HE DOES IT AGAIN!! Backman’s writing and books are truly one of a kind. You’ll be laughing, and then crying, and then heartbroken, only to find yourself laughing again. And this one was so, so special. It did confuse me a bit at first with all the various character POVs and the time jumps, but once he brings all the timelines full circle, you understand why he had to write things the way he did. Overall, I loved the theme of this story. Or at least the theme I took from this story. How friendships are often thicker than blood, how childhood friendships shape the person you become one day, and the fact that you never know the impact you have on another person or the battles they face. Per usual, this book left me in happy tears and felt like one giant hug. I enjoyed this one so much.

MY FRIENDS by Fredrik Backman (A Man Called Ove and many more) will have readers laughing out loud, but it will also make them incredibly sad. There is so much clever wordplay (read the first paragraph!) that I almost gave up highlighting. Yet, there is also a great deal of death and reflection upon carrying on without our friends: "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." With grief as a companion, Backman builds a friendship between Louisa, a creative young woman aging out of the care system, and Ted, a former high school teacher trying to find renewed purpose. They are an unlikely pair who meet because of a painting (a source of solace for Louisa) and the artist (a dear friend of Ted's) who painted it. Eventually riding together on a cross-country train journey, Ted reaches back twenty-five years to tell Louisa the story of his friendship with the artist, Joar, and Ali, all fourteen-year-old characters in the famous painting. There is quite a bit of physical pain and mental anguish in that story due primarily to the abusive violence exhibited by some of the teens' relatives. Louisa shares some of her own painful stories of life in foster homes and a lost friend, called Fish. Throughout, Backman places a great deal of emphasis on youthful friendships and the healing power of creativity. He writes, "the ultimate expression of love is nagging, we don't nag anyone the way we nag the people we love. All parents know that, and so do all best friends." Ted and Louisa banter, bond, get on each other's nerves, and care for each other as their own friendship develops and the story continues, certain to surprise readers. MY FRIENDS is a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for May 2025 and received a starred review from Booklist ("Irrepressible humor, boundless grief, and eternal loyalty coalesce.") As Ted remarks, "what I hate most isn't that people die. What I hate most is that they're dead. That I'm alive, without them."

The strength of a long-lasting friendship shines through this beautiful tale - possibly the best book yet by Fredrik Backman.

I'm not sure if there's any author out there writing today that is better at capturing what it means to be human, than Fredrik Backman. I think I've said the same thing about Anne Tyler, but Backman captures humanity - both what makes us good and what makes us evil - and lays us bare in front of ourselves. We'll usually get a smile along the way.

This story centers around four friends, teenagers twenty-five years ago, and a current teen who becomes becomes part of their group incidentally.

The group of four, unlikely friends include Joar, sharp-humored and fiercely protective; Ali, quick-witted, street smart, and wary of violent men; Ted, introverted, caring, and probably considered boring by most; KimKim, a natural artist uncertain of his own abilities and battling depression. The artists' three friends work to get KimKim's painting into a competition - winning would get him noticed, and perhaps some confidence.

Some twenty years later, KimKim bumps into the awkward girl, Louisa - an artist herself, raised in foster care, who is frustrated with the 'highbrow' approach to KimKim's painting, On The Sea. She knows it's not about "the sea" but probably about the three figures in the painting that most people don't even see. She doesn't think anyone understands it, they just want to own it for status.

KimKim recognizes her spirit as the same as his and his friends' and gets Ted in on a plan - KimKim wills the painting to her and Ted gets to deliver the news (and the painting). Louisa doesn't want to own it, and doesn't want the money she could get from selling it. But the bulk of the story is her journey, learning about KimKim, Ted, and their friends and how she becomes one of them despite the age difference.

Oh my. This is just so beautiful. Love, loss, friendship, family, art, coming of age. It happens differently for all of us, but with shared stories we can recognize what we have in common.

Every book Backman has produced (that I've read) has shown us these same things about people. Like this book, we see that people aren't perfect, but they are capable of great things, even to strangers. I thought A Man Called Ove was a perfect book, but Backman has stepped up and given us one even better.

