📚 The Celebrants
✍ Steven Rowley
📖 Contemporary Fiction
⭐ 3.75/5

🙏 Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the eARC of The Celebrants in exchange for an honest review.
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💭 Five college friends mourning the unexpected loss of the sixth in their group make a pact to never let things go unsaid. To that end, they vow to hold celebrations of each other (funerals) before they die. Each invokes their funeral during a trying time in their own life. Bookended by the imminent death of one of their own, the friends recall each of the other funerals- from Big Sur to Mexico to New York- and the memories they've collected in lieu of grief. The book is a celebration of friendship and the bonds that tether us together regardless of time and space and will leave you asking: why do we wait until death to celebrate a life well lived?
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🎯 What I loved: Steven Rowley has a way of exploring love and loss with a levity that is both funny and gentle. The Celebrants was beautifully crafted and each of its characters is emotionally rich. The premise of calling your own funeral when you need it most was creative and wholesome- and it was interesting to see what caused each of the friends to cede to instigating a reunion. Even 30 years after their graduation, revelations about their time in college kept surfacing and I was invested in both the past and present of the stories being told.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: I just finished The Guncle a few weeks ago and was expecting similar sass and humor in The Celebrants but it was a lot heavier. Though both books explored grief and loss, there were a lot fewer LOL moments for me in The Celebrants and parts of it dragged a little bit. The chapters were really long so it was hard to find natural stopping points. And Naomi- as a character, she was just the worst!
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Read if you love:
* the TV show "A Million Little Things"
* hopeful stories about grief and loss
* enduring college friendships
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See also: Float Plan, The Unsinkable Greta James, The Last Romantics

Like other reviewers, I picked up The Celebrants because I loved Guncle and was thrilled to find another witty character-driven novel by Rowley. At first, I was slightly overwhelmed being dropped into the present-day world of our four main characters, but I quickly settled in and by the end, I could have read an entire book about each of them. I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this come May.

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

After the sudden death of one of their friends, a group of college students make a pact to give each other living funerals. Over the next few decades, the friends expose old wounds together, help each other through unexpected hardships, and work to maintain their relationships as they grow and change. This book was so heartfelt and I loved the dynamic of this friend group. This author is incredible (I loved the Guncle!) and did a fabulous job with a much heavier tone. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

The Guncle was one of my favorite reads of 2022, so my hopes were high for this one. It's a very different novel, but I loved it. The Celebrants follows friends over several decades as they encounter the highs and lows of life. After the death of their college friend, they all decide to have their own funerals while they're still alive. They reunite for each one, whether it's after the death of a parent, a divorce, or another of life's curveballs. It's heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, and I loved each of the characters for different reasons.

Thank you so much for the ARC. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book Rowley has written. I find myself feeling more empathetic after reading his novels. I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

This new release is from the author of THE GUNCLE, follows five friends who make a funeral pact after the death of one of their friends just weeks prior to their college graduation. The pact is simple, each person can trigger it once, whenever they’d like, and they will all show up and hold a pre-death funeral so the celebrant can hear about how much they mean to the others, before they are actually dead. The novel is told in basically four chapters, one for each of the 4 that triggered the pact, but also focuses heavily on two of the five, married couple Jordy and Jordan (referred to collectively as “The Jordans”).

The celebrants does a beautiful job of tackling some hard-hitting topics with ease and charm. Love, loss, illness, expectations, and fulfillment with life choices are explored through these characters who are unique but also fully relatable.

While I absolutely loved the premise of this book, I think it fell a little flat for me in some of the storylines and lack of development in some of the other characters. I thought there was so much potential to expand on some of the other characters’ storylines that was totally missed.

This was such a unique book, I absolutely loved it!

After the death of their friend, 5 college friends make a pact to give each other living funerals in times of need. The goal, leave nothing unsaid.
The authors humor throughout was a perfect way to keep the characters relatable. I also loved the message that came from this book, no matter how dark or lonely your situation may be, there are others who have been deeply affected by you. You make a difference.

