What a delightful book this was! Neighbors of all ages come together in unexpected ways, with a special emphasis on a handful of seniors, their middle aged official leader, a teen father and his baby, and a special dog. Daphne was my favorite, with Yarnsy as a close second.

I loved the characters. The plot moved along at a nice, steady clip, and the setting was depicted well. I appreciated the author poking fun at stereotypes of aging, especially those related to senior centers. As someone who works in a lot of senior centers - she nailed that part.

A cast of characters that quickly grow in your heart. You watch as they each navigate their own stage of life with individual struggles and trials. They work together to help each other and show kindness. What we all need in life!

A heartwarming read with zany characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Dorman Books for the e-copy of this book.

There is so much to love about this book! The cast of characters is so dynamic, I love the way Pooley writes an ensemble cast. I laughed out loud multiple times and cried just as often. For me this was not as much of a smash as Iona Iverson, but I still very much enjoyed it :) Thank you to the publishers!

Daphne has just turned 70, and she has been staying mostly inside her home for the past 15 years. She decides to venture out and sees an ad for a senior’s group at the local community center. During the very first meeting, the roof caves in, setting in motion plans to save the center from shutting its doors for good. There’s a teen dad, seniors running from the cops, a cute dog learning tricks, some other antics the septuagenarians execute, and new friendships.

I’m a Clare Pooley fan, and I gave 5 stars to Iona Iverson and 4 to The Authenticity Project. This one didn’t stand up to those, but it was a fun and easy summer read that can easily be picked up and down while still following the story.

3.5 stars

4.5⭐ rounding up
Utterly delightful story of how a group of strangers, each stuck in their own way, meet at a rundown community center and transform themselves and their neighborhood.Thr houses a daycare facility with the various other groups one expects. Lydia, a beleaguered housewife, is tasked with starting a senior center. As we meet the core cadre of the story, no one seems particularly likeable, especially Daphne. Daphne's a 70 something recluse who makes a list to improve her life and becomes the catalyst for change. Reading on, you will fall in love with all these characters andarvel at what they accomplish. Highly recommend this if you are feeling meh, or worse.

This book was so FUN! Clare Pooley has quite a smart and playful writing style which is captivating and incredibly entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud (like, literal guffaws) more than once while reading this.

The story is simple - a senior’s social club that just formed at a local community center ends up taking on some special missions to help members of their newly formed community and to save the failing center. There are babies, dogs, drugs, and most importantly - there’s Daphne. She is everything I hope to be when I’m 70+ years old - idgaf wrapped up in a person. Perfect.

This was such a little gem, and I’m so glad I was able to have early access. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Viking Group for an advanced copy of this ebook!

What do retirees and babies have in common? In this highly entertaining ensemble comedy of a novel, quite a bit actually, as the local daycare and the Senior Citizens’ Social Club team up to save the Mandel Community Center from demolition. The cast of characters runs the gamut from a non-verbal 5 year old to a single teenage dad, an aging actor, a dog named Margaret Thatcher, and an elderly woman with a very mysterious past who may or may not be on the run. Y’all, this book was FUN and brought me so much joy (now lobbying for a prequel based on Daphne’s life). This was my first novel by Clare Pooley, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Pub Date: 6/11/24
Review Published: 6/11/24
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

How to Age Disgracefully is another hit by Clare Pooley featuring quirky characters, funny dialogue, and a story filled with heart.

I loved this book! Clare Pooley is the queen of pulling together realistically funny characters and connecting them in the most heart felt ways. In this book, a quite mismatched group of people must come together to save their community center. Each of them needs the center for a different reason but most of all because they need each other.

How to Age Disgracefully is full of smile and laugh out loud funny scenes. At times this unique cast of characters gets a little bit crazy, but everything comes together at the end in the most perfect way.

If you like books about found family/community and/or have loved Clare's books in the past, I would absolutely recommend this book!

For fans of The Reading List, All the Lonely People, and Anxious People among others.

4.5 stars rounded up!

“How to Age Disgracefully” was an a easy five star read! This was my first Clare Pooley book and I was not disappointed.

The story follows a group of senior citizens from all walks of life coming together to save their community center. We also encounter other characters and members from the center who are facing their own challenges and that highly depend on the center’s survival.

Besides the numerous wild situations the characters found themselves in, I loved how Pooley brought it back to the importance of human connection and community. The wide cast of complex characters were so fun to meet and had me cracking up all throughout. The book was a beautiful reminder that you are never too old to try something new and that although change can be incredibly scary at times it can also be unbelievably rewarding.

“What’s the fun in ageing gracefully?” said Daphne. “Personally, I intend to age as disgracefully as possible.”


What. A. Romp. This is my first book by Clare Pooley, but it certainly won’t be my last.

And what a cast of characters! From Lydia, the 50-something Senior Citizen’s Social Club “leader” figuring out who she is and learning to love herself, to Art, the failed actor turned kleptomaniac, to Ziggy, the teenaged single dad trying to make a better life for his daughter, to Daphne, the… well, let’s not give away *all* her secrets—HOW TO AGE DISGRACEFULLY features one of my favorite tropes: unlikely friendships and found family.