Looking for a good book? This is not only a good book, it is probably the best book you'll read all year. You must put My Friends by Fredrik Backman on your reading list.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

5⭐️
Oh FB!…how much I love your writing.
This was definitely a unique book, told in such a unique way. I started thiis one on audio but quickly switched to physically reading it so I could make my favorite passages. Even though it took me a good 3 weeks to read (way more me than the book) it was a huge win for me. I teared up more times than I could count reading this and those characters all needed grace and love. I won’t forget this story anytime soon!!

This is an absolutely beautiful, perfect book. It focuses on four childhood friends living hard lives, and how they support and look out after one another. It is told from where they are in adulthood (with a teenager narrator that ends up in the mix), but it flashes back to one pivotal summer that impacted the rest of their lives. This is heartbreaking, and funny, and it will lift you up. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

I've read and loved Backman's works before, so I was happy to go into this one blind.

But this was exhausting for me. I can see a past version (maybe my teen self) of me who'd have liked the book more and who'd have found more meaning and depth in it. The present version of me thought the book was too long-winded. It's a coming-of-age story that has a lot of descriptions of.....sighing.

I liked Joar & Ali but thought "The Artist" & Louisa needed to be developed better. I didn't understand what made the artist so special (apart from his drawings) or what it was that made him so loved by his friends.

Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the e-copy.

2.5/5

Oh, Mr. Backman, you've done it again! Thank you. . .now we can add Louisa, Ted, Ali, Joar, and The Artist. . .along with that unforgettable painting. . .to our collection of Backman memorable characters (in with Ove, Parvaneh, Britta, the citizens of Beartown, etc) and quirky communities.

Even though the story ranged over 25 years, really it sits most at either end of this rainbow of friendship, trials, and hard choices. That wonderful summer for the original four, and then later, Louisa who is a generation later, and gathers them up together with a now aging Ted who is feeling low and left behind, but has a job to do. Louisa has none of it, and demands her stories - it is through the stories, the memories, the histories of each that they rise up to live that summer once again. And do not forget that incredibly famous painting. Who knew that one of them would be Someone?!? The Artist has connected them, if only it will take. . .

My Friends is a darker flavor than the author's earlier books, in that the reader is plunged into difficult family situations, life and death issues, abuse and challenging life circumstances (no home, no funds, no support). Shadows gather and suggest a bittersweet parting is in the offing, but I encourage all who get that far in to stay the course. . .Backman's point remains consistent throughout his works. . .midnight is ever followed by dawn. . .

I toss up my 5 allotted stars, who as they go about putting the universe to bed are all bidding goodnight to the ghosts (with a little smile). . .(a happy habit I've picked up since reading: "good night, GR ghosts. . .we miss every one of you.")

*A sincere thank you to Fredrik Backman, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

I’m an outlier on this one. I was interested (some of the time) and it felt like it took forever to get through. Didn't connect with the characters but stayed with it to see how it played out.

Stories like this one are rare, the way they dredge up emotions you never knew you had or that you lost somewhere along the way through your own journey. This is one for the heartstrings! You will find your heart swimming off the pier in a summer sunset right along with those of the characters you won’t be able to resist falling in love with. Backman reminds us of the timeless anchor of childhood friendship and what it means to truly believe in someone. Told through humorous memories, witty banter, melancholy trials and obstacles, and a real rawness rarely seen in characters and their deep relationships, readers will remember this story for many years to come. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an ARC of this title. These opinions are my own.

I am just a girl, standing in front of Fredrik Backman, asking him to stop emotionally devastating her with his books.

Backman is king of writing of the complexity of young friendships (such as laughing at farts) and how time changes some things but preserve others totally. I love this man and will read anything he writes from now until the end of time.

