My Friends by Fredrik Backman is an homage to friendship. The story narrates the life of four friends and that one summer where everything was perfect before having to deal with the realities of life and adulthood. It’s a piece of art in itself and a very very long train ride.

This is was my first Backman novel and I can now understand why a lot of people enjoy his books. As the story unfolds in the most natural ways, you fall in love with the characters and feel like you’re sitting in that pier with them enjoying the summer sun and feeling the breeze. The way it’s written is simple, yet it has a very big impact on the reader. One second you will be laughing out loud by how simple a teenagers mind can be, the other you will be crying because of the way adulthood sometimes feels like it’s joyless. And it’s a ride where you’ll be up and down emotionally but ultimately feel that warmth that we all crave, that feeling of belonging, of finding your people.

This was such an amazing story and I can’t wait for it to come out!

I guess 2025 is the year that all of my favorite authors decided to flop? This simply cannot be the same man who wrote Beartown!! It was like someone asked AI to re-write A Little Life. It’s way too long, the characters felt flat and the writing was juvenile. Has anyone in this book ever felt a normal amount of emotion? Everyone is always “crying so hard that tears stained their shirt” or “laughing so hard they fell in a bush”. Calm down! Ugh! So disappointing.

This was a really moving story about four friends and their journey. I laughed and cried! I really enjoyed this. I thought this book was really well written, it is very poetic. This would be a good pick for a Book Club!

Fredrik Backman is a master in empathy building, and as usual, he always makes the reader put on the characters' shoes. In this case, a teenager girl. First, you can see her distress and unconventional behavior, and then you find out the story behind.

I like the way he centers the reader's attention toward youth. New generations are now more exposed to more risks, and there are more cases of anxiety and depression.

There were times during the book that I was thinking the novel is more for a younger audience or for parents of children at this age but then, I was back to care for the characters and think on the youth, in the crisis some might be suffering.

This is a novel about friendship, fears, and trust. In this novel, characters are full of fears because of traumatic events, but in the hard moments of their lives, they haven't been alone.

If you are interested in reading this, consider that throughout the novel there is a story to be revealed and it gives you hints to draw your own conclusions but as the novel keeps going it changes direction on and on. So be patient. That was one of the things I enjoyed less, but I guess it's part of the author's sense of humor. The use of language is simple and easy to follow, and the dialogues were according to the characters' ages, but sometimes they were too plain or goofy.

Reading Fredrik Backman is always enjoyable, but I couldn't love this as much as
A Man Called Ove and Anxious People. I think if you like Beartown, you'd like this one too.

Publication Date: May 6th, 2025

Thank you, Atria Books, for the digital ARC via Netgalley.

I did not realize how emotional of a book I was signing up for!! I loved what I read but due to me dealing with grief in my life, I was only able to read 50% of this book. I just know that one day I will come back to it and reading about the friendship and grief will fix me. I’m giving it 5 stars even though I did not finish it because I loved what I read and it was just my personal grief journey that stopped me from being able to keep reading the rest for now.

Unlike most of the readers who have left reviews for this book, I have never read another book by Fredrik Backman. Because of this, I believe I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and therefore I was able to take it at face value.

When we first meet Louisa, an 18 year old aspiring artist, she is crashing an art auction in the hopes of seeing her favorite work of art, the world famous "The One of the Sea," by C. Jat. The fact that none of the people at the auction seem to understand the painting frustrates her, because no matter what the title is, Louisa know it's not a painting of the sea, Most people miss the fact that there are four tiny people at the end of the pier, and this must be what the painting is really about. Louisa longs to learn more about the story of the painting. Who are these people? Why did C.Jat paint them this way, so that they practically disappear into all the blue of the sea and of the sky?

That's all you're going to get from me as far as revealing the story, because to me, this setup in the first chapter also gives us a clue that many people miss. This is not a book about friends. Like the four figures disappearing into the painting, this story is about something much deeper. It's about love, and trust, and the power of art to be the catalyst for the magic that brings these four souls together and binds them in a way that most of us never experience.

"I love you, and I trust you." This phrase, when spoken by one of the characters, lets us know that, for these damaged souls whose lives are full of pain, fear, and violence, the act of trust is even more difficult, and more difficult to share, than the act of love. Backman is the omniscient narrator, able to frame the story for the reader in a way that exposes not only the characters' stories, but universal truths as well. Love and trust don't always end up as happy endings, but they do end up with bonds that transcend their individual circumstances. Art is the medium that helps it all happen..

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I'm a sucker good writing and characters whose lives are transformed by art, and so for me this one was pretty close to perfect.

