Louisa is an artist. She's also just aged out of a foster care system. And she has just lost her best friend. Louisa carries around a postcard of a famous painting, pretending it is from the mother who abandoned her. When she hears the painting will be on display, she treks to the museum to see it in person. Her intents were mistaken and she was chased out by authorities who thought she was intent on vandalism. Running into a man in the alley (literally), she assumed he was homeless and struck up a conversation with him.

They spoke about the painting and how much it meant to her. To her astonishment, the man was the artist. The very artist who painted the famous work of art she so loved. The painting was of a group of teenagers sitting on a pier. The artist told her they had been his friends. It was his first painting and he had come to the gallery himself because he was quite ill and wanted to see it again. Louisa was determined to learn about the people in the picture. Much to her surprise, when the artist passes away shortly after their meeting, he leaves the painting to her. The artist's best friend Teddy takes her along on a cross-country train journey and tells her about the painting along the way. As they head to the artist's hometown, they have more adventures than expected and Louisa questions Teddy relentlessly for the details of the friends' lives. She shares details of her own loss.

Each of Backman's books is unique. This book is difficult to put down before the finish. And then you will want to go back and reread some of the phrases and language sure to resonate with every reader. My Friends is a must-read.

This story, these characters, my heart.

Fredrik Backman has done it again, ripped my heart out of my chest and at the same time filled my eyes with tears of happiness. This story is incredibly beautiful and is now one of my favorites.

Will post quotes once the book has been published, available June 2025 🥹 read this book!!!

Fredrick Backman is just a true genius. That's the review. Once again, I am knocked sideways by his gift. The characterization on this story, like all his stories, is exquisite and unmatched. The storytelling is delightful and funny and sad and deep and searing. I read it in three sittings and all I want to do now is go back and read it again. Oh, and I also reallllly want to see the painting. Highly recommended for all high school through adult collections. Simply stunningly beautiful.

This book will stay with me for a long time. I loved the characters and was attached to them right away. I love the way that the story weaves through time and seamlessly connects the story. This is beautifully written, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I finished it.

If there's anything I know about Fredrik Backman books, I know that by the end, the emotions of fictional characters will become my own.

I know that they will make my heart swell with the immensity of empathy and authenticity contained within their pages, the way he so accurately solidifies feelings into words.

I know that they will make me laugh out loud, both because of the way he pokes fun at the sheer idiocy of human beings, and also the way dry humor comes across sharply and unexpectedly.

My Friends did all that and more. And because of that, I could forgive it for its long, rambling lack of plot and excessive usage of tragic backstories.

This book is, at its core, almost a character study. It's about an orphaned, socially anxious artist grieving the loss of her best friend, who by sheer coincidence ends up with an art piece that's always resonated with her more than she can describe. She ends up on a train with one of the figures in the painting—a man grieving a loss of his own—and through their prolonged train ride (and resulting inevitable shenanigans) ends up hearing the story behind the painting. A tale of four friends who fought for each others' happy endings, even amidst troubled home lives. Friends who saw the good in each other before they saw the good in themselves.

And as expected, there are so many insights sprinkled in about the value of art, artistic struggles, and the intersections between art and community. There's almost this subtle sense that this book takes the perspective of an older, experienced artist passing the baton to younger talents who doubt themselves and their craft.

I stepped away from this book wanting to create something. And it takes a lot to do that, to write stories that impact readers beyond the final page.

So if you're an artist: this book is for you.

(I received an advance readers copy from Netgalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Typically, I don’t highlight favorite quotes in a book, but in this instance, it would be quite the challenge. Almost every page would be marked. Backman has captured such genuine emotions with perfectly accurate descriptions. Throughout this book, I experienced love, heartbreak, and anxiety. It brought back memories of my youth and reflected on the years I've lived. Backman never disappoints but I think this may be his best book yet.

This might be my favorite book Fredrik Backman has ever written. It had everything that I love in a good book: happiness, sadness, mystery, humor, and life lessons. I will definitely be telling all of my fellow book nerds to read this when it comes out!

3.5 stars.
I loved parts of this book so much, and other parts fell very flat for me.
I had a hard time connecting with the two main characters, the constant story telling, and the many jokes that felt immature and just…bizarre?
I did LOVE the setting and the side characters. There were parts of this novel that made me emotional, but I couldn’t get over the moments that were so flat and rambling or overly emotional and saccharine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for an early copy!

Backman’s ability to write about grief, pain and abuse in such a poetic way is so remarkable. I am not usually an annotating person, but I have hundreds of highlights from this book. It’s poetic but in a relatable way where I often find myself rereading sentences because he gave me the words to something I feel in my own life. He is the master of dark and witty humor where you will be crying, but also laughing out loud somehow. The synopsis of this book is hard to explain and do justice to the book, all I can say is you can trust Backman to deliver as always!
Thank you for this arc! It was a dream to receive an arc from one of my favorite authors.

Thank you for this ARC! I was thrilled to receive Backman's latest novel. Beartown is one of my all time favorites, I love that whole series. This reminded me of that because it centered around the friendship between teenagers. The story was told in a duel timeline and I thought the flashbacks worked better than the present. I have always found Backman to be really skilled at writing complex, interesting male characters. For that reason, the character of Louise, in the present, fell flat for me. She came across as underdeveloped and annoying, unfortunately. Overall, I did like this book and recommend it for any fan of Backman.

Thank you to Net Galley and to Atria books for allowing me to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I was very excited to find out that Fredrik Backman was publishing a new book this year and even more excited when I was approved for the ARC.

