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kellyeweber's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Death and Drug abuse
readingbetweenthevines's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Oh wow, Steven Rowley just has a way at tugging on my heartstrings. I read The Guncle when it first released and I loved it, so when I saw his new release The Celebrants, I didn’t even read the synopsis, I just picked it up.
This book made me feel alllllll the feels. It was very bittersweet - I smiled a lot, I laughed, I cried, a lot. Steven Rowley beautifully tackled grief and living through loss. I will forever pick up whatever he puts out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Conjecture about suicidejennastopreading's review against another edition
I read and loved Rowley’s THE GUNCLE and LILY AND THE OCTOPUS, so I was really excited to get approved on Netgalley for THE CELEBRANTS. Unfortunately, at 48% in, I decided to put the book down.
I think at the root of it, I was struggling with both the number of main characters and the length of the chapters. With an ensemble cast of 5 larger than life characters, the 50(ish)+ page chapters each centering on one character at a time made it hard to engage. Halfway into the book, I didn’t love or hate any of the characters, nor did I care about their stories. The long chapters made it hard for me to read even a chapter in one sitting, which makes it even harder to get sucked in.
I think the story has promise, but the setup of the book just didn’t work for me. Hoping the next Rowley works better for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse
cc_shelflove's review against another edition
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Thank you to Edelweiss Plus and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I would describe this book as being fairly okay. A unique concept, Jordan and his friends entered a pact when they were young to host living funerals for each other. The purpose of the pact is to ensure that the friends understand the impacts they’ve made on each other’s lives before it’s too late. While I liked Steven Rowley’s writing, these characters really sucked. I personally felt that I didn’t get to know the characters well enough before being thrown into the sea of their many (and I mean MANY) problems, so I had a hard time sympathizing with them for the majority of the book. These grown adults bickered like they were still in college, and let’s face it—I’m just not all that interested in reading about forty year olds doing mushrooms. While the overall message was a positive one, I was not as moved or impressed as I would have expected.
A note to authors everywhere: PLEASE don’t give two characters the same name! Jordy and Jordan… seriously?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicide, and Alcohol
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