My Friends by Fredrik Backman is an absolute gem that touched my heart in ways I didn’t expect. Backman has an incredible gift for turning ordinary lives into extraordinary stories, and this book is no exception. With his signature blend of humor and heartfelt emotion, he crafts characters so real and relatable that they feel like friends I’ve known forever.

Having read and loved all of Backman’s books, I didn’t think anything could rival Beartown—but My Friends comes incredibly close. It captures the same depth of emotion and complex human connections that made Beartown unforgettable. Reading My Friends was like catching up with an old friend over coffee—filled with laughter, a few tears, and a comforting sense of connection.

Backman doesn’t shy away from exploring the messiness of relationships, but he does so with such compassion and insight that it leaves you reflecting on your own friendships. This book is a reminder of the beauty and complexity of human connection, and I can't recommend it enough.

A teen girl has a memorable interaction with an old man in an alley. When he leaves her an inheritance, she takes a train ride with his best friend, learning about his art and their friendship. Their group of friends is in the background of his most famous painting and Ted tells Louisa the story of one year of their lives together and the legacy of their friendships. It is about art, survival, hope, and lose.

When your favorite author has a new book, you always wonder if it can live up to the hype in your head. Do you really love his novels as much as you think you do?

This book met and exceeded every high expectation. Backman has a certain cadence to his writing that you have to get used to, but it just works for me (and for many.) It is perfectly paired with narrator Marin Ireland. If you have not loved his books or have yet to try them, please do it on audio. Or go back and forth on audio and e-book, as I did, as it is the perfect way to read this book. This is one of very few authors where you truly want to take in every word.

I didn't know he had this book in him, but it feels very personal and like the book he was always meant to write. He is so good and planting little plot points and then bringing it all together later. I also love how he emphasizes the same phrases, but gently, throughout. This book has a lot to say but it does it in the most entertaining and heartfelt way. It has humor and riveting characters, sadness and hope. This is a very emotional book but not a hard read (like Beartown).

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

A teen girl has a memorable interaction with an old man in an alley. When he leaves her an inheritance, she takes a train ride with his best friend, learning about his art and their friendship. Their group of friends is in the background of his most famous painting and Ted tells Louisa the story of one year of their lives together and the legacy of their friendships. It is about art, survival, hope, and lose.

When your favorite author has a new book, you always wonder if it can live up to the hype in your head. Do you really love his novels as much as you think you do?

This book met and exceeded every high expectation. Backman has a certain cadence to his writing that you have to get used to, but it just works for me (and for many.) It is perfectly paired with narrator Marin Ireland. If you have not loved his books or have yet to try them, please do it on audio. Or go back and forth on audio and e-book, as I did, as it is the perfect way to read this book. This is one of very few authors where you truly want to take in every word.

I didn't know he had this book in him, but it feels very personal and like the book he was always meant to write. He is so good and planting little plot points and then bringing it all together later. I also love how he emphasizes the same phrases, but gently, throughout. This book has a lot to say but it does it in the most entertaining and heartfelt way. It has humor and riveting characters, sadness and hope. This is a very emotional book but not a hard read (like Beartown).

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

OH MY HEART! It is so damn full after reading this book!

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I liked:
📚 THE CHARACTERS! Sometimes a book isn’t so much about what goes on in the story, but more about the relationship you develop with the characters. This book was that and more! I felt like I was right beside Joar, Ted, The Artist, and Ali on their summer days at the pier being straight up goofballs that all 14 year olds are. This is one of those books that I started to read slower and slower towards the end, simply because I did not want it to end.
👏THE ART! I would not say I am knowledgeable about art and wouldn’t necessarily gravitate towards reading a book about it, but damn, did this book have me wanting to head to an art museum. I wish I could see The One of the Sea for myself and get to just stare in awe and wonder. Backman does such an incredible job of talking about art in this book!
📚 THE FEELINGS! How does one write a story in which a single sentence can feel like a punch to the gut and also like a giant hug. I did so much highlighting in this book because there was an incredible amount of deeply moving dialogue and single sentences. I think every human should read this book at some point in their lifetime. I may have to make this a reread every few years.