Thank you Atria Books @atriabooks Netgalley @netgalley and Fredrik Backman @backmansk for this free ebook! This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 
I wish I could write a review that was nothing by Fredrik Backman quotes…
“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Fiction. Location: From Stockholm to a distant town in Sweden. Time: When Louisa turns 18, and 25 years earlier when the painter and friends were 14. Many triggers: Suicide, grief, death, ptsd, childhood abuse, abandonment.

In a seaside town, a group of teens find refuge from sad, abusive homes by spending summer days on an abandoned pier-telling jokes, sharing secrets, dreams, love. Out of that summer comes a painting by a 14-year-old, who becomes world-famous artist C. Jat; and 25 years later that now incredibly expensive 1st painting is given to 18-year-old homeless Louisa. Most people see a painting of the sea, and don’t notice 3 tiny figures at the pier’s end. But Louisa does. She starts a cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be, and to decide what to do with it. (“Tell me, what is it you plan to do, with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver) Former foster care child Louisa hates reality, she really, really doesn’t like it when adults touch her. She’s world-class at being angry and abandoned and not trusting.

Author Backman has written a testament to friendship and art-proof that happy endings aren’t always what we think. His precisely written characters are moving, funny, complicated, heartbreaking: (“But how do I explain that I’m freezing to death if I’m not seen by you?”) Backman’s prose just blows me away: (“…when the love of our life falls asleep for the last time, because when the soul leaves the body, evidently the last thing it does is tie our shoelaces together. In the weeks following the death, we trip over thin air. It’s the soul’s fault.”) If you’re a Fredrik Backman fan, you know you need to read this book. If you haven’t discovered him yet, pick up this book! It’s 5 stars from me! 👩🏼‍🦳 #AtriaPartner

Classically Backman. A heartfelt story about friendship, family (chosen and given), grief, and the role of memory in building a life. This story sings with emotion from the very beginning and benefits from Backman's signature meandering and journey-driven storytelling style. We follow the story of Louisa and Ted as they meet and connect over a famous, and extremely valuable, art piece that has come into their possession. Traveling through individual memories, this unlikely air finds commonalities in their experiences with grieving each of their closest friends and forge an friendship despite each of their reservations about opening themselves up to others. As always, the translation is impeccable and I look forward to being able to share some of my favorite quotes once the book is officially published. Backman is an auto-read author for me and "My Friends" more than stands up to the impact and heart of his previous works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the eARC. This title is set to release on May 6th 2025.

This book is so dear to me. Like many others, I first fell in love with Backman's writing in the Beartown trilogy, and My Friends really did help bridge the gap in my reading that I've felt since finishing up The Winners. I had a really similar reading experience with My Friends in that the characters start out very distanced from the reader, but as I went through the book, they become so adored and I couldn't pinpoint exactly when that happened. If you love art, coming-of-age stories, or just really excellent writing, I would highly recommend My Friends.

The title obviously tells us that this will be another signature Backman tale, a poignant story of friendship, loss, and love, written in the author’s recognizable wonderfully-paced, whimsical and introspective prose. But this is also a treatise on the personal meaning of art. The basic plot follows how a very famous painting, which has changed ownership multiple times in just twenty-five years, came to be.

The latest person that the painting has enchanted is newly homeless 18 year old Louisa who discovered it (called “The One By the Sea”) via a postcard reproduction that she’s carried from foster home to foster home for years. She knows it’s more that a portrayal of water. Louisa wants the chance to see the painting in person before it’s sold off in an auction again. But she also ends up discovering the story of three teenage friends who gathered on a pier two and a half decades ago and encouraged their fourth friend to paint them for a contest and a chance to escape their current lives.

This is an extremely emotional book, more so than the previous Backman novels I’ve read. There are multiple moments in “My Friends” where I was brought to tears — it was so easy to care immensely for the main characters as you learned more about them and hope each one got a happy ending, although you’re warned from the beginning. It’s one of the books you’ll remember for a long time. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But lots of kind eyes and teary eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Few people notice the geraniums and lavender in the painting and fewer know the meaning of why those flowers were included.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

If you are a fan of Backman & his writing style you will love this book.

His characters felt so real with me and I will be thinking about all their stories for a long time. I laughed, I cried, I reflected on my own life while reading this book. The characters felt similar to those from the Beartown series.

