wise words of Craig, who paraphrased Buddha, “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single one, and the life of that candle will not be shortened. That’s what you do for others. You light their candle with yours.”

Steven Rowley's books never disappoint and THE CELEBRANTS is no exception. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, Putnam, and the author for a chance to read an ARC of this lovely book in exchange for my honest review. I loved it!

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥. 𝘖𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥."*

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 (PUB 05.30) follows a group of college friends who invoke a pact to have "living funerals" after the death of one of their own right before graduation. I'll admit that I'm intrigued by this idea. Part of me is interested (and a bit terrified) about what people would say about me. A bigger part was making a mental note to actively tell the people I love what I love about them now, and often. I laughed and I cried. I reminisced about the unflappable naivety of youth and the messiness of growing up. I leaned into the absolute gift of having lifelong friends who know every version of me and love me all the same.

This book continues to deliver what I've come to appreciate about Rowley's novels.

humorous & heartfelt
introspective & infectious
observant & one-of-a-kind
mournful & merry
wit & warmth
growing pains & growing up
uplifting & uproarious

This was a wonderful story of friendship, loss, life’s ups and downs and everything in between.

Five friends make a pact to have living funerals when they need them (one each) after the loss of a friend just a few weeks before college graduation.

Steven Rowley is THE author of the year! He knows how to bring a story to your lap that makes you smile and cry. He hits all the emotional feels. These are not just words on a page, but a story of love, friendships and true life. He does not hold back.
And there are references to The Carpenters! The best ever!
Thank you Steven Rowley, the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leave nothing left unsaid. The premise of the Celebrants, the cover art, the main message...all great. I loved the Guncle and had high hopes for the Celebrants. There were some great quotes and beautiful moments where old friends came together to lift each other up in their lowest moments. However... I personally struggled to connect with the characters and while I found the idea of having funerals while your loved ones are alive to hear the eulogies sweet...I found this group of "friends" to be somewhat objectionable.

Excellent story of college friends who continue to gather to support each other when they need it as they grow older. A trauma at college graduation leads them to make a pact to be there for each other with just a phone call, and we see how their lives unfold, and share the good times and see how they support each other in the bad. This was enjoyable and sure packed a punch. I was glad I finished the book outside wearing sunglasses, cause it got me in the feels!