Though the blurb might lead one to believe this book is about Lydia or the group as a whole—and it is, kind of—Daphne steals the show. She pulls everyone and everything together. And despite her not being the kindest or most trusting when we met her, I loved her from the start. I want to *be* Daphne at her age. Hell, I want to be Daphne at *my* age.

Even so, Pooley had me invested in all of her characters’ lives and stories. I empathized with their sadness (and there was some of that), and I laughed along at their humorous exploits to save the community centre. HOW TO AGE DISGRACEFULLY is definitely one of my top 10 books of the year so far.


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Though not in the links, I've also submitted a review to Amazon since it's release day. It's still currently pending review.

2.5 ⭐️
Once again I found myself asking if I read the same book as everyone. I felt zero connection to this book and I’ve read review after review of readers falling in love with everything about it. Maybe I’m not in the right mindset? I dunno but it dragged on and on and while the characters were “quirky” and there were some fun parts, I really felt bored and unimpressed.

That being said, the author did create some amazing characters.

It should be noted I tried the audiobook as well and that was so much worse. The narrator was NOT the right pick for the vibe of the story. It came off as a history teacher speaking rather than an upbeat quirky read. No disrespect to the author or narrator.

Thanks so much NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Pamela Dorman Books for the eARC.

This was a fun read with a delightful cast of quirky characters. It took me a bit to get into it, with the various storylines unfolding but in the end I really enjoyed the connections and inter-generational dynamics between characters.

I also enjoyed the references to another of Pooley’s books with the reference to Iona.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Clare Pooley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great book! I loved everything about the characters, their dreams, their families, their dog, and their big secret mission. Sometimes older people get overlooked, but this group from the Senior Citizens’ Social Club is anything but “old”. Helping them feel younger are the children from the daycare next door. When planners want to demolish their center for other buildings, this group of friends, and faithful dog, Maggie, will keep you laughing and amazed at what they do to save their building and friendships, finding strength they never knew they had.

I read only the first line of How to Age Disgracefully's summary before getting hooked. "A senior citizens’ center and a daycare collide with hilarious results" was truly all I needed to know about this book before diving in.
Particularly the senior citizen characters of this novel stood out to me. I loved how the story was told from multiple points of view so readers could get a full picture of how complex the lives of the main characters' was and how they saw one another. I loved the relationship between the elderly former reclusive yet suprisingly world savvy Daphne and teenage father Ziggy the most. Pooley's ensemble of characters both young and old show the stages of life and how much there can be learned from one another.
I have always loved the idea of senior citizens and kids together so having both the social group and the daycare in the same building was a brilliant move. Showing them working and learning together in the novel reinforced this idea and it was written beautifully. And there was no doubt about the hilarious result. Days later and I'm still thinking about How to Age Disgracefully. I wish there were more books like this in the world.

This had the potential to be so cute and heartwarming but to me it felt like it skimmed the surface of emotions rather than letting us get to know the characters. I nearly never say this but it couldve been longer to allow for that emotional depth. (also focus on less characters maybe?) Feel like i got a sample of each.

I am a Claire Pooley stan and really don’t know what to do with myself now that this story is over. She has a knack for writing heartfelt stories with a full cast of characters that drive you crazy and absolutely adore in equal measure. They are human, they are quirky, and they all struggle with things that are so relatable.

I really will miss each and every one of them, especially Daphne, and can’t wait for you to meet them too. There are so many heartfelt and thoughtful moments that will make you grin and also shed a happy tear.

I highly recommend this one

How to Age Disgracefully is a story of four strangers told from four unique points of view. First there is Daphne: a fiery woman in her eighties who is fiercely independent and set in her ways. She is fabulously confident and has a penchant for causing trouble. Next Art: an eighty-something man with a penchant for stealing small goods to feel alive again. Then there is Lydia: she runs the seniors group and is just trying to keep her life together after her children go off to college and her husband is pulling away. Finally there is Ziggy: and 18 year old high school student raising a baby girl on his own while trying to make something of his life. The characters couldn't be more different, but they meet through the community center and find out that they are just what the others need.

Never did I think I would have so much fun reading about a group of seniors at a community center! How to Age Disgracefully took me by surprise with how much I laughed and even had me tear up at certain parts as well! The characters were deeply layered and the story flowed well from one view point to the other. I greatly enjoyed this one and would definitely recommend. If I could be even a little bit like Daphne one day, I will be happy!

I was excited to read this! The synopsis sounded witty, fun, and interesting. While it was definitely witty, that’s about the only element of this book that I enjoyed. It was incredibly slow-paced and couldn’t hold my attention. The writing was long-winded and often monotonous. The characters aggravated me to no end and I found myself dreading having to read. The concept was good, the execution just fell flat for me.

This was a fun one!! So unique and heartwarming. I loved all the characters and getting to know each of their backgrounds more. There is really nothing bad to say about this book! I absolutely adored it and even laughed out loud many times. I think everyone would enjoy this story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clare knows how to write engaging, hilarious, heartfelt characters. It is so fun to enjoy falling into her stories and not worrying about coming up for air. The easter eggs are always fun. It would.ve nice to have a reunion show of short stories for all these great characters.