The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
My rating: ā­ļøā­ļøā­ļø/5

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley is a character-driven story about friendship and acceptance. It’s the journey of five college friends through life.

This book is part of My Summer 2023 Reading List.

My Overview

I was drawn to The Celebrants, based on its unique concept: Five college friends made a pact to hold living funerals for each other. I was also looking forward to the setting in Big Sur, since I visited that area last year and loved it. Unfortunately, the setting in Big Sur didn’t play as big of a role as I’d hoped.

On the brink of their college graduation, five college friends made a pact to hold living funerals for each other, when their friend (Alec) died from an overdose. The celebrants/friends are: Craig, Naomi, Marielle, Jordan, and Jordan (Jordy). Why two characters with the same name? I don’t know, but I didn’t like it šŸ˜. Through flashbacks and memories shared about Alec throughout the years, he’s very much a part of the story too.

The living funerals serve as a reminder of each person’s meaningful life and the impact they’ve had on others. Each friend, therefore, can request their living funeral at any point the unconditional support of their friendship is needed. I enjoyed that concept, and appreciated the span of time covered by the story.

For the most part, the plot meandered and I didn’t get to know the characters as much as I’d expected. I’ve enjoyed other character-driven stories, but this one didn’t work quite as well for me for that reason. What I did like, however, were the multiple storylines. Overall, I appreciated the journey of friendship these five friends shared and the message of acceptance.

One interesting aspect for me, is that part of the story takes in San Francisco and Alcatraz Island. I found it surprising, since I’d just returned from visiting that area. I love when books mention locations I’ve visited šŸ˜Š.

My Recommendation

If you enjoy character-driven stories with multiple storylines, give this one a try. The audiobook is read by the author, so I highly recommend it.

Have you read this book yet?