This book is exactly what I want and expect going into a new Backman book. Beautifully written, one liners that hit me so hard out of nowhere that they stop me in my tracks and make me just sit there and contemplate what he wrote.

Laughed and cried my way through the whole book.

It’s a book about teenagers and friendship and art and finding your people, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s about human interactions and life.

The way Backman writes about human experiences is as if he’s been watching how people act around each other and keeping notes his whole life. He just gets it.

I could go on and on. And while this book felt slow at times, I was okay with it as it felt like one to just sit and take your time with anyways.

Perfection and onto the top reads of the year list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Fredrik Backman’s writing is a gift. He captures the heartbreak and humor of humanity in the best possible way. This book is full of lines that are relatable but never cliche. Backman also masters metaphors that are so out there but help the reader visualize the characters’ facial expressions and movements so well.

My Friends focuses on a group of four 14-year-olds who live hard lives but love one another even harder. They are more of a family than their actual families are. When one of them is encouraged to enter an art contest, it sets off a series of events that changes their lives. When the artist becomes famous as an adult, he meets one of his biggest fans. 18-year-old Louisa is struggling with the loss of her best friend when she meets the artist. This meeting begins the adventure of a lifetime for Louisa that changes how she views herself and the world around her.

I found myself agreeing with so many of Backman’s quotes about parenthood, childhood, art, and life in general. I have only read 2 of Backman’s books before this one but now I want to read all of his other ones. I will recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging, powerful story about friendship and growing up. I will never forget this one.

Fredrik Backman always writes with such beauty and emotional depth, and My Friends is no exception. Somehow, he made me care deeply about art—something I’ve never been particularly interested in before! His storytelling is rich with shared memories and the tender act of passing them down through generations, which felt incredibly moving.

There are so many quotes from this book that I’ll carry with me, along with the familiar humor that balances the weight of the themes so perfectly. As a devoted fan of the Beartown trilogy, I’m thrilled to have found that same spark and emotional resonance in another of Backman’s works.

Highly recommended—Backman does it again.

*** BOOK REVIEW*** Book out now!

I started reading this book on my kindle and made it to about 65% slowly. I knew I wanted to slowly devour this book at first given its intellectual and emotional nature. But I began to realize, that this one for me was meant to be audio and devoured in one weekend. The cyclical way in which two timelines weave together with an existential vignette of the human experience did not deserve to be digested periodically but in an all consuming continuous timeline (as much as real life responsibilities allow). Reading a little here and a little there did me a grave disservice. Happy to say after reading the ebook to 65% and starting over via audio was the best decision. Fredrick Backman is an auto buy author for me since A Man Named Ove. This, while it didn’t click the first time, is of the same caliber. While the themes can get dark and depressing, it ended with some light and hope. Not everyone had happy endings, but such is life. It was real, it was raw, it was rather cathartic. I’ve heard this may be his last book, and I selfishly hope that is a bunch of media bullshit. Here’s hoping.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for getting a free audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
#netgalley #bookreview #fredrickbackman #MyFriends #bookstagram

Backman does it again. My Friends is an amazing story filled with unforgettable characters. His gift for character development is unparalleled, drawing you into their lives so that every triumph and heartbreak feels personal. The emotional roller coaster this book took me on was intense, but completely worth it.
I've heard this might be his final book. If that's true, I'm incredibly grateful for the laughter, the tears, and the pure joy his stories have brought to me and my family. Thank you, Fredrik Backman, for sharing your gift with the world.

Fredrik Backman is a stunning writer. I rarely highlight what I am reading, even when I love the writing and even though, because they are e-books, I am not damaging a paperback or hardcover version of a novel. There is something about the way Backman thinks as he creates, once again, unforgettable characters that makes me stop, reread and highlight. And at the end, the reader is left wondering if My Friends is part autobiographical, but who knows. It reads as an homage to a group of four fourteen year old kids growing up twenty-five years ago in a dying town where dock work is the only kind of job most people will find. However, the story begins in the present.

