5 Stars — A Masterpiece of Heart, Humor, and Humanity

Fredrik Backman has done it again—My Friends is a soul-soothing, tear-sparking, laugh-out-loud triumph that reminds us why we fell in love with his storytelling in the first place. Equal parts moving and mischievous, this novel grabs your hand with youthful charm and leads you straight into the deep end of love, loss, and the ineffable beauty of connection.

From the first page, Backman’s signature wit and warmth shine through. You’ll meet four teenagers who don’t seem to matter much to the world around them—but to each other? They’re everything. Their bond, forged on a forgotten pier in a sleepy coastal town, is the kind of friendship we all long for: fierce, funny, fiercely loyal, and full of bad jokes and big feelings.

And then there’s Louisa. Sweet, curious, wonderfully flawed Louisa, whose unexpected guardianship of a mysterious painting launches her into an unforgettable journey across time and terrain. As she follows the whispers of the past, uncovering the legacy of that summer and the kids on the pier, you’ll find yourself clutching your chest and turning pages in equal measure.

Backman weaves art, grief, adolescence, and healing into a tapestry so rich you’ll want to wrap yourself in it. The way he captures the ache of growing up, the balm of true friendship, and the strange, circular paths that connect strangers across decades is nothing short of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early—I would have waited in line for this book, but getting to savor it ahead of time felt like winning the literary lottery.

My Friends is more than a novel. It’s a hug, a laugh, a whisper from the past, and a reminder that the people who save us sometimes come in the most unexpected forms.

This was my first Backman novel, and it will not be my last!
The connections that he makes between characters (and the reader) is phenomenal. The stories for each character were so well developed and I felt so many emotions as I read about them. It had me tearing up at least a few times..
I highlighted so many great quotes that reflect on life and humanity. The words will stick with me!
Joar was my absolute favorite !

Fredrik Bachman knows how to write about relatable characters in a way that brings them to life. Beartown spoiled me, and his latest novel, My Friends, has assured me he has more great characters to share. Mr. Bachman, you keep writing, and we'll keep reading your stories! I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

A exceptional journey of art, friendship, and grief.

My Friends is a story about stories, and how some endings can lead to new beginnings. After 18 year old foster care runaway Louisa runs (literally) into her favorite artist shortly before his death, she takes a journey with the artist's childhood friend Ted by train back to his hometown, to scatter the artist's ashes, and to figure out what to do with the priceless painting the artist left in Louisa's care. While Ted and Louisa's personalities clash to much hilarity, the main focus of the novel is the emotional story Ted tells Louisa of the fateful summer 25 years ago when his group of friends were just fifteen, the summer before everything changed. The novel shifts to different moments throughout the friends' adolescence, as one naturally tells a story from memory. Here, Backman's writing is at its best, filling each connecting passage from Ted's memories with heart and a longing to travel back in time, to relive the laughter and savor the moments gone too soon. Despite the looming sadness that encompasses much of Ted's tale, it's easy to get swept up in the narrative and hope for more light than darkness for these loyal friends, just as Louisa hopes for a happy ending to the story. The road to the end is anything but a straight line, and as Backman's story explores a bond between friends that transcends beyond their short lives, the lives of these characters are sure to live on in readers' minds long after finishing the final page. It's an emotional and satisfying read from start to finish, and Bachman's best work to date.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Fredrik Backman has a unique sense of humor and I love the dialogue he creates. Anxious People was one of my favorite books, although Beartown is amazing too but I really loved this book!

“Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people.”

Louisa leaves foster care on her 18th birthday and decides to go to see the famous painting, “The One of the Sea” by C. Jat, which is on a postcard her mother left her before she passed away. After running into the artist in an alley, he decides to leave her the painting when he dies. Struggling with what to do with the painting, she joins Ted (one of the artists friends) on a cross-country train ride where he shares the story of 4 young friends and how the painting came to be, depicting the power of friendship and shared experiences.

I’m a big fan of Fredrik Backman, but sadly this is not my favorite story from him. The writing is beautiful, but the pacing is quite slow and the story does contain a fair amount of violence. I wish the book was a bit shorter as I felt some of the flashbacks were unnecessary and caused the story to drag in the middle. However, I did enjoy the ending and I will continue to read anything Fredrik Backman releases.

3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fredrik, Fredrik, Fredrik. Everything you write is worthy of a place in a museum.

I will admit, this book started slow for me. The tone felt a little different than Fredrik’s past work, but still kept his charm, humor, and storytelling. Once I embraced the new feel of it, I fell in love.