I have come to expect a lot from Fredrik Backman because his previous books have been some of my absolute favourites in the years that I've read them. My Friends definitely lived up to the very high standard and even surpassed my expectations. As usual the book is very quotable and I can't wait to buy the final version in order to write down the wonderful musings on the power of art, the resonance of small moments and the importance of friendship.

I have a feeling that these characters will stay with me for a long time to come. Ted and Louisa's journey is both far-fetched and extremely relatable. This book deserves the great success I'm sure it will have because it evokes a nostalgia that is universal. Strong friendships make all the trials of life bearable and you never know when a person like you will come along.

I look forward to May 20th when I can tell everyone I know to read this book.

What can I say other than this book is stunning! I cried several times, I laughed out loud way more. It was so moving and so uplifting but not at all obnoxious. It was genuine, pure and optimistic. Backman's writing was so precious and tender. Truly a treasure from beginning to end.

I have to admit I am a dedicated Fredrik Backman fan. I do not think he could possibly write a bad, or even marginal, book. His stories do not evolve in a linear fashion. As each character joins the story, you learn their piece of the history of the story and somehow........this "aha" moment makes the stories richer and more emotional. It's almost impossible to read a Backman book without laughing and crying at points in the book. If you have not read any of his books, I envy you the chance to discover this excellent author and the characters he has introduced to so many.

My Friends has no set background community. It's the story of a young woman, she turns 18 during the book's telling, who meets a man that will turn life onto a road she would never have had the chance to travel. The artist and his friends' lives travel roads that will set their futures but loosen their bonds.....or that's how it looks. Backman is famous for his surprises and twists.....the "but that's not how it worked out" moments......remember the "aha". As the description "one of us" is added to so many of their adventures, you'll see why Backman's fans keep coming back for his books. 5 stars because that's all I'm allowed.

Fredrik Backman has a unique gift for weaving tales that feel like a warm embrace, and I have not found anyone similar to him. This is a touching story of love, friendship, and self-discovery that captures the complexity of human emotions with his signature grace and depth. He writes so beautifully, turning simple moments into profound reflections on life and the connections we forge along the way.

While My Friends may not be my favourite, it still shines in a way that only Backman can achieve. Few authors possess his ability to balance humour and heartache, and fewer still can make you feel so seen and understood within the pages of a book. There’s a quiet magic in the way he portrays ordinary lives as extraordinary, and this book is a testament to that gift. For anyone who values a story that lingers long after the final page, My Friends is a must-read. It reminds us of the beauty of finding ourselves through the love and friendship of others—an ode to the people who shape us into who we are.

i looove beartown, it's one of my favourite books, so i obviously went into this with my heart wide open... but man i did not like it!! the writing was so irritating and the characters did not feel like real people at all... there was a weird fairytale-esque tone to everything that didn't match the content. the story wasn't very interesting and the friendship at the center didn't have any emotional resonance for me, louisa was annoying... ah i'm so disappointed! but so it goes...

I had to sit for 10 minutes to just process the ending of this book. Wow. This was beautiful. You can just tell from the beginning that this is a book that will break you. I miss being a little kid. I had strong emotions towards every character in this book but connected the most with Louisa. I love her entire personality so much and I absolutely adored her dynamic with Ted. The father daughter dynamic none of them ever really had was perfect. I also loved the friendship of the Artist, Joar, Ali, and Ted. The one summer they had together and how it ended so quickly really shows how you cannot let time pass you by. That one summer was all they had and yet they’ll never forget each other or the times they had. I loved every second of this book and the message it conveys. I believe everyone should read this book at least once in their life.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman: It is difficult to describe what this book is about because it is so much more than the story. The story is about an artist at the end of his life and the teenaged girl Louisa he meets and wants to help. She is a foster kid trying to get out and start a life of her own. The artist’s friend Ted tries to honor his wishes and connects with Louisa. The story within the story is the one Ted tells to Louisa, set twenty five years prior, about four teenaged friends who have lifelong bonds. One has an abusive father, one has a father dying of cancer, one lost her mother and one’s family just doesn’t understand his talent.
The timeline continually switches from past (the friend story) to present (the Louisa-Ted story). Themes include friendship, the power of art, the bonds of mothers and sons (my favorite part of the book), hate and cruelty.
Written in typical Backman fashion of simple sentences and clever quotes that say so much more. The wit and humor readers expect is ever present along with a host of quirky characters.
While I enjoyed the laughs and the characters, I did not get as fully invested in them as I usually do. There wasn’t as much heartache as I thought there would be, and I do love a good heartache in a book. So while this made me laugh, it didn’t make me cry.
This is not to say I didn’t enjoy this read, but it will not go down as my favorite in terms of characters (Beartown) or situation (Anxious People). There also was a significant amount of domestic abuse so could be a trigger for some readers. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for my ARC.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this upcoming book***
An artist who changed the world with a painting of his friends has a chance encounter with a troubled girl that will change both of their lives forever. This is the second Backman book that I’ve had the pleasure to read, the first being A Man Called Ove. I really enjoyed this book! It was a little sappy and manipulative at times, but overall an incredibly satisfying read. Give it a try!

Wow what a special and deeply important story this was—Fredrik Backman will forever stand as my favorite author of all time. His storytelling makes you feel SEEN and deserves to be read and felt deep in your heart. My Friends is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of grief, belonging, survival, art, but most of all friendship. I want to give every single character the biggest hug! Fredrik once again shares how truly difficult it is to be human—so much hardship but so much hope. Thank you Fredrik for sharing this story with us, I see your heart in every word.

Thank you so so much NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 stars rounded up. Backman is a master storyteller, but sometimes it just feels overwrought. Thanks for netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.