Louisa has permanently emancipated herself from foster care a day early to go to a gallery where a painting by a world famous artist is to be auctioned off. It is a painting he did the summer he was fourteen. Louisa found a postcard of the painting many years ago and it spoke to her. It made it through foster care with her. She is artistic herself. The painting depicts an expanse of water with a pier in the distance and on the pier are some people, so tiny that only the most observant people would note them.. By the artist's nom de plume signature, JCat are some tiny skulls. When she gets to the gallery, it is obvious to Louisa that those looking to purchase the painting do not appreciate it for itself. It is an investment. It will make them more notable in the collector's world. Louisa goes outside in a mood and there, she meets an apparently sick, homeless man. They engage with one another and he learns she is artistic. He invites her to paint on the wall of the gallery and then he adds some very familiar skulls. He is the artist.

As a result of this encounter, Louisa ends up owning the painting that was auctioned and on a long trip with Ted, one of the four teenagers on the pier from that summer 25 years ago. And throughout their journey they are, at best uneasily paired. Eventually, over time and because of her great need, Louisa learns not only about how the painting came into being, but the life stories of four misfits who found one another. "She's one of us." That's how the artist explained his short time with Louisa to Ted. It hied back to what a kind person once told him about being an artist. Christian is gone, but he had a great influence on the artist. When an art teacher gives the artist grief about his failure to follow instructions in his artwork, Christian, a school janitor and an artist told him he had great talent. He told him that art is your homeland. You will recognize those like you.

Louisa has lived a life of tremendous instability and trauma. She is unconventional, independent, creative, interesting and strong but damaged. Ted is gay. He always wanted to write, but he became a teacher. That did not work out and he took care of the artist in his illness. When they end up together for a time, due largely to Louisa's persistence, Ted tells her about that summer of the painting. So we learn about Joar, Ted, Ali and the artist. Joar lived in a house filled with domestic violence and he feared for his mother's and his life. Ted's father was ill for so much of Ted's life he has almost no memory of when he was well. Ted is merciless bullied at school and he disappoints his mother because he is not enough of a man. Ali, a spirited independent girl who joins the others that year also lives in an abusive home. She tries to get home late to avoid problem adults. The four spend every day together, mostly at the pier, swimming and talking but also spending some evenings at Ted's the safest house. Each evening when they separate, they call out, "tomorrow!' Their greeting the next day is, 'here!' And for the entire summer, the artist is 'supposed" to finish the painting and it keeps getting kicked down the road. He is very insecure.

Between Christian's kindness and perceptions, Joar's insistence the artist needed to finish a painting and enter it into a competition, creating a deadline, and their finding a way to get paint supplies, the artist found his courage and his vision and finished the painting. Joar's real motive was to get the artist going toward a departure from the town and his becoming the world famous artist Christian said he could be. And it worked. He moved out. And became famous. And became terminally ill just as "the" painting was around 25 years old and would be sold to the highest bidder. The summer pictured, the tiny friends on the pier that evoked memories of a unique, undying friendship, the image of them being safe and happy some of the time was at risk.

So, Ted tells Louisa absolutely devastating tales along the way, yet there is so much love, so much adventure, so much support and validation that for a time each of the four was okay. Louisa understands deeply because she too had a friend, now dead, Fish who was to her what Ted's circle was to him. Every character, dead or alive or hovering on the edge comes bursting into our hearts when reading My Friends. It is a more painful read than I first expected but it was so lovely and the characters and their lives felt so important in the telling that there was always a sweetness to it all. Just, read it.

This book destroyed me in the best way. Such an incredibly moving story of connection, art, found family, and sprinkled with just the right amount of fart jokes.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing this ARC for attendees of Book Huddle's Victoria retreat!

What a great book!

This story was funny and sad at the same time, I did not think that was possible. Normally I would not continue to read a book that was so sad about children growing up. But this writer is just amazing and hooked me early in the book. There are so many times this story had me laughing and then it would go to something that was just sad. These kids meant so much to each other that it lasted into adulthood. Their devotion to each other was so meaningful. But wow, their parents were mostly awful. This book will make you think twice about letting anyone be invisible, everyone matters.

