Gutwrenchingly beautiful, this Backman novel will make you cry, laugh and have hope. Louisa runs away from foster care and encounters a man she thinks is homeless. The Artist is not homeless, but dying, and recognizes himself in the young woman. When his friend Ted comes to give the woman the Artist’s painting, a quirky and wonderful relationship develops. There is much to love about this book that celebrates uniqueness, art, and friendship. The flashbacks to the four young friends, Ted, Ali, Joar and Kim, will touch your heart. I highly recommend this meaningful and well written novel. Thanks to. NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of My Friends by Fredrik Backman.

I absolutely loved this book. Backman once again proves why he is my favorite author. He has a rare gift for capturing the complexities of family, friendship, grief, and joy with such depth and beauty—often in just a single sentence. Every line felt meaningful, and I found myself highlighting passage after passage because the writing was so powerful and affecting.

I cried multiple times and couldn't put it down. The emotional resonance is strong throughout, and the characters feel so real, so human. Backman beautifully captures the complexity of relationships, showing how grief and love can live side by side. His writing is both simple and profound, and he continues to be my favorite author. I would read anything he writes. My Friends is another stunning reminder of why.

Another one of Fredrik Backman's well written novels with sweet characters that make you want to know what happens to them. The two main characters are so lovable. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of My Friends by Fredrik Backman. This one hit me right in the feels. Backman has that same knack for balancing warmth and humor with moments that leave you genuinely moved. The story of unexpected friendships and quiet, profound connections felt so human and relatable. His writing is deceptively simple but packed with emotion, and I found myself both chuckling and tearing up along the way. If there’s one downside, it’s that a few plot threads felt a tad rushed, like I was ready for a bit more time with the characters I’d grown attached to. But even that didn’t take away from how much I ended up caring. My Friends is a lovely, heartfelt read that reminded me why I always look forward to anything Backman writes.

Leave it to Fredrik Backman to make me laugh and cry, usually in the very same sentence. His storytelling is quirky, genuine, and overflowing with emotion, and this book is no exception.

Backman has a rare talent: he pulls you in with lighthearted, often silly humor, and before you realize it, you're knee-deep in something unexpectedly profound. Just when you think you’re reading something fun and breezy, he hits you with a line that makes you pause, reflect, and reach for a tissue. His words are clever and bright, yet always carry surprising depth. I wish I’d highlighted more; I may need to reread it just to savor some of those lines again.

This book is classic Backman: honest, uniquely heartwarming, and quietly devastating in the most beautiful way. It’s filled with flawed but lovable characters, meaningful friendships, and emotional truths that linger long after the final page. Four friends, with an incredible bond and love. A tender, moving reminder of how complex, heartbreaking, and extraordinary human connection can be. It seamlessly weaves serious emotional themes like grief, loneliness, abuse, forgiveness, and loyalty into the narrative, without ever losing the warmth or charm of the story.

While a few parts felt a bit slow, it didn’t take away from the overall experience! Highly recommend to fans of character-driven stories, emotional journeys, and Fredrik Backman’s unique blend of humor and heart.

This is a coming of age tale for several different characters. Similar to "Beartown" series, this book tells the story of complex characters, neither all good nor all bad characters. Backman's story telling does not disappoint in this much anticipated novel.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 5/6
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I will never not be a Fredrik Backman fan; he just writes the most addicting, mysterious, wonderfully heartbreaking but at the same time uplifting stories that you cant help but read in one sitting.
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My Friends is no different than the others that I have read by him.. I was immediately intrigued. I couldn't help but want to know more about Louise and her situation but also who this artist was and how this story will unfold. My Friends follows the most beautiful and poetic story of Ted telling Louisa the story of the painting and the story of the artist while the reader simultaneously reads about Ted and Lousia's travels. I loved both aspects of this story. The themes of grief, art, friendship, mental illness, abuse and addiction just emanate off the pages, You see these themes withing both the stories that Ted tells but also through Louisa as well. The theme that will pack the biggest punch is the theme of found family. Found family that will do anything for one another, who found their forever home within each other and would do anything to help one another. The story was so touching and again heartbreakingly beautiful. The pacing of My Friends is both slow burn but also fast paced. The pacing changes is pure perfection for this because it really makes you slow down and really savor the beauty and quirkiness and uniqueness of the story. My Friends made me feel all the feels.
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I know for a fact that this is going to be a very loved book in 2025. I know that I loved it. I recommend it to all of my friends. It was the perfect blend of mystery / coming of age / general fiction. Be sure to check this one out. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Fredrik Backman and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A beautiful, heart-tugging read that celebrates the lifelong bond between childhood friends. Like many of Backman’s stories, this one is filled with quirky, complex characters and emotional depth. It touches on tough topics (TW: domestic violence), but also highlights the power of art, second chances, giving people a chance and the quiet ways we show up for one another. Themes I loved: friendship, belonging, resilience, and the deep roots of love that stretch through a lifetime. I found it a little slow at times but overall enjoyed the story. 💛

A big thank you to @Atriabooks for the e-copy to read and review.

As always, Fredrik Blackman writes an emotional, wonderful story. It kept me glued to each page wondering who the artist really was, what happened with each of the friends and how he would wrap up their friendships and that one summer.

