Steven Rowley | The Celebrants

The Book: 

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Published May 30, 2023 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Date read: May 5, 2023

The Characters: 

Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle

Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon

This page contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this site.


The Plot (from Goodreads):

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.

It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

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.

The Review: 

Did I know The Celebrants was going to make me cry? Of course. Was I out-of-my-mind excited to read it anyways? You bet I was.

Steven Rowley has such a compelling way of exploring grief. I loved it in The Guncle, and I loved it just as much in The Celebrants. He shows us that there can be humor even in times of sadness–something my family knows well.

All of these characters were flawed and yet lovable in such a relatable way. There is certainly something to be said for a group of lifelong friends that can come together and pick up right where they left off, that you know will be there for you no matter what. Everyone needs a friend group like the characters in this book!

I don’t need to say much more–if you loved The Guncle, you’re going to love The Celebrants. If you haven’t read either, change that asap.

Audiobook Review: I adore it when audiobooks are read by the author. A narrator can so easily make or break a book with their inflections or (mis)pronunciations, but when the author is the narrator you know the performance is the book exactly how they intended it. I definitely recommend listening to an audio version of The Celebrants!

“Do as many things as you can to remind yourself you’re alive.”


We're trying to grow our mailing list. If you join us and stick around, you will automatically be entered into two giveaways as a token of our thanks. And that's just the start!

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *