All the stars! All of them. This book is as emotionally-charged and beautifully-written as we have all come to expect from Backman. It is a hearttbreaking and powerful story about friendship, love, and the meaning of success. Cannot recommend it enough!

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. A beautiful story of young friendship that spans a lifetime. The sacrifices, the humor, the heartache. Each person in this book is given a real life and personality and deep feelings. This one will stick with me. Don’t hesitate to, read this book!

A huge thank you to Fredrik Bachman, NetGalley, and atria books for this ARC!

What a roller coaster of a novel, and one that I think could easily become the best novel of 2025 for me - even though it's only been a week into the new year. I've long loved Fredrik Backman's writing and "My Friends" has solidified the many reasons he's been one of my favorite authors.

The novel takes us across two different timelines; in the present, a young runaway named Louise has left the orphanage a day before her 18th birthday with the intent to see, first-hand, the famed painting known as "On the Sea" by a renowned painter known a C. Jat. For Louisa, it is work deeply personal to her as she's kept a postcard of it at her side for most of her life, and being a talented artist herself, she's able to see the many layers beneath its surface brushstrokes. A series of unexpected events follow, and Louisa suddenly finds herself the sole owner of the famed painting, and must embark on a journey with it in tow - as well as a chance to learn more about the painter and the origins of his work.

Twenty five years earlier, there was a group of friends - the artist: a quiet, misunderstood genius easily bullied at school; Joar: a loud, brazen child whose love and loyalty to his mother and his friends knew know bounds; Ted: the sensitive reader who lived in the basement of his home after his father's cancer diagnosis; and Ali: the impulsive and witty girl of the group who's masked a tragic past of abuse with her tough outer exterior. Each of these children have had their unfair share of tragedy and heartache, but find joy and solace in each other and their regular meetings at the pier with the promise of "Tomorrow!". The group becomes focused on an upcoming art competition, encouraging the artist to create a work for the opportunity to leave their current home for fame and success - and the ensuing adventures that follow their attempts solidifies their friendship even further.

These two storylines converge on the present, creating a masterpiece that pulls together a story of love and trust, family - both born and made, sacrifice and hope, the incalculable value of art, and the darkest depths as well as the brightest hopes of humanity. Backman has crafted a beautiful, complex, and unforgettable cast of characters, each with their own unique and flawed personalities and backstories. Their lives are a dotting of small victories against the larger difficulties that they can't escape, but there's an incredible amount of solace and joy in seeing how they continue to hope and love.

Well worth a read when "My Friends" is released in May 2025 and I will continue to think about this novel for weeks to come.

How do you love a book so much when it seemingly makes you cry on every other page! Reading Fredrik Backman is making an emotional investment, but one that gives unbelievable dividends. He understands wounded human beings; his words hug those who are emotionally or physically damaged (or both), comforting and providing balm for their pain. "My Friends" is filled with characters like that, the most endearing and annoying people you can imagine. And you feel what they feel; you hurt, love, anger, fear and rejoice when they do. Backman has given us another tale to adore with all our might, filled with words that delight both the heart and the intellect.

Best Backman book I have read by far!! Feeling so special to have read it early… a gut wrenching story of friendship. I was constantly anxious to hear the next scene in Ted’s story. Who knew I would love a literary fiction book (usually my least favorite genre)!!

Backman was an excellent choice for my first read of the year! I once had a professor give an assignment where once of the prompts was to write about a situation and in the piece reveal information in a way that changed the reader's perception of the situation. i'm not describing it well but that's what came to mind reading MY FRIENDS. the way Backman replays and reveals memories to shape and change our understanding of these characters and their lives. this story was brimming with emotion--fear, joy, pain, despair, hope. it was a testament to friendship and love and resilience. it was both a roller coaster and a warm blanket on a cold day. I knew it was over for me when Louisa said, "she was MY human. she was my HUMAN." --it was the most accurate way I've heard friendship describe, succinct and powerful all at once.

Wow!!!!! Fredrik Backman once again proves his mastery of human connection. This book is a deeply moving exploration of friendship, art, and bonds that shape our lives.

The story alternates between past to present, following four inseparable teenagers who formed a bond 25 years ago. Their shared history collides with the present through a young girl captivated by the first painting one of them created. The narrative beautifully evokes the nostalgia of childhood friendships, illustrating how acts of kindness and love can sustain us, even in the face of heartbreak.

As always, Backman’s characters feel achingly real, brought to life through his raw, vulnerable prose that captures the complexities of human nature and the resilience needed to navigate life’s challenges.

Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this book is a testament to the enduring power of friendship, and the profound love, trust, and sacrifice that comes with it. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a poignant story about belonging, nostalgia, and the transformative power of art.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC!

This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me voice message my friends to tell them I missed them.

There is something about Backman's writing that will always leave me feeling seen and loved. This book could be so many things to so many people. I love that about this book. There is so much wisdom in each page. He wrote this with emotion and it shows.
It feels so deeply about childhood friendship and how the memories we make as a children shape us into the adults we will become. It speaks to the grief filled parts of me that are screaming to be seen. I'm not sure anyone has strung together words that just get me like Backman did with this book. I highlighted half of this book, I swear. But for every sad feeling this read brought me, it brought me twice as many smiles and laughs. It's about love, just as much as it's about grief and friendship. To be seen is to be loved- that's what this book said to me over and over again.

Each character brings a strong personality that compliment each other is the most beautiful way.
There isn't one character in this book (besides Joar's dad, he can eat rocks) that I don't think you'll be able to not fall in love with. The banter between this group of friends, old and new, is so witty and heartwarming. Each one of these kids has something so special about them. The adults bring a realness that most people are scared of talking about. I think that's why love Backman so much, he isn't afraid to talk about what keeps most of us up at night.

Everyone who picks up My Friends will find some beauty as they flip through the pages. I hope everyone reads this book. Mostly because I want to talk about it with you.

I received an ARC of this great author's upcoming novel through NetGalley.

Author Fredrik Backman has written some of the finest novels I've read in the last 5-7 years. A Man Called Ove is a classic, a wonderful story with excellent humor. The Beartown trilogy was riveting, entirely different novels in tone, intense and suspenseful. This novel, My Friends, is more along the lines of A Man Called Ove. Lots of storytelling, lots of humor.

Ted is kind of the main character in this novel. He is 40-years-old or so. Much of this book is spent with Ted reflecting on his adventures with three other friends when they were 14 and 15 years old. He is telling these stories to a feisty 18-year-old girl who is escaping from a troubled youth, spent in one unhappy foster home after another. Ted and his friends also had their share of difficulties, growing up in troubled households.

Quite a few themes pop up through these stories. Loyalty amongst friends. Growing up amid domestic violence. The value of being "ordinary" versus being rich and famous.

One of Ted's friends became a famous artist. The artist died at an early age and chose, in an unusual way, to die broke. He left a famous painting to the 18-year-old girl. That's how Ted met up with the girl, as Ted was with the artist on his deathbed.

Much of the humor in this novel emanates from the author's frequent observations about the idiosyncrasies of human beings and from the antics of the 18-year-old girl and the young girl that was one of Ted's friends in his youth.

This is an excellent and suspenseful book. What happened to Ted's friends? Where are they today? How will the 18-year-old girl handle the famous painting, worth millions of dollars?

This book felt heavier than some of Backman's other work but in a very specific way. His particular gift, I believe, is to express humanness that every reader is able to relate to, hence affecting a wide range of emotions. When I read his books, I find myself laughing out loud, and then almost immediately tearing up. But this book evoked anger too. I quickly grew to love and become totally invested with these characters, almost protective of them. It is not an easy read, though. The level of conflicts that these friends face and eventually slug their way through, made it difficult to get comfortable even when something sweet or funny happened to them because it was impossible to forget that the big bad world was continuously awaiting them. The interactions between the characters are deeply thoughtful, but rooted in survival and I think that is on purpose. Sometimes the most beautiful things come out of survival. I think the prevalent theme with this book is about being different. But the price Backman demands for these "different" characters' survival through physical and mental and emotional cruelty is a tough one to read about. And yet, I think that is exactly his point. His books are full of lessons, if the reader lays down their own bias and allows all his nuances to take root in their thinking. He beautifully layers his writing....each page is full of powerful quotes that seem to sum up some of life's biggest moments. He truly "gets" people. This book moved me, taught me, and will stay with me for a long time. I absolutely devour anything he writes and this was no different.

My first 5 star of 2025! Poignant in a way that only Backman can accomplish, My Friends is another masterpiece from this amazing talent. Full of quotes that I will need to go back to memorialize forever, Backman has a way of writing lines that are so powerful that you have to stop to read them again and brace for impact.

When you read a synopsis of a Backman book, the premise always sounds intriguing, but it’s his masterful delivery that truly wows me every time.

Plus, this book has an epic shoutout to Millie Stewart…

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this book by one of my very favorite authors. As always, Backman hits all the right touching, emotional notes with his writing and characters. It tells the story of childhood friendships and how art can mold and touch us and change lives. We have 2 stories told in past/present that intersect perfectly and in such a moving way. Another beautiful story by this author.