The characters are very well developed and fun to get to know. The way that art brought people together in the story was really meaningful. The author did such a great job describing what teenagers thought about adults and everything else. This book is really special and will stay with you.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a quiet, introspective novel that leans heavily into themes of memory, loss, and the elusive nature of art and meaning. Backman’s signature emotional depth and lyrical writing are present, but this one felt more abstract than his previous works. It’s thoughtful and layered, but I found myself feeling a bit disconnected from the narrative, likely because so much of it revolves around art—something I admittedly don’t always understand or connect with deeply.

Fredrik Backman ability to write the human experience and grief is unmatched. Readers will be able to see themselves in these stories and empathize with characters who have shared experiences.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 448 / Genre: Fiction
Release Date: May 20, 2025
🥳#HappyPubWeek!🎉

I have mixed feeling on this one. Most of this book was such a touching, heartfelt story about four misfit kids growing up dirt poor in a working-class town. Their loyalty to each other made their hard lives worth living. I was so engrossed in these characters and their stories, with the threat of a heartbreaking ending always looming over every happy moment. But I don’t know, the ending kind of let me down. I felt such high emotions through that first 80%, and then meh. So, 5 stars for the first 80% and minus 1 for the rest. Also, they made such a big deal about this one painting throughout the book, I think they should have used that for the cover.

Thank you, @AtriaBooks for my advanced copy.

3.5 rounded up. I am really struggled through the 1st half of the book, it took me weeks to get to 40%. I did enjoy the 2nd half of the book much more. It is a very emotional and slow moving story that was very raw but overall a bit too slow for me to move it into the "loved it" range. I am clearly in the minority on this one.

“𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

Oh Backman… the depth that he goes into the human psyche, articulates emotions and thoughts and connections, crafting characters and stories that wrap you around their fingers and by the end you could be sobbing. (I wept during the final few chapters of The Winners when I finally read it last fall after rereading the first two.)

I think what hits so much is how raw these books are; how Backman honestly addresses tough topics with such understanding and compassion. The characters feel real because their stories are our own, and he brings to light the things we feel and think but keep hidden. (Goodness I made myself a wreck listening to this one and watching Thunderbolts* in the same weekend.)

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵.”

Thank you Atria Books for the advanced readers copy via NetGalley and Libby also had an audiobook that was available so I utilized both as I love Marin Ireland’s narrations of Backman’s works; they just go together perfectly. I had to refresh myself on the premise as I started listening and we are given two timelines: the past adolescence of the Artist and the present of Louisa.

Like Anxious People, I didn’t quite connect with this one as much as Beartown had grabbed me but I still liked it even if it felt long-winded in areas. The dynamics of a young, sassy teen girl with a middle-age and rather grumpy man who find their lies intertwined through another man’s art made for a unique tone and how art, our life stories, can make strangers into family; how perhaps our lives aren’t as different as they may first appear. Backman achingly reminds us of the deeply impressionable vulnerability that kids have; the power of their environments in shaping who they become and what they believe about themselves (I have seen the impact of this in my line of work). He also reminds us that our stories aren’t always our own; it’s those that we love and even to help others on their own journey.

While yes there is a lot of talk about farts remember that the main characters are mostly teenagers (as someone who has worked closely with adolescents I can attest to the frequency of this topic.) It might be labeled as “humorous fiction” but if you’ve read any Backman before you know that even if you catch a laugh here and there his books always hold heavy topics. Content includes (in varying degrees and detail) parental abandonment, substance abuse and overdose, profanity, physical/domestic abuse, suicide and ideation, mental health, self-harm, death of loved ones, and sexual assault.

Is it perfect? No. Is it messy? Yes. Will you be triggered or tear up? Likely. Is it powerful and relatable? Yes. Would I recommend? Yes. Will it be for everyone? No. Will you read it? That’s up to you, my friends.


Other noteworthy quotes:

“𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴. 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.”

“𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. … 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.“

“𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

“𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯.“

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.”

“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵.”