TW/CW: domestic abuse, child abuse, grief, drug abuse, addiction, cancer, terminal illness, death of loved ones, bullying, suicide, abandonment, homophobia, self harm, toxic relationship, rape, classism

Backman does it again! I loved this book and how it explored the power of art. As always, the author knows how to reach your emotions and tug at your heartstrings. I enjoyed the unique characters throughout.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Deeply Moving and Unforgettable

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is an absolute masterpiece. From the very first page, I felt completely connected to the characters—real, flawed, and deeply human. Backman has such a gift for capturing the quiet moments of life that carry so much weight, and this story is no exception.

It's a sad book in many ways, but also incredibly thought-provoking. It made me reflect on friendship, loneliness, and what it means to truly show up for the people we care about. The emotional depth of the story stayed with me long after I finished, and I found myself thinking about the characters as if they were real people.

This is one of those rare books that breaks your heart a little but leaves you feeling more whole because of it. I absolutely loved it.

Fredrik Backman has a way with words that forces you to feel things. He knows exactly how to describe a feeling and to help the audience to experience emotions right along with the characters. Once again, his beautiful writing takes the reader on a journey that is not always easy but is worth it. He also had me believing it would end one way, but he surprised me. He is such a gifted writer and I fell in love with these characters, wanting to read about their lives even after the book was over.

3.75, I wanted to love this so much. The actual story is so good but it feels like 200 pages too long. There was so many parts that just made the book drag. BUT I adored Louisa and being able to see her story play out. I also really loved getting to see the artist as a child and to see how alive he was as an adult.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC!

There are no words for how beautiful and heartbreaking, yet also hopeful, this new book by Fredrik Backman is, and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. The narrative goes back & forth between events from when the four friends were fourteen years old and the present in a smooth and seamless fashion. This author continues to amaze me with his heart, insight, and exceptional writing. Very highly recommended.

Heartbreaking but hopeful, lyrical and breathtaking in its ability to understand and describe humanity.

I have been waiting for so long to find a book that I felt was as good as Backman’s Beartown series, and here it is. The story is so completely engrossing, the characters jump right off the page. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. It is so beautifully written and will make you laugh and cry. You will never want it to end.

I was provided an advanced readers copy by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

The author of A Man Called Ove returns with a heartwarming exploration of love, grief, and friendship.
Fredrik Backman's latest novel, My Friends, is a touching story that revolves around four fourteen-year-old friends during one glorious, adolescent summer. In a working-class coastal town, Joar, Ted, Ali, and a boy only known as "the artist" bond over being misfits, odd ones out who are constantly attacked by their peers. Joar, the leader of the group, decides that the artist is the only one of them that has a chance to be something better, to escape their bleak future. He encourages—demands—that his friend enter an art contest, convinced he'll win and that the victory will be his ticket to a better life.

Twenty-five years later, the resulting painting has become world famous, and Louisa, a homeless eighteen-year-old who is a fan of the work, meets the artist. When the artist passes away soon after their encounter, he leaves his painting to her and charges his old friend Ted with making sure she receives it. Ted and Louisa end up on a train together, heading back to the artist's hometown, where Ted knows someone who will help sell the valuable piece. During the journey, Ted tells Louisa about his friends, how the painting came to be, and the story of that carefree summer.

The narrative contains quite a lot of heartbreak, particularly in the book's early chapters. Louisa is grieving the recent overdose of her best friend; Ted is mourning the loss of the artist, and his sorrow is palpable. "Ted's chest hurts, like crying without oxygen," Backman writes, "because grief does so many strange things to people, and one of those things is that we forget how to breathe." Backman also describes the mental and physical suffering inflicted on Louisa and the four teens by the adults who should be supporting them—the artist's parents constantly telling him to "just be normal"; Joar's father routinely beating him; Louisa's mother abandoning her as a five-year-old. I'm not easily moved, but even I must admit that some particularly affecting scenes had me in tears.

But Backman manages to find humor even in the midst of pain. "Soon Ted will stand up and discover that he's forgotten how to walk too…when the soul leaves the body, evidently the last thing it does is tie our shoelaces together," he quips. Some of the scenes on the train between the brash, sarcastic Louisa and the neurotic, cynical Ted are laugh-out-loud funny, providing much needed comic relief from the emotional weight of the narrative.