I give this book 4/5 stars. I can’t wait to read more books by Rowley!
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital ARC of “The Celebrants” by Steven Rowley.

Rowley has to be one of my new favorite authors. After reading The Guncle I knew I had to get my hands on this one. I absolutely loved this story of friendship. The characters were so relatable and I fell in love with each one of them for different reasons. Highly recommend this novel.

Knowing how well "The Guncle" did (although I never read it myself), I was so excited to receive this as a NetGalley. Steven Rowley did not disappoint.
The premise seems really simple: lifelong friends agree to a pact to hold 'living' funerals after the loss of one of their friends. It flip flops in dual timelines of all of their funerals, the pact called into action when one of them needed it most, and current day.
The characters in this story are so deeply flawed and, by that notion, so relatable. This story deals with loss, friendship, romance, guilt, self-deprecation: all beautifully woven together through these funerals.
I would highly recommend!

The Celebrants is another example of what Rowley does best. He takes sensitive topics like grief, death, and loss and writes them in a way that is both touching, intimate, and funny. I highlighted so many meaningful quotes about life, loss, and friendship but above are two that stuck out to me.

In The Celebrants, a group of college friends make a pact to always be there for each other when they are needed the most. Each vows to call the group together when times get tough and they then throw a living funeral for that person so they can see how loved and impactful they are. This found family could not be more unique, each flawed and facing their own demons.

I found myself laughing throughout (especially during the skydiving scene), chuckling at all the witty banter, and tears were definitely shed. However my favorite part of the book was the tie-in with songs from The Carpenters, which hit me the most as they are a band both near and dear to my heart. (Just ask my children who endured my nightly lullabies of (They Long To Be) Close To You.)

This is an emotional book that I highly recommend. Although it deals with heavy topics, it filled me with a warmth and longing while reading. With thought provoking quotes, funny but meaningful scenes, and an unlikely group of friends that dropped everything to be there for each other, Rowley has himself another winner!

Steven Rowley does it again with a touching, will written novel that will have you both laughing and crying. The characters are impossible to forget and will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and of course, Steven Rowley for providing me with an eARC of this novel. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This was a solid 3/5 for me, I read The Guncle last year and couldn't stop gushing about it, so I was stoked to read this one. It definitely took me longer to get into this one, but I think that's because it involved a lot more setup for the story than The Guncle did, and it made sense for this book. However, because of that, it took me a lot longer to read than TG did.

I absolutely adore the way Rowley writes his characters, each one truly having their own personality, faults included, and they feel so authentic. This was a brilliant story about friendship and while I loved that aspect of it, it just felt lacking compared to The Guncle. I didn't connect as much with the characters and certain moments felt more forced than they should have.

I will still continue to read anything Rowley writes, because I know how much I can connect with his stories, this one just wasn't quite there for me.

4.75 out of 5. I loved this book. It is Poignant, smart and a moving real exploration fo friendship throughout the years. I loved the concept of this pact. I also texted my college WhatsApp chat and told them they all had to read this as soon as it came out. That’s how much it moved me and how much I want to do a celebrant pact. But also what this pact shows is that a lot of people do no lean on the people in their lives, do not ask for help, do not say i love you, thank you or how much we appreciate people until its too late. Until a braking point has been reach. This book can also be a good reminder that you do not need to be at your wits end to call someone up. Lets not wait until someone is there to say a nice word or tell people how much they mean to you. this line in the book says it all "Tell a love one the positive impact they've had in your like so that they are never left to guess. You'll be glad you did"

Side Note: i so did enjoy all of Jordan's Musical Theater references

3.5-4 ⭐
I adored The Guncle, it was one of absolute favorite books last year, so I was beyond excited to see a new title from Steven Rowley.

It took me a while to get into this book, I kept picking it up and reading 10-15 pages and then falling asleep. A little over halfway through, the book finally picked up speed and I felt that sweeping sensation that I'd been looking for. I started to feel for the characters and wanted to know them better. But it took over 100 pages to get there and I was a little bummed out by that point.