Oh, Fredrik Backman. You have such an interesting, quirky, and charming storytelling style that I absolutely love. Your curmudgeons who discover their heart and worth by interacting with a young person and the outside world are my favorites.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy.
#MyFriends #NetGalley #AtriaBooks

Backman is a must-read for me, and this book is included.

Focused on the “outcasts”, My Friends is a story about the bonds of friendship, and the lifelong impacts these relationships have for years to come.

Louisa, a troubled orphan teen on the verge of adulthood, is gifted a famous painting worth millions and meets not only the artist but the artist's best friend. After the artist dies, the Louisa and the friend go on a journey to find a home for the painting and in turn, find something within each of them that heals their brokenness. Fredrik Backman can do no wrong in my eyes and this book was no exception. It was a hauntingly beautiful story of love and loss, pain and healing, and most of all, the perseverance of the human spirit and the need for human connection. All the stars for Backman's latest.

4.5 stars rounded up - this book can be a little corny at times but that's overshadowed by the brilliant prose and the way the story makes one summer feel like a joyous eternity.

Every time Fredrik Backman releases a new book, I know I’m in for something extraordinary. Backman has an unmatched ability to capture the beauty, messiness, and intricacies of being human, all with a raw tenderness and humor that feels both effortless and profound.

From the very first page, I was emotionally attached to the characters. The themes—addiction, mental health, art, grief, and the kind of friends who feel like soulmates—are woven together with such care and vulnerability that these characters feel like people you know, people you love.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Fredrik Backman at his book tour stop in Dallas, and it only deepened my appreciation for his work. He speaks the way he writes, with compassion, humor, and incredible depth. Listening to him talk about his characters and process was such a gift, and it made reading My Friends all the more meaningful!

Backman’s writing is poetic, and his words stay with you long after you’ve closed the book. The found family in this story is EVERYTHING. I was rooting for them through every high and low, and I truly felt their pain, joy, and growth.

Absolutely unforgettable.

Backman truly never misses.
He understands the inner workings of humans and writes about them so honestly…

You will pieces of yourself written into every single one of these characters and it is something beautiful to experience.

You will laugh, you will cry and you’ll want to start all over again after closing the last page.

Where to begin with such a story...this book gives off every type of feeling: anger, sadness, frustration, and love, but most of all hope. This story is written for every grown child who has ever felt lost, unsafe, or forgotten. It is also written for every grown child who needs compassion, understanding, and the undying belief we can change the world. I laughed. I cried. I dreamed of a better world, for all of us. My Friends is a book for every soul, high school age and up. We are never alone.

Louisa is mourning the death of her best friend Fish, as she runs away from a foster home. She ends up behind a museum creating art with a homeless man — who ends up being an incredibly famous artist who has a fatal disease. That starts a chain of events that link Louisa to Ted, the artists’ childhood friend, as she learns the story of the artist and the close knit friends with who he grew up. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it just fell flat for me. I didn’t feel connected to Louisa, Fish, the artist, Ted or any other of the friends. The story didn’t move me. I gave the entire Beartown series 5 stars, so this was a total disappointment for me.

A group of friends remember the young artist that brought them together and introduced them to new friends across the span of decades.

This had a slow start, and then when it picked up I felt like this book was suddenly just hurtling towards the conclusion. The early stories of Ted, the Artist, and Joar were very slow paced and the character of Louisa took some getting used to. Unfortunately, I felt like all the characters within this novel were very surface level and the humor peppered throughout the tragedy just didn't work like it did in Backman's Anxious People. The sense of urgency was gone since the story starts with the artist's untimely death and so everything else that followed afterwards just felt simultaneously over the top and unimportant. It was an okay story overall, but the heartfelt message was kind of lost on me by the conclusion.

a billion stars, actually.
book of the year.
no contest.

Backman can do absolutely nothing wrong.
Marin Ireland - narrator - can also do nothing wrong.

Fredrik Backman does it again, folks — somehow reaching inside the human condition and pulling out all its messy, beautiful contradictions like he’s been doing this his entire career.

My Friends is, on the surface, a mashup of a coming-of-age story and a mystery. But underneath, it’s really a meditation — on art, on grief, on love, and on the weird, tangled machinery that makes up a human being. What makes someone an artist? Is it talent, or heart? What makes someone lovable — or worthy of love — especially when they’ve been told their whole life they aren’t?

This is also a story of found family. Of the rare beauty of recognizing yourself in someone else’s oddness. Of little moments becoming lifelines. Of bravery, not in grand gestures, but in standing still when you want to run, or admitting you were wrong when everything in you screams not to.

There’s youth and innocence, yes, but also violence and trauma, including themes of domestic abuse, prejudice, and the heartbreak of untimely death. It’s a story that holds both warmth and deep sorrow in the same breath.

And the autistic coding of the main characters — subtle but unmistakable. “Act normal. Not normal for you. Normal for other people.” I felt that one in my bones.

I have to hand it to Backman — writing from the POV of an 18-year-old foster kid, a world far from his own, is a bold move. And while there were a few small anachronisms (would she really have a passport? Hmm), overall, he inhabits her voice with care.

Plot-wise, it zigged and zagged in ways I didn’t expect. I did see the big twist coming, but honestly? I’m not convinced Backman was going for shock so much as inevitability. This isn’t a thriller; it’s a quiet unraveling.

In the end, My Friends is about facing your fears — and sometimes, more importantly, facing yourself. It’s not flawless, but it’s genuine.