⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5) for The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

After reading and adoring The Guncle last year, I was SO excited to get an @netgalley ARC of The Celebrants. This book follows a group of adult friends who met in college and made a pact to host living funerals for each other after they experienced the death of one of their friends in college. Each chapter of the book is dedicated to one of the funerals and the circumstances around which the funerals are called for.

I did really enjoy this book and felt a rollercoaster of emotions - sad, happy, uplifted, and was laughing out loud when they do shrooms. The premise of this book is obviously more depressing/serious, but I wish it had more of the quirky charm that I loved in The Guncle. Despite this, I still loved the character development and Rowley’s writing. I’d recommend this book if you liked The Guncle (though it is definitely different so don’t expect them to be so similar) and if you like contemporary fiction with themes of dying, friendship, and making meaning out of life.

The bottom line of this book: always take the opportunity to tell the people you love how much they mean to you and how they’ve impacted your life. 🧡

Thanks netgalley for the ARC! This book is out on May 30, 2023!

The Celebrants is my new favorite novel by Rowley! I adored the concept of this novel and it made me want to take this concept on with my own friend group. Each character was brilliantly drawn and felt so alive and real. It is not easy to have two characters named Jordan and put them in relationship with on another and still have them seem so distinct, but it was expertly done here. Sometimes books with so many characters run the risk of being confusing, bogged down, or just shallow but this was not the case here. I loved every single one of our narrators and their stories. This one made me laugh, cry, and miss my best friends dearly. Rowley is a can't-miss author for me and I think this would be an excellent choice for book clubs!

I appreciate NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Celebrants by Steven Rowley. I loved The Guncle and expected no less from the Celebrants. It's the story of 5 college friends who learn the lessons of love, life, and forgiveness through each other. The story begins with the 5 of them after a 6th friend's funeral just before college graduation. They decide to reunite whenever one of them needs the group to throw their funeral, reminding them that they, their lives, and their friendship means something - even as they drift apart over the years. They meet after divorces, family deaths, and when life choices go wrong. This "funeral" is different - Jordy's cancer has spread and he is growing weaker. I loved the part of telling people how you feel while they are there to hear it, too often we say things after a loved one has passed that we didn't tell them in life. The book was serious, but had funny parts too - I loved the Courtney scale - Cox, Thorne-Smith, and Love!

Thank you to @PutnamBooks and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #TheCelebrants. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I've enjoyed all of Steven Rowley's previous novels so requesting this from NetGalley was a no-brainer. And I'm happy to report I was not disappointed.

Written with his trademark wit and emotion, The Celebrants is about a group of college friends facing their own mortality. Two weeks before their graduation, a member of their group dies suddenly. Faced with their separate, adult lives, they make a pact: as needed, each member can trigger a "living funeral" so their friends can remind them how much they are loved and the impact their friendship has had on their lives.

Each character is given enough backstory to make them interesting and their relationships and challenges are relatable. Overall, an enjoyable, life-affirming read about the power of friendships.

Thought provoking and inspiring. The Celebrants is quite different in substance and tone from Rowley’s masterful The Guncle. This novel has an intriguing premise and many interesting tidbits throughout. The couple known as “The Jordans” were particularly well drawn. And I loved the many allusions to music of days gone by - especially the titles and lyrics of songs from The Carpenters - and the overall message of taking time to show love to those closest to you. I also found this to be quite a tedious read at times, however, and could not relate to most of the characters, whose antics I often found annoying and immature.

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

I'm forever a fan of Steven Rowley and will buy his books pretty much regardless of their plot. After I read THE GUNCLE he became an auto-buy. This book is not different. I ate it up and wanted more. I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who would enjoy it as well. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

I'm always hyper critical of books which have cancer as a major plot point. It's too easy to get maudlin and sentimental, or to use it as a platform for some moralistic lesson. HOWEVER, Steven Rowley has struck the perfect chord with this story of love and loss and friendship.