The book covers the friendship of a group of people that were roommates in college, they instantly connected and created deep lasting bonds. When one of them overdoses in college, they are forever bonded by their loss and love for each other. One of them makes a pledge that if any of them need reminding about how loved they are, they can call for a funeral. All of them will gather and celebrate, and tell that person how much they are loved. (The Celebrants) 😉

I didn't feel their connection until much later in the book and that's when I started to love it, hence the 3.5-4⭐ rating. Maybe the first half should have been cut and he could have kept writing, it felt like it was just getting started at the last chapter.

I will absolutely keep reading Steven Rowley, he has a way of bringing characters together and creating witty dialogue that is believable and fun.

This wasn't as good as The Guncle, but was worth a read.

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

I really wanted to like this book! I loved The Guncle. One of my all time favorite reads. When I was offered to read The Celebrants by Penguin Group Putnam, I was very excited and couldn’t wait to start it. I read 100 pages and then I had to skim the rest. I could not relate to any of the characters nor did I like them. They were unappealing to me. People I would never choose as friends. The premise of the book is clever, albeit it just did not resound with me. Big disappointment. Thank you for the free/gifted book @putnambooks. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending me an ARC of The Celebrants in exchange for an honest review.

This book is really a 3.5 for me, but for rating scales I will round up.

I have not read the Guncle so I was not sure what to expect going into this.
The reason why it was a little hard for me to follow is we are all over the place, from different character stories and it was a little jumpy. I would have to re-read a page a few times to understand what happened.

I do think it gives a good message about loving on and letting your friends know you love them while they are alive and before anything catastrophic happens.

I do love a good found family story, I wish we got to learn more about each of them. Going over 5 (sometimes 6) characters in less than 400 pages can be tough. Overall not one of my favorites but I am glad I got to read it and look forward to meeting up with my lifelong friends soon.

Ahh I wanted to like this more than I did! I thought the idea was so great (group of college friends make a pact to call on each other in times of need to celebrate living funerals so that nothing is left unsaid and they all know how loved they are) and the execution was fine, but I just didn’t really love the characters! I didn’t dislike them, and it wasn’t like they didn’t have distinct personalities…I just didn’t really like them very much! And with such a character-driven book, ya really got to want to spend time with the characters. Also to name two of the characters Jordan and then have them in s relationship was, for me, unnecessarily confusing. I had a hard time distinguishing them for a good while at the beginning. This one was a miss for me, but for readers who relate more to the characters, I could see this being very well loved!

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Loved it! Well and truly loved it. I appreciated the premise with the living funerals, giving one another's obituary, standing up for friendships, and dealing with the heartaches that come with getting older. I may not have loved all the characters and their quirks, but they felt like real, flawed, messy people with real and complicated lives. Honestly, I will read anything and everything Steven Rowley writes at this point. Absolutely would recommend and am SO HAPPY I was able to get a copy of this, so thank you to the publisher and NG for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This one just hit the right spot at the right time for me. Looking forward to hearing what others think, and talking about it at length with them when it comes out.

"The Celebrants" by Steven Rowley is a heartwarming tribute to the power of friendship and the journey of self-discovery. This latest offering from the bestselling author of "The Guncle" is a must-read for anyone looking to celebrate the beauty of life and the people who make it worth living.

The story follows Jordan Vargas and his college friends as they reunite after five years to celebrate their decades-long friendship and the promises they made to each other. The group of friends, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle, have been gathering in Big Sur for years to remind themselves of the importance of living life to the fullest. However, this reunion is different, as Jordan is sitting on a secret that has the potential to upend their pact.

In this deeply honest and raw tribute to the growing pains of selfhood, Steven Rowley explores the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate life, even amidst its greatest challenges. This book is a perfect blend of humor and heart, making it a must-read for anyone who values the power of friendship and the journey of self-discovery.