Backman never fails. His books are full of gorgeous prose and imperfect people. A stunning literary masterpiece.
My first Five-Star read this year, and I have no doubt it will be my favorite book of the year.

I cannot put into words how I felt about this book. Fredrik Backman’s writing grips you from beginning to end. This book is just… raw and emotional. It makes you uncomfortable (check the TWs!!) but it is done so well.

This review took a long time to write because I had (and still am) trouble writing a decent review that covers how I felt about this.

Regardless, this is a masterpiece that covers the story of four friends when the summer they’re 15 years old and the trials/tribulations of not only being a teenager but all of them dealing with some difficult circumstances at home. One of the friends, Ted is grieving and fate brings him to meeting Louisa, an 18 year old foster child with no family who recently lost her best friend. Ted tells the story of that summer.

This book is tragic but incredible. I’ve never been more easily to recommend a book in my life.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

Like most books I've read by this author, it took me a little while to get into it, but it definitely ended up pulling me in.

Backman's writing is as beautiful as I have come to expect from him. He has that quality where he can make you feel so sad and so uplifted at the same time. His books always manage to make me laugh and cry.

I struggled a bit in the beginning with Louisa's character. I'm such an introverted people pleaser that I have trouble connecting with someone who is the opposite. But that's probably also the reason I loved Ted. Eventually Louisa grew on me and I became as invested in her as I was with Ted and his friends. The story meanders around a bit and sometimes felt a little too long, but I did feel like I got to know and care about the characters and I'll be sad to see them go.

I do have to say that I am maybe not quite artsy enough to fully appreciate the message of the healing power of art. It sounded a little pretentious to me at times. And I don't think I could name one current, popular artist. However, I did enjoy the messages of friendship and found family and taking care of each other.

While this wasn't my favorite Backman book, it was still definitely worth the read and I look forward to his next book.

Oh how I loved this book! My Friends is another emotional character-driven novel from Fredrik Backman. It is a bit slow-moving, but I didn't mind the pace. I almost cried countless times – Backman has such a gift for writing about the human experience. It is filled with humor and heartbreak, with each page feeling like a warm hug. I savored each chapter while wanting to know what happened during Ted’s childhood, and why he is alone as an adult. I was saddened by each child’s relationships with their parents, but the precious moments with one another and the few loving adults in their lives made it emotionally bearable. This is a book that will stay with me for awhile! I highlighted so many passages that spoke to my heart.

I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It lagged a little in the middle for me, but overall would recommend this book.

Pub Date: May 20th, 2025

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, & Fredrik Backman for this #gifted eARC.

wow wow wow. the story telling??? amazing. the emotional impact?? pain. the quotes??? everything. i annotated SO much in this book because it was so good, so impactful and had so many themes (friendship, family, grief, loss, and the power of art).

i felt so sad reading this because these characters go through so much trauma and pain and felt so real to me. they felt like friends you just want to hug and be there for. this one will be on my mind for a long time.

this story follows two intertwined stories. the first being the present with louisa who is an aspiring artist from discovering a painting of four teenagers and their summer. the other story is set 25 years earlier which focuses on the teens from the painting and that summer together finding comfort in one another through their struggles. one of the teenagers (now an older man) meets louisa after she runs into the artist who created the painting and their stories become intertwined.

content warnings: child abuse, neglect, suicide mentions, self-harm, domestic abuse, bullying, drug abuse, alcoholism, and sexual assault.

So much of this is intensely emotional and thematic, pontificating on childhood, friendship, grief, and the meaning of art. What I think really marks Fredrik Backman's work though isn't thoughtfulness or tenderness or even a smugness about what deep observations he has on the meaning of life... it's his wry, lightly absurdist humor. It's a bit like if Douglas Adams wrote tragic coming-of-age stories instead of wacky sci-fi adventures.

The plot meanders a bit, but manages to closely stitch together what initially seemed to be very separate stories. Heavy handed foreshadowing throughout the book left me feeling the revelation of what ultimately happens is a bit anticlimactic. But all said and done, I'm not sure I would wish for the book to be any different than it is.

Like many excellent books, it leaves me at a loss for words.