Remarkably tender and funny, this story which follows six friends across the course of decades is utterly relatable to anyone fortunate enough to have the kind of friends who have known and loved all the iterations of you.

Steven Rowley is a master at capturing emotion without pounding the reader with it, and at revealing both the sublime and the ridiculous in intimate relationships. This book touched me deeply.

"Leave nothing unsaid"

After a close friend unexpectedly dies, four college students make a pact to hold “living funerals” for each other when they most need support and reassurance. As they approach middle age, the friends start calling in their pact favors as they are affected by job loss, divorce, and illness. Can lifelong friendships survive the pact and the secrets the living funerals reveal?

I don’t know what Steven Rowley puts in his books, but I EAT THEM UP. This one started a little slow for me, but I was crying by the end. Immediate 5 stars.

Five friends from college (they’re also flat mates) attend the funeral of their sixth flatmate. He passed away, and they mention how they wish he was there to see his funeral. The friends make a pact to have living funerals and leave nothing unsaid. This book goes through those living funerals.

What a ride it was to go through their lives. I loved it. By the time I was 10% in I was sold on this book. Tonight, I couldn’t put it down to finish it.

Please pick this one up. It’s absolutely worth it! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Five friends form a pact to celebrate each other at their lowest whenever summoned, with no excuses and no questions asked. Their alliance starts after their group of six becomes five. They contemplate that Alec didn’t get to hear all the beautiful things people said about him at his funeral and wonder if perhaps hearing these sentiments earlier could have prevented Alec’s death.

Post-college, the friends drift apart but are brought back together after two decades when Marielle invokes the pact. The group realizes how important they are to one another and vow to keep in touch. Between the five of them, they experience so many of the ups and downs that we’re all familiar with. They bicker, they joke, they fight, they love, they laugh, they reminisce, they dream.

The story is told from each of the five friends’ POVs as the timeline progresses and each character’s funeral is performed. Although the story's narrator changes, it’s a smooth transition and feels natural with the storyline.

Each of the five friends is quirky in their own way, and the characters feel genuine. You see their struggles and how life events have made them who they are. I'd compare this to a more serious version of the TV show Friends. There’s something unique about Rowley’s writing that makes you feel like part of this group. It reminds you that friendship is sacred and one of life’s greatest gifts.

Thank you Putnam Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

The Guncle has been in my TBR list for a while now (being a Guncle myself haha) but thanks to an advance copy, The Celebrants is the first book I’ve read by Steven Rowley, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

The Celebrants is a light, fun novel perfect for the summer. After the death of a college roommate, 5 friends from different walks of life make a pact to reunite for their funerals whenever their life calls for it.

The friendships are accurately depicted as our characters age and go their separate ways; years could pass without talking to each, arguments arise but forgiveness eventually comes around, buried secrets are revealed, inside jokes are shared. But when push comes to shove, the 5 characters truly care about each other and will drop everything to support a friend in need.

The novel deals with some serious issues – sickness, addiction, loss – but remains for the most part funny and optimist throughout. A few of the standout set pieces (notably the skydiving and ferry scenes) were laugh out loud funny.

I know you shouldn't compare books, but I loved Rowley's The Guncle so I guess I had some preconceived notions going in to this book. The story has a good premise - a group of friends who celebrate each other's lives in a ceremony like a funeral before the friend's death due to a sudden death back when they were younger. The joy that I found hidden in The Guncle as the characters unwind and mesh themselves into each other's world is absent in The Celebrants and this was sad to me. Did I expect this book to be the same as the last? Absolutely not, however I could never even figure out how some of these characters became friends in the first place, let alone remained friends for this long when I didn't even feel like they liked each other. I do very much enjoy Rowley's writing and will still recommend this book because there are some touching parts. Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.5 stars

Steven Rowley writes some of my favorite literary fiction because his stories are just dripping with emotion and heart.