**Thank you to Atria Books and Fredrik Backman for the book, given to me in exchange for my honest review.**

I've been a Fredrik Backman fan for a long time. Longer than I've been reviewing books, that's for sure. So when I received this advanced reader copy, I was thrilled. I will try to go into this review unbiased for the sake of those readings this post.

The story follows a group of children who are growing up in a not so great part of town with varying not so great circumstances. Their story is told through the memories of those of were there from a future vantage point, looking backward.

THEMES: What does success look like when no one believes you have any potential? What does growth look like when you're expected to die before you're 30? What does it mean to love when no one deems you worthy? What is a friend and friendship and does it follow any rules or patterns?

LIT ELEMENTS: Of course Fredrik Backman is going to give you all of the character development that you need. You love/hate/relate all throughout this book. The imagery and plot pacing are immaculate. Much of this story revolves around a painting, and I can see that painting vividly in my mind as if I saw it in person.

VIBES: This book give you all the feels. I am about to be 40 on Thursday, and I was right there with these kids - wasting the days away in the ocean, falling in and out of love, realizing that yours is not the only perspective that matters. Despite their poor circumstances, these kids were still able to find joy in being fifteen. It made me want to be fifteen again, see my friends from those years again, and fall in love for the first time again.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of well written contemporary literature, who is looking for a nostalgic experience, or who enjoys a hard earned happily ever after.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Louisa, a foster care kid and budding artist meets a homeless man on the street and they paint together. Hours later, Louisa learns the homeless man was not homeless, but rather one of the most famous artists of the time. When he leaves her one of his most valuable works, Louisa embarks on an adventure with quirky school teacher, a friend of the artist.

The book jumped around a lot, from past to present, to multiple characters, which I had a hard time connecting with at times.

Overall, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and Atria Books for the Advance Reader Copy of My Friends.

This book was a nice read. I have read most of Fredrik Backman's books. If you like his works, you will like My Friends. Compared to other Fredrik Backman's this would be in the middle. It did not have the details I enjoyed in previous books like a Man Called Ove or Britt Marie was here. I did like the character development and the relationship between Louisa and Ted and the concept of being "one of us". I also liked how the book had a concrete ending and it looped back to the beginning with Louisa finding someone she could be a mentor to.

One of the parts I did not like was how long the train ride was. Being from the United States it is hard to determine how long a train ride is, to be considered long as it is not the most popular means of travel. Is 8 hours a long train ride? 4? It also seemed that they got off the train and easily got another one. Fredrick Backman doesn't typically give location descriptions which made this particular timeline a little harder to follow.

Another hit for Fredrik Backman. He is a master storyteller. I loved how it tied the story up at the end. Wonderful.

Rating: 5 Stars

I don't know what to say here. I am speechless. I am so glad I started 2025 with this book.

A few of my friends and I received this ARC from NetGalley, and we knew immediately that we wanted to buddy read it for the beginning of the year. I don't typically read ARCs so ahead of their due date, but I couldn't hold on to this one.

So glad I didn't because the group chat was wonderful.

There was a moment towards the beginning of this book where I texted them and said, "How does Backman use all of the same letters and same words as the stupid stuff coming out of my mouth and turn them into art?" and that feeling lasted the entire novel.

He is SO GOOD at unpredictability, slight of hand, making you look one way while doing something the other. I was consistently surprised from start to finish, and the characters in this novel were warm and wonderful.

Truly, I don't have enough praise for this one. Preorder it, and prepare yourselves for May 20.

This is only my third book by Fredrik Backman but each time I read his words I get completely lost in his storytelling. He has such a beautiful way with words.
My Friends is about a famous painting, the friends and story behind the painting, and a child who falls in love with the painting while living in foster homes. I loved the characters in this book and the beautiful story of friendship, hope, and loss.
Backman writes with such beautiful imagery, subtle humor and deep emotions.
I loved this story. It had me laughing and crying throughout. My Friends will be released on May 20th by Atria Books. Thank you to NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and the publisher for this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this-- devoured it in one day. The characters are classic Backman style, you can't help but love them and all their neuroses. It's a lot of flashback and storytelling, but the author is gifted at not allowing it to become boring. Although boring is the right word to describe what life feels like while awaiting the next Backman novel.

Backman is seriously a literary treasure. This man uses his words to make me feel every emotion I have throughout every page. This book so beautifully portrayed love and friendship to its very core. I loved every single character and was so invested in them I felt like I was reading about people I have known my whole life. This is just a masterpiece.