Welcome to Litsy!

Five friends make a pact after another friend dies young and suddenly…a funeral pact that can be invoked at any time, no questions asked. The five remaining friends can each have their own “funeral” with the goal that nothing is left unsaid and they reaffirm how much they mean to each other. Heartbreaking, but also positive.

#bookspinbingo
#24in2024
#readaway2024

A group of friends gathers for the funeral of one of their college crew who died way too young. They make a pact to continue holding “funerals” for each other to honor those friendships while they are still alive and able to hear how they are loved. This was just so-so for me. Read it for book club and found more to appreciate as we discussed, but the characters didn‘t really grab me and the dialogue and humor felt a bit too contrived and clunky.

Since I DNF'ed my original choice for this prompt (too scary!!), this book worked just fine for #52bookclub24 #includesapersonalphobia. Skydiving. Enough said!

Overall, I enjoyed this one, though it did start out pretty slow for me. I definitely preferred “The Guncle“ to this, but it was still worth reading. And it was my #bookspin pick for June!

Some flaws, but overall good. The lengthy digressions into California's history take away from the narrative and the twists are a little messy but the characters and setting are good. I could see it becoming a series and I would continue reading if so.

We hope that your special day is a dream come true @HOTPock3tt and @maich and that every moment is a happy and fun one to remember.

The #birthdayfairies are adding in some of their own magical #birthdaylove as the cherry on top of your celebration. Wishing you both a beautiful day!

Happy, Happy Birthday!!! 🥳🥳

🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈

Book 29📚 3.9⭐️

It wasn‘t “The Guncle” but it was still super touching and cute. I love Rowleys writing and he does such a good job as a narrator!

5 friends make a “funeral” pact after one of them dies suddenly. Making sure never to leave anything unsaid.❤️

Lazy, rainy Saturday. 🙂

I‘ve read two books by Rowley — this & The Guncle. I think I‘m in the minority here but I prefer The Celebrants! While I don‘t disagree with readers who‘ve griped that the characters are unlikeable, I think the author succeeds in peeling back layers & showing us why; they grew on me as they aged through experiences & allowed themselves to become more vulnerable. While reading, I was moved to reach out to my own group of old friends. I‘m grateful.

“As much as these were the people she relied on to build her up, they were also the ones she would allow to see her when she was down. Even if they felt somewhat like strangers now, they had seen things, they had witnessed her when she was young and raw and exposed, in the time before she‘d learned how to hide her fragility.”

Pictured: Me with friends from high school, post-high-school, after seeing Roxane Gay speak at our hometown theater. 💓

Low end of the pick scale. The two Rowley books I‘ve read, that weren‘t The Guncle, bored me for a long time until suddenly they didn‘t. I checked this out from the library 3 times before I finished it. The characters aren‘t that likeable, and I had trouble distinguishing the two Jordans. I liked the last half better than the first. I wonder if I had less trouble with The Guncle because I listened to it. This and The Editor, I read the ebooks.