One thing Fredrik does well is his ability to fully immerse himself into every character he writes. You would think he’s an 18 year-old girl with a passion for art. You would believe he’s a group of 14 year olds running rampant in the street. You might even believe he was an older woman living it up as a taxi driver with seven kids. He knows people. He recognizes their flaws and their gifts and gives you a story full of laughter, sadness, and hope. This is what “My Friends” is about. This book is a love letter to artists everywhere, as well as to those who have the desire to create (whatever that may be).

Louisa is a quirky, loud, passionate character. You can’t help but love her. Ted is a teddy bear (pun intended) who has gone through more grief than any child should. Joar is a fiery kid who hides his wounds for the sake of his friends. Ali is a quick-witted and fiesty balance to the shenanigans of the friend group. The artist is a character for everyone who just wants to DO, to BE, to CREATE! You WILL find a character that relates to you. AND YOU WILL LOVE THEM!!

In true Fredrik fashion, this book deals with some heavy themes such as domestic, emotional, and physical abuse, r@pe, grief, death, and the highs and lows of adolescence.

HOWEVER, he writes with such grace and such light that you’ll be laughing at one page and crying at another.

Another masterpiece by the author who I fully believe will save this generation of readers. One that will help us love eachother more. One that will encourage us to create a better world. I loved it.

Fredrick Backman writes quirky characters mixed up in convoluted situations and this novel lives up to his style. If you are a fan, like I am, you are in for a satisfying experience. Louisa, an aspiring artist, meets Ted, the close friend of “the artist “. The artist’s famous painting is placed in her care. As the novel goes, Ted relates the story of the painting to Louisa on a cross country train ride. These characters are very well drawn and their relationship evolves in unexpected ways. This novel had me laughing and it had me crying. The story of the painting is a “long story”. We learn about four friends during the 14-15 age period. All the young people come from dysfunctional households and rely on their friendships for their survival. For me to complete a 450 page book in 2 1/2 days is a testament to how captivating it is. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC and the opportunity to read and review Backman’s latest work.

This was the first book that I have read by Fredrik Backman and now it won’t be the last!

This story was extremely well written and told the story of the pain and the beauty it can be to be an artist. It follows Louisa and Ted as Ted shares the story and meaning behind a painting that she has loved for years. This is a very character driven story and Backman did a great job developing these characters!

This story did start off slow for me and it take me a bit of time to get used to Backman’s writing style, but once I did absolutely fell in love with the story. I was shocked by the surprises that were thrown in and didn’t want the story to end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book was well written and has an engaging story about characters that I simply do not care about. Don’t ask me why. This simply wasn’t my book but I’m sure it’s someone’s.

I knew this book would be emotional. Fredrik Backman is a gifted writer who creates characters that are so well developed you feel like you've known them your entire life. My Friends is no exception to that. By the end of the story, I wanted these people to be my friends. I wanted to sit on the pier with them and go to the art museum with them. I wanted to cry and to laugh with them. Instead I laughed and cried on my own as I read their story. In the book, they talk about art so beautiful that just seeing it makes you too big for your body, that the happiness is so overwhelming you forget to be afraid. That's how I would describe reading this book. The love and sorrow, defeat and hope, is so achingly real and still so beautiful.

This latest book from Fredrik Backman was an excellent read. With "My Friends" he has managed to capture the pain and beauty of being an artists. From hilarious moments to points of despair, I was engrossed with the turn of every page. As he so often does, Backman has captured the human condition perfectly. He is definitely an author that I will read anything from.

My prediction: Book Of The Year!
Need I say more?
I laughed. I cried. I cried some more. It’s the type of book that will stay with me. I contacted old friends and we made lunch plans.
I am not able to find the words for this masterpiece. Amazing and brilliantly written with unconditional love among four teenagers trying to survive. Their bond is so strong and powerful that it has an effect on a girl 25 years later.
Louisa is a day shy from turning 18 and has lived in 8 foster homes. She has carried a post card of a painting with her all these years. Determined to see the painting being displayed in an auction she runs off. Literally runs into a man she assumes is homeless and in the 30ish min of their interaction changed each of their lives.
I preordered a copy to add to my collection!
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC read in exchange for my review.

Fredrik Backman never disappoints - he is one of my favorite authors ever, and this book just solidifies that for me even more. My Friends tells the story of a young girl named Louisa who meets an artist who changes her life, and also the story of the artist's friend Ted and the summer that changed his life with the artist when they were kids. It's both sad and happy at the same time, and seems to perfectly capture what it feels like to be young. It has the similar and familiar feeling of all of his books, but it is wholly unique and unlike any of his other books. It was emotional and raw and had me saying "oh no" out loud as I anticipated what would happen next, and I loved this book immensely.

