pickSome 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!!! 🥳🥳
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pickBook 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. 🙂
pickI‘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. 💓
pickLow 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.
Is there anything better than a raw, rainy Sunday when you can snuggle on the couch under a blanket with a pile of books while ignoring the incessant football games that your significant other insists on watching? I‘m thinking not.
pick10-9-23: My 90th finished book of 2024! Back in 1995, about to graduate from Berkeley, Jordan, Naomi, Alec, Jordy, Craig and Marielle are inseparable. When one of their own passes suddenly the remaining friends create a pact which can be triggered whenever someone is in need. They have living funerals for one another so they all know how much they are loved. Very heartfelt and loving. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣9️⃣0️⃣
