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spommerening 's review for:
The Celebrants
by Steven Rowley
3.5 ⭐
Jordan, Jordy, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle are shocked by the sudden death of their friend Alec on the cusp of their college graduation. The friends pledge to throw one another living funerals for each other whenever the celebrant needs reminding of how much they have touched everyone's lives. Naomi cashes in when her parents die. Marielle uses hers after her marriage falls apart. And Craig needs his friends the most before he is sent to jail. But when Jordan and Jordy are faced with a sobering discovery, the remaining funeral(s) becomes the most important.
This book was about love and loss, friendship and grief, and the somber fact that we only get one life.
Things I liked:
- the concept of this book. I found it really wholesome and sweet. The idea of friends gathering when one of them is having a hard time is so precious.
- Jordy and Jordan. Yes their romance, but also their individual characters. They were both funny, kind, thoughtful, and the glue that held everyone together. Their sections of the book were my favorite.
- the writing. Rowley's writing was concise but captivating. I was wrapped up in each story and needed to know what happened. No spoilers but I thought the book ended really well and it tugged on my heart strings.
Things I didn't like:
- Marielle, Naomi, and Craig's characters. Not to down play their individual baggage, but some of their stories felt very "woe is me". I felt Craig and Naomi's issues to be things they should have dealt with way before their funerals. Marielle was literally the worst. She critiqued what people said about her at her funeral. No spoilers but HOW can you be the one to be mad at everyone all the time and you literally kept the biggest secret that changed someone's entire life? They each did sucky things (like forcing your friends to go sky diving and then skipping out). I found their contributions to the group scenes to be irritating and dysfunctional.
- This group of characters didn't mesh to me. I felt like this book had so much potential, but because these characters felt so separate I truly didn't understand why they were friends. They didn't keep in touch over the years, some of them were just shitty, and none of them ever wanted to do these funerals. It didn't make sense why such a sweet concept was executed by a group that was always reluctant to get together. I think this was a large reason I didn't rate the book higher. Their friendship felt forced due to their close proximity at a young age.
Jordan, Jordy, Craig, Naomi, and Marielle are shocked by the sudden death of their friend Alec on the cusp of their college graduation. The friends pledge to throw one another living funerals for each other whenever the celebrant needs reminding of how much they have touched everyone's lives. Naomi cashes in when her parents die. Marielle uses hers after her marriage falls apart. And Craig needs his friends the most before he is sent to jail. But when Jordan and Jordy are faced with a sobering discovery, the remaining funeral(s) becomes the most important.
This book was about love and loss, friendship and grief, and the somber fact that we only get one life.
Things I liked:
- the concept of this book. I found it really wholesome and sweet. The idea of friends gathering when one of them is having a hard time is so precious.
- Jordy and Jordan. Yes their romance, but also their individual characters. They were both funny, kind, thoughtful, and the glue that held everyone together. Their sections of the book were my favorite.
- the writing. Rowley's writing was concise but captivating. I was wrapped up in each story and needed to know what happened. No spoilers but I thought the book ended really well and it tugged on my heart strings.
Things I didn't like:
- Marielle, Naomi, and Craig's characters. Not to down play their individual baggage, but some of their stories felt very "woe is me". I felt Craig and Naomi's issues to be things they should have dealt with way before their funerals. Marielle was literally the worst. She critiqued what people said about her at her funeral. No spoilers but HOW can you be the one to be mad at everyone all the time and you literally kept the biggest secret that changed someone's entire life? They each did sucky things (like forcing your friends to go sky diving and then skipping out). I found their contributions to the group scenes to be irritating and dysfunctional.
- This group of characters didn't mesh to me. I felt like this book had so much potential, but because these characters felt so separate I truly didn't understand why they were friends. They didn't keep in touch over the years, some of them were just shitty, and none of them ever wanted to do these funerals. It didn't make sense why such a sweet concept was executed by a group that was always reluctant to get together. I think this was a large reason I didn't rate the book higher. Their friendship felt forced due to their close proximity at a young age.