Just when you think you couldn't love Backman ANYmore---he hits you with My Friends. This book is a work of art. Much like the artist in the story, Backman's words are such a gift to our world. I savored each and every word and I can't wait to read it again (and again and again). This is a brilliant story of grief, those that are broken, art, and friendship. I laughed and cried and, much like Lousia, towed the line of needing to know what happened next and not wanting it to end. This book reads like the Beartown collection, which were my personal favorites of Backman's many beautiful stories. I will be purchasing this book for myself and cannot wait to gift it to my friends--if only we are all so lucky to have friends such as these.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Atria Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to get your copy on its publication date, May 6th, at a local book seller near you!

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Atria Books, for the ARC.
Fredrik Backman does it again.
If you love stories that are character-driven with a lot of heart, this book is for you. In this story, we follow four teenagers who share profound bonds of friendship. The rest of the plot is interesting, but I'm always moved by how well Backman writes characters. The writing is so genuine and nostalgic in that it brought me back to being a teenager myself; my friends were everything to me. Knowing that as time passes, things change and so do people, was a really hard realization and Backman captures that emotion incredibly well.

Holy moly, Backman has done it again. This book is a love story at its core, but it is not even remotely a romance. When 18 year old Louisa sneaks into an art auction to get a glimpse of her favorite painting and leave her mark she must run away from security and in the process she unknowingly encounters the artist himself. What then unfolds is one of the saddest happy stories I've ever read. This book made me cry, laugh, get goosebumps, and give great sighs. So incredibly good.

Is it too early in the year to pick my favourite read of 2025? I think not, as this will be hard to beat. You’d think that a book of nearly 500 pages would be too mundane or drawn out, but it isn’t so where Backman is concerned. Not only is this 2025’s best book, but it’s also the author’s, in my humble opinion.

Backman has insight into the human condition. Whenever I read anything by this author, it always delivers plenty of emotions. This one is a love letter to friendship. It’s about a friend group who spend the summer together that reverberates years later via a painting. Joar, Ted, Ally and the artist form a close-knit group where they can abandon their terrible homes if even for a little while. This just goes to show how important friendships have an impact on our lives.

The characters are complex, and Backman doesn’t shy away from hard topics. I especially love that he doesn’t write endings where the resolutions are nice and easy and tied up in a neat little bow. His books are raw, realistic, and dramatic. He also writes realistic dialogue with humour, but it can also be very moving at the same time. Backman simply writes about life in all its messy and beautiful glory. His writing is simple, but it touches me every single time. I have high expectations of this author, and Backman didn’t disappoint with this one. A poignant tale of friendship, trauma and healing that deserves All. The. Stars.

📚ARC Review📚

My Friends follows the story of Louisa and Ted. Two individuals who happened to meet by fate. Louisa, an 18 year old foster girl runaway, ends up meeting her favourite painter C. Jat outside of the auction house where his paining is being sold. Louisa has had a post card of this exact painting her entire life and is one of the few people to actually understand what is in the picture.

Through a series of events, Louisa and Ted find themselves on a train travelling together. Louisa soon learns though Ted all about C. Jat’s childhood as well as the identities of the individuals in the painting. Their journey takes many unexpected turns along the way but they end up becoming great friends.

The book alternates between the currently story line of Luisa and Ted and the past as Ted shares his story with Louisa. This is my first Fredrik Backman book, so I found his writing a little hard to get into. My Friends is a modern day coming of age book full of love and loss. This book pulled on my heart strings and had me rooting for everyone.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, this ARC was provided by the publisher, Atria Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, it’s 1:30am and I’m weepy and I loved it and I hate you Backman. How do you do this to me?!

My first note as I read my way through the first half was:

- Beautifully depressing.

He’s no longer content with big cathartic emotional endings. Oh no. Now he has to make me weepy the whole way through his book! And then chuckle through the tears because that is the Backman way. Humor amid pain.

I’d liken it most along the lines of Ove though it’s obviously very different. Emotionally, it’s almost like Ove in reverse. Though, again, that’s still wildly inaccurate if you get technical, but it’s how it felt.

Alternating between past and present in the traditional storytelling manner but also switches to someone in the present recounting the past… not proper flashbacks, which I thought was brilliant. It’s a slightly different cadence and I loved it.

The grueling history, friendship, and love of the children in the past, brushing up against the adult meets teen in the present, created a brilliant connection between memory and reality. It’s sad, sweet, funny, tense, quietly dramatic, profound, and wondrously memorable. One of the top books of the year and Backman at his absolute best.