What I didn't care for:
🫣Honestly nothing! This book might be my favorite of 2025!

3.5 stars, rounded up for Fredrik Backman's latest, "My Friends", I just did not love it as much as others, bummer. The humor and "fart jokes" were the best part. Felt really LONG to me, BUT I'm quite sure it will be a big, big seller. Trigger warning for abuse & anyone who's grieving and it's quite heavy at times. Thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the advance readers copy - appreciate the opportunity to read & review it

Fredrik Backman is one of my all-time favorite authors. His characters are such well-rounded and interesting people. His stories are always beautiful stories about being human. Without fail, I will always both laugh and cry with his books. My Friends is no exception.

While I enjoyed My Friends overall it definitely took me a little longer to get into. I struggled with the back and forth storytelling and it look me a little longer than usual to feel invested in the characters. I did the by the end, though, and think I will enjoy this book even more as a re-read.

Wow. This book is amazing. The way the author tells the two stories is incredible storytelling. The way the timelines are mixed up and out of order. It makes you believe that one thing is going to happen and then you find out something different happens. This is such an emotional rollercoaster from literally page one! Your heart just aches for every character. This was a solid 5 stars and I knew it from the very beginning.

This was my first by this author and the wetting style is just different from what I’ve read before. I had a hard time getting into it but then I was into it but then I just didn’t love the overall story.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
5 ⭐️’s
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC
💭 Wow, this was such an amazing great first read for me to dabble into Fredrik Backman’s books and writing style! I was intrigued to finally be able to read a Fredrik Backman book and this book sure did not disappoint for the first read! His style is unique in a way that left me feeling content but also left me wanting to continue on in the story. Being enthralled in this book doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt about reading this book. It was a great palette cleanser between romances and thrillers that I typically read.

That was beautiful and sad and beautiful some more. I laughed. I cried. The characters in this book were so beautifully written. I wanted to hug them all and make their childhoods better. But the joy and love they found with each other, is something we can all hope for in life.

Moving story about longtime childhood friends and how their relationships helped them survive the ups and downs of life. I have been lucky to have a wonderful longtime friend from our teenage years and the value of such a friendship is authentically portrayed in this novel.

I thought the novel could have perhaps been a bit shorter but I enjoyed spending time with the well-developed characters.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

three and a half stars. I have to preface my review: I have read everything Backman has published. Every novella, even the nonfiction. This was certainly my least favorite of his works, although I am sure many people will enjoy this story, laugh, cry, and forever hold these characters in their hearts. This novel has all the heart, humanity, and tenderness a reader should expect from Backman. I just felt it was a little too....trite at times. I love the themes about art, about the difficulty of being young and being old, the musings on the power of one person believing in another. As always, Backman lets you think you know where the story is headed and diverts to the unexpected. As always, there is love and care offered to every character. As always, the way lives intersect and affect one another creates a beautiful tapestry of human relationships. The story has all the right elements, I just never felt as fully immersed or invested as I always have when reading Backman.

Oh my heart. I will always read any and every book that Fredrik Backman writes.. I don't care if he does one book tour, meets fans, or does interviews as long as he keeps writing.

I will say this is probably the heaviest book, in my opinion, that he was written. There needs to be a trigger warning on this book but there are so many that I am not sure I remember every one. Just be warned that this book has a lot of heavy heavy subjects including domestic violence, child abuse, rape, suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism and that is just a few of many. This is a book that I could not read in a day or two. I had to take it slow and acclimate myself to the story and heaviness.

Backman has wove a story of four friends in their teens and the lifelong impact of those friendships and several of these friends meet an eighteen year old girl named Louisa. It is a story that will shred your heart and then slowly stitch it back together.