By far a favorite book of 2025

A lovely celebration of friendship and its long-lasting bonds. The first half of the book was a bit of a struggle for me, as there was a lot to keep track of between these two groups of friends as well as it slowly settling into a rhythm while jumping back and forth between the past and present. At times the hardships that these characters were forced to endure at such a young age became incredibly depressing, and Backman occasionally foreshadows events with a heavy hand. However, when the carefully laid plot threads started coming together, my patience paid off and I ended up enjoying the roundabout journey that I was taken on. The humorous moments became essential to make the sad ones much easier to swallow, and although the story felt a little too long at times, it finds a nice place to wrap up. Not among my very favorites by Backman, but well worth reading.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for my copy of My Friends by Fredrik Backman in exchange for an honest review. It publishes May 6, 2025.
I have to say, that I’ve loved several other books by Backman. That being said, I didn’t love this one. I felt like it was just so hyperbolic, so many random questions, and bold statements. In some ways, it felt like reading YA, but with profuse profanity, graphic violence and child abuse. It also took me a very long time to read, when historically I lose sleep while reading his books, because I can’t put them down!
I can totally get why this book will be very popular, but it definitely didn’t work for me at all.

3.5 stars rounded down for a coming of age story of 4 teenagers. While there are some humorous moments, much of the book focuses on the difficulties growing up in dysfunctional families with domestic violence and mothers struggling to protect their children.
The 4 teenagers are:
Joar, whose father beats him and his mother
Ted, whose father is dying, and has a brother who beats him
Ali, daughter to a family who move frequently to escape debts
A boy identified only as "the artist" for the first half of the book.
There are two timelines: Present day when the teenagers are grown and 25 years prior when they were 14.
I found the amount of violence depressing. The book does show the teenagers enjoying themselves, doing goofy things, swimming, joking and encouraging the artist to follow his dreams.
The present day timeline has the artist, now famous, encounter Louisa, a homeless teenager and budding artist. He bonds with her and wills his most famous painting to her. He assigns Ted to carry out his wish. The relationship between Louisa and Ted is full of mishaps, anger, frustration and a satisfactory ending.
One quote by Louisa on the famous painting: "This is a painting of laughter, and you can only understand that if you are full of holes, because then laughter is a small treasure. Adults will never understand that, because they don't laugh at farts, and how the hell are you supposed to trust the judgement of someone like that with something as important as art.?"
Thank You Atria Books for sending me this eARC.

Pub Date May 06 2025

This is now possibly my favorite book of all time. I have read nearly all of Fredrik Backman's books, and I think this is my new favorite. It was absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking, and uplifting. I experienced every emotion possible while reading this book. I cannot wait to share this book with others and to get my own physical copy for my bookshelf.

The characters were so relatable and real, and I loved the dual timeline telling of the story. It felt like I was reading about people that I really knew, and I think that is Backman's strength as an author.

My, oh my. How could a book be big enough to have room for this much love?

I thought I would add a few quotes from the book to my review, however I have 6 pages of notes I’ve highlighted while reading an advanced copy. And when rereading them all, I decided, no, you should just share the one about eating your vegetables and call that your review, cackling wildly.

I laughed a lot reading this. Often out loud. I also cried a few times. This is such a beautiful and touching read, absolutely perfect.

4.5 Stars

At this point I think I’d cry just reading Backman’s grocery list, he’s that poignant and great of a writer. His newest novel explores the depth of friendship and finding one’s self in the world. While I think it’s a little bit slower pace than some of his other works, it still carries the depth, humor, and great characters we have come to love from Backman.

This book was so good that I’m at a loss for words. Such amazing storytelling and vibrant characters.

This is a coming of age story about found family and love and loss and and and and - this one you’ll just have to read for yourself.

This was the second Backman book I’ve read. I’m not sure if his writing style is for me, it’s a bit all over the place.
I did really enjoy the story, I will think about the friends for awhile. This book is sad yet hopeful. A lot of bad things happen to all the friends but they bond together to share a magical summer.
You have to suspend a bit of reality as some of the story is unrealistic and a bit too many unbelievable things happen. I got a bit tired of the fart jokes.
This story slowly unfolds in a zigzagging fashion. I was satisfied with the ending but it felt like it took too long to get there.

I think I say this every time I red his books, but this is my new fav of his. I laughed, I cried and I am lost for words to describe my love for this story about love, friendships, grief, sacrifice, adventure and so much more. I don’t want to give much away because you should just go into it ready to be enthralled by the characters and entranced by the love that is shown between them all. If this book doesn’t make you tell the important people in your life “I love you and I trust you” by the time you’re done, then you have the wrong friends.
I haven’t read a story that is so genuine, smart, sentimental and sarcastic in a long time and I didn’t want it to end. The characters resonated with me deeply and we all know I’m a tough nut to crack. Every character grows in their own right and even if you love one more than the other, Ted especially warmed my heart, they are all critical to the development of the story.
I can’t recommend this book enough. I’m so thankful to Atria Books for the opportunity to review this eArc in exchange for my review.