The Celebrants follows a group of college friends who, after one of their group dies of an overdose, agrees to host 'living funerals' for each of them to ensure that nothing goes left unsaid. The book is structured in a unique way with each section depicting the group reuniting for one of the funerals. You follow their lives and relationships through these snapshots into their time together as a group with each section more of a deep dive into one of the characters.

I love well-written found family and this group was wonderful to spend time with. The best literary characters are complicated - you don't know if you love them or can't stand them - and I definitely had my moments with each of this group. I loved how each character's funeral was so different and so meaningful to their own experiences and lives.

Content warnings: One of the characters dies of a drug overdose in the very beginning of the book; another character has a history of cancer; one of the characters' parents die in a plane crash

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was very heartwarming - both funny and at times incredibly sad, Rowley really captures the feeling of a friend group and loving your friends throughout their ups and downs. I loved the structure of the novel as well, and while it took me a little bit to warm up to it, once we were at the first funeral I was all in.

This book is just another example of Rowley's talent. It has it all. I cried, I laughed, I was charmed, I was frustrated.... All the feelings.

Also, the idea of a living funeral may be the weirdest thing but, also such a good idea.

You can't go wrong with this one. In some way, it will touch you and be worth your time!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

✨✨✨✨✨
Another Novel by Steven Rowley that will be widely acclaimed and beloved by many!

The celebrants is the story of a group of college friends who, after losing one of their own, make a lifelong pact to have “living funerals” for each other in a time of need. These celebrations, meant to be be invoked at a time when one of the friends needs validation and love, become the glue that keeps them connected into their later life. When one of the friends falls terminally ill, the pact becomes even more powerful and proves that love and friendship are just as important as romantic ones.

I have loved all of Steven’s writing and was especially in love with this last book, THE GUNCLE, and couldn’t wait to read what was next. This new novel had me engaged in the characters lives, wanted to know more and had me in literal tears at the end, something very few books have been able to do. My one note was that because there are so many characters and quite a few storylines sometimes their banter and jokes went on for too long, where some more details of their lives would’ve been great. Either way I absolutely loved this Novel and recommend it to all, new readers will be drawn to his writing style and want to read Rowleys older work, while fans will enjoy this just as much .

Out 5/30/23
Thank you to the publishers for the digital ARC!

The Celebrants
by Steven Rowley
Pub Date 30 May 2023
PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons
General Fiction (Adult) | LGBTQIAP+
Rating 4/5

The Celebrants is a sweet story about friendship that will stay with you for a long time to come. As a comparison, it brought back memories of watching the film The Big Chill.

Following a friend's sudden death before college graduation, a group of best friends agrees to hold "living funerals" for each other. Each group member can invoke one funeral at any time during their life. While they are still alive, a gathering is held to honor them and help them through a difficult time. The thought-provoking plot is about being there for your friends, even years later, and embracing life's ups and downs.

Thank you NetGalley, and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this stunning book with me. Your kindness is appreciated.

Steven is quite the storyteller! I absolutely adored The Guncle along with this book. Steven has a way with words that are just so endearing and moving. I was so excited to receive this arc and it did NOT disappoint.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really enjoy this author and the humor he writes. This book has some serious topics - centered around funerals and death. It took me a bit at first, but this book had me cracking up by the end. The characters are absurd at times and I’m here for that.

The last 1/3 of the book had some of my fave moments. While I struggled to get into the story at first, the last chunk of the book was worth it.

After reading The Guncle and meeting Rowley I was hoping to get a review copy of his new book, and succeeded.
Completely different than The Guncle, yet still dealing with grief and love, the characters grew on me.
Five friends brought together by the death of another friend, Marielle's boyfriend and Jordy's roomate, the 5 make a pact to call upon one another to have a funeral while they are still alive to show each other that they care.
The book is then seen through these funeral and how the friends have lived and loved .
We see how their lives have been lived and how they will go one.there is a very poignant ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my EARC. I will be telling everyone to read this book.