I received an ARC from. NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I laughed, I cried, and I just enjoyed being with Ted and Louisa between the flashbacks and present time. I honestly had to pace myself because I have a habit of tearing through Fredrik Backamn's books within hours and this was one that...I just wasn't ready for it to end and I wanted to really take my time with it. This is a story of timeless friendships, love, and learning to embrace your *you*ness. Fredrik has a way of writing that feels like you're there with the characters, joining in their conversations, celebrating their triumphs, experiencing their heartbreaks. This book is for anyone who felt like they didn't belong, who tried to hide who they are from peers and loved ones, for those of us who have endured even when it felt like the world was against us. An easy 5 stars.

I experienced every emotion while reading Backman’s latest book. This novel focusing on a group of four friends and the painting that made the artist famous seamlessly weaves together their stories and the heartbreak associated with growing up. As with his previous novels, Backman created characters with such depth and complexity that it is difficulty to say goodbye at the end. While difficult to read at times, this is truly his best work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would! This might be in my top 5 books of the year. I laughed, I cried (ohhh how I cried), I was annotating favourite, poignant quotes within the first few chapters. Backman continues to see the world in the most beautiful ways— and it translates into his work. This book captures the human experience of childhood friendship (and its growth over time) so perfectly, with raw, real characters that you just want to hug.

This will be the book everyone I know is getting for Christmas this year, because I just loved it so much.

I don't think anyone in the year 2025 would be shocked to learn that a Fredrik Backman book is worthy of a 5 star rating - that is, unless they live under a rock. But My Friends is a new level of wonderful. I love to read works by Backman, and in the past I have devoured them. But I found myself wanting to marinate in the unique combination of grief, joy, and wonder that My Friends brings to the table. This book is nothing short of a masterpiece for Backman, and I won't stop recommending it, especially to people my age. It really hits home when you've had friends for nearly a lifetime. I hope to never have a last time to swim in any sea with my friends.

Louisa, eighteen, has grown up in various foster homes. She is grieving the loss of her friend and her only comfort is a postcard of a painting, The One of the Sea. When she learns it is being auctioned off, she goes to see it. As she stares, transfixed at it, she’s drawn to three figures in the corner of the painting and knows they, not the sea, are the real focus, of the painting.

In the past, four young friends had been drawn together by their otherness. Of the four, one is a shy but gifted artist and another, Joar, has been his protector since they were five. He has found an article about an art competition and is determined the young artist must submit a painting. The artist is reluctant but Joar is determined he do it because he is afraid that, without pushing, the artist will never achieve the life he deserves. The artist finally gives in and the result is stunning in its beauty.

I have read every one of Fredrik Backman’s books and have loved them all but My Friends is, by far, my favourite. It is a beautifully written tale, poignant, often humorous, both heartbreaking and heartwarming, of art, friendship, grief, families, and finding your people. I found myself wanting to hurry to see what would happen but, at the same time, wanting to read slowly, to savour it. This is a book I know I will read over and over, finding more to love about it every time.

I received this book from Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

My Friends
By Fredrik Backman
Available Now!

Thank you @atriabooks for an e-ARC of My Friends! I was enjoying this so much throughout that I bought myself a copy before I had even finished reading it.

We are introduced to Louisa, a teenage girl, as she flees the foster care system the day before her 18th birthday with no one and nothing to her name. We quickly find out how a single piece of art has shaped her, inspired her, and has given her the strength to continue forward. Louisa, is then thrust into the story about the people behind the infamous painting and how things are always as beautiful as the surface may appear but in the end everyone deserves their 'one wild and precious life.' -Mary Oliver

Such an impactful, raw, emotional story about found family, overcoming, and being the change for someone. I loved this deeply moving novel with its cast of complex yet relatable characters. I was captivated by the weaving together of past narrative in a storytelling method and the present day.

Fredrik Backman always knows how to write the most human stories. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will definitely be thinking about the story long after you finish the book. I have been a huge fan of his work ever since the Beartown series. Just like those books this one hits you right in the gut as well. I think Fredrick is the perfect author for everyone. He writes exactly what we are all feeling and leaves you questioning your existence in life.