Backman's prose is simple, but he is profound and searching about ideas like grief, friendship, love, and the beauty of the world around us:

"[H]ealthy people aren't quite right in the head, the artist thinks. Surely taking life for granted is the whole point of being here…It's an act of magnificent rebellion to do meaningless things, to waste time, to swim and drink soda and sleep late. To be silly and frivolous, to laugh at stupid little jokes and tell stupid little stories…That's all of life. All we can hope for. You mustn't think about the fact that it might end, because then you live like a coward, you never love too much or sing too loudly. You have to take it for granted…That's the only courageous thing a person can do."

And Backman has the amazing ability to transport his readers back to their own youths, to those idyllic childhood years before adult responsibilities took over. In reading My Friends, readers may relive their own summers, when all they did was hang out with their friends and get into innocent trouble. The wistfulness he evokes feels almost magical.

My only gripe with My Friends is Backman's overuse of foreshadowing. He tells us early on that "the summer started and ended with death," and over the course of the plot we're repeatedly reminded that something bad is coming. ("That was the last time I swam in the sea with my friends," Ted tells Louisa, ominously.) As a device to keep the reader eagerly turning the pages, needing to find out what tragedy awaits, it's an effective one—but it's too obviously, and frustratingly, manipulative. There's one scene, for example, in which one of the teens shows up covered in blood… but Backman reveals several pages later that they'd simply cut themselves. There's this constant sense of anticipation followed by an abrupt letdown; and the overall effect, I think, is to weaken the story's impact.

During a pivotal scene, one character quotes the Mary Oliver poem "The Summer Day" (see Beyond the Book) to the artist: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?" In My Friends, Backman shows us how one might answer that question, illustrating the beauty and fragility of life and friendship. The result is a charming, poignant novel with a huge heart.

'My Friends' is not what you expect - and that's the point. Fredrik Backman's latest novel is a layered, slow-unfolding story about grief, art, and the enduring imprint of friendship, told through the eyes of a teenage girl trying to make sense of a painting and, through it, the past.

Eighteen-year-old Louisa is a foster kid haunted by the recent death of her best friend, Fish. When she vandalizes a prestigious auction house in a moment of grief and obsession, she inadvertently pulls us into a mystery: Why does a decades-old seascape mean so much to her? Who are the three barely-visible figures standing on a pier in the painting? And what story is being remembered - or erased?

Backman alternates between Louisa's present and the 1990s summer that bound four teens - Joar, Ted, Ali, and Kimkim (later known as the artist C. Jay) - together in a friendship shaped by neglect, loyalty, violence, and the desperate act of creation. The novel builds itself like a memory: scattered, nonlinear, emotionally raw, and at times purposefully evasive.

This is not the usual crowd-pleasing Backman, but a more challenging, introspective version. The writing is restrained and elliptical, more interested in impressions than conclusions. Readers expecting a tidy, heartwarming narrative may struggle with the book's fragmentary structure and emotionally distant tone - but those willing to stay with it will find something quietly devastating underneath.

It's a book about trauma - how it shapes us, how it hides in the details, and how it becomes the art we make and the friends we keep losing. Louisa's search isn't just for answers about the painting; it's for evidence that someone, somewhere, remembers what mattered. That's where the novel hits hardest.

Not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.

3.5

This was a beautiful book that I started out weeping over, then put off reading because it was vexing me, and ended up connecting with again at the end.

I really love Fredrik Backman's writing. But in this instance it felt almost... manipulative? The book was constantly hinting at and foreshadowing a Very Bad Thing that was going to happen in such a heavy-handed way. And this might partially be a me issue, because I struggle with multiple timeline stories for this reason, but still. It felt pretty over the top, particularly since the present storyline is much less eventful.

But also, I still really liked parts of it. I thought the beginning was beautiful, and it deals with grief in such a thorough and tender way. I'm glad that I ended up finishing it, but oof, I didn't want to for a minute there.