Beautiful. Every aspect, every character, every relationship, every event is simply perfect. You will find yourself laughing, crying-experiencing all of the emotions-and, trust me, it's worth it. A must read. It's sure to become a classic.

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Every book by Fredrik Backman carries its own unique human values. In My Friends, he takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster, from moments of joy to deep sorrow. He also weaves in sharp critiques of how society operates, highlights the beauty of friendship, and sprinkles in thought-provoking quotes that linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page. I honestly couldn't stop crying while reading it—it’s hands down the best book of 2025 for me. And without a doubt, it’s a story worth revisiting time and time again.

This is the story of four friends. And one girl who needs to connect with them, Twenty-five years old ago, four teenagers forged a bond that nothing can break. They find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Four people, four different backgrounds, yet they all share one thing in common—a kind and compassionate heart. As I flipped from one chapter to the next, I found myself unable to hold back my tears. Their suffering resonated with me on a personal level, making it all too easy to step into their shoes and feel their pain. Watching them endure cruelty, harsh judgment, and a lack of appreciation from those around them stirred a whirlwind of emotions within me—sadness, frustration, and even anger. I couldn’t help but wonder why adults so often focus only on the surface, never looking deeper to truly understand. But sadly, that’s just how the world works nowadays—cold, indifferent, and blind to the emotions of others, leaving wounds that cut deep into the hearts of those who already carry so much pain. Fredrik Backman has never let me down, and My Friends is no exception. I truly believe this book will leave an unforgettable mark on every reader’s heart, thanks to the profound and beautiful values he brings to life.

Reading My Friends made me truly understand the saying, money doesn’t buy happiness. For some, wealth can grant them everything they desire, wrapping their lives in luxury and comfort. But The Artist showed me a different truth—happiness, for him, was not something money could ever replace. To him, joy was woven into the memories he shared with his friends, the moments that made life meaningful. No amount of money could turn back time, nor could it bring back the ones he had lost. Some things in this world are simply priceless.

Fans of Backman won't be disappointed with this tale of four friends tied together by grief and circumstances. The book focuses on an orphaned girl on the cusp of adulthood who accidentally meets the artist who has unknowingly impacted her life. Both are tragic figures and as the girl learns more about his past, she comes to grips with her own history.

This is a dual timeline story told in a series of flashbacks. There were entire pages and passages that I skimmed due to repetitiveness. Backman was at his best when the story focused on the present. Although the book was dark, the author did a good job of balancing it out with instances of lightness. 3.5 stars

Backman has written yet ANOTHER classic. The story begins with Louisa, her best friend, and her love of a painting. The story progressed towards meeting the artist and learning the story behind the painting. The major themes of art, childhood woes, and friendship. This book made me laugh, cry, and gave me hope. Thank you for sharing, it's a lifechanging book!

Story of grief and survival and the importance of friendship. Thankful for the bits of holier to lighten up parts of this emotional read.

Thank you for the ARC. I’ve seen so many great things about this authors work so of course I requested this one.

This was my first Backman book and I enjoyed it. It's a thought-provoking story about friends, family, art, and death. It has humorous and tear-jerking moments. The characters are well-developed. Backman is an excellent writer and navigates the past and present very well.

Well, well… reach into my chest and yank out my heart.

I fully believe (and tell everyone willing to listen to me go on and on) that Backman’s books are aging like fine wine. Exquisite. Rich. Decedent. Superb!!

My Friends is a story for all of us. It’s pure teenage summers with innocence rolled up tightly in love, loss, and lots of shenanigans.

The story follows a young runaway who happens to come across a famous painting where she develops a deep curiosity of the three friends painted on the pier, overlooking the sea. Over a few days, her journey leads her back to what happened to those best friends and that one summer twenty-five years ago. She will never be the same after she learns of the whole, true story.

Backman’s style is present in the characters’ back-and-forth banter, quippy comebacks, and deep, gut-wrenching prose when you can’t help but love someone so much it hurts.

I highlighted so many lines in this book. It hit so good.

I can’t decide now which is my favorite, Beartown trilogy or My Friends.

Backman’s books, to me, are like Pokémon. Gotta catch them all!!

Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for an Advance Readers Copy. All opinions are my own.

thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced digital copy! I loved this book. My first reading of this author and I really enjoyed it! It brought back memories of my childhood and I resonated with all of the characters. The writing was excellent. I laughed out loud multiple times, which hasn't happened to me in awhile. I loved the quotes and references to art and how life-altering and healing it can be. So much humanity shined through. It was just such an honest and open take on childhood, adulting, and navigating the complexities of growing up, as well as honoring art and it's ability to heal and transport us! I can't say enough about this, it just felt deeply personal and absolutely relatable. I can't wait to recommend this title to readers!

I think this is my favorite Fredrik Backman book. It's a story about friendships, old and new, and the importance of art in today's world. I laughed and cried and reread passages again and again to savor Backman's understanding of human nature. I can't get this story out of my mind.

Thank you, Atria books and Net Galley for an advanced coy of this literary gem.

From the publisher: An unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

My Friends is a rollercoaster, of joy, pain, anxiety, loss, beauty, and most of all friendship. It was so intense at times that I had to set it aside for a bit, and yet, truly, nothing much happens. An adult tells a teenager he has just met about his childhood friends. That’s what this book is about.

And yet that’s totally not what this book is about. Backman excels at making me care about people who would drive me crazy in real life. The author suffers from anxiety and it permeates everything he writes to the point that it makes me as the reader anxious. The focus is on the summer the four young friends were 14. They and the teenager in the present are neglected, abused, bullied, and in pain. They are also talented and loyal. Their friendships are beautiful; their lives are not.

My Friends is also about art, and how powerful and even life saving art can be. Because I know Backman does not spare his characters pain, I was nervous the entire time I was reading the book. There were a couple of true surprises for me. I never know where he is going. Backman drops a lot of hints about what’s coming, and he is good at dropping hints that are accurate and yet deceitful.

Backman is a must-read author for me, and My Friends did not disappoint. Translated works often lose something in the translation. I don’t think that’s the case with Backman. It’s amazing how he phrases things sometimes, like this quote: “Ted evades her gaze like a silverfish beneath a bathroom lamp that’s just been switched on.” (ch. 10 of the advance reader copy) The comparison makes me shudder but also completely understand what’s happening.

I’m not sure I understood the significance of some of the secrets the author kept until the end or near the end. I definitely need to read the book again once it is published, and I hope a movie is in the works.

I do not love the cover; I really wish the cover showed the painting that is a character in the book, but I guess they were afraid they couldn’t do it justice.

I read an advance reader copy of My Friends from NetGalley. It is scheduled to be published on June 17 [and will be available for checkout at the Galesburg Public Library in multiple formats.]

Fredrik Backman’s writing is so strong, rich in emotions and artistic wonder, that the characters felt like old friends. A story about love, grief, hope, and found family amidst tragic circumstances, this book will remind you how we all longed for the enduring childhood friendships like Ted, Joar, the artist, Ali, and Louisa and when you turn the last page, you will miss them as if they, too, were your best friends. Told in gripping brevity and raw honesty, this book will become a favorite, a comparative title readers use when they speak about great friendship stories.

This was my first Backman novel, and I was thoroughly impressed with it. It's a thought-provoking story about friends, family, art, and death. It has humorous and tear-jerking moments. The characters are well-developed, and I enjoyed getting to know Louisa and Ted more as they made their journey. Backman is an excellent writer and navigates the past and present flawlessly. An immensely enjoyable read.

An amazing read, not that I expected it to be anything less. One of my go to authors. Heartwarming, a great tale of friendship and emotional as always. I will always pick up a book with his name on the cover.

I will read anything by Backman! He is a master story teller. Nobody writes flawed and real characters quite like him. My Friends made me laugh, cry, broke my heart and put it back together again. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC!

This book is not for me, but it had Backman’s usual easy to read and humorous writing style. I think fans of his work will enjoy the new book, even if I don’t think I enjoyed it too much. Would recommend it to my patrons though!

A memorable, very touching about growing up and growing older and eventually wiser. Backmans books are always a great read

A very thought provoking story that links 2 very different lives together. A share interest in a painting link the artist’s friends to a young homeless girl. They both have stories to share and to build together. Quite a bit of humor in this book. So much talk about farts.

I absolutely love Frederik Backmann books! This follows teenagers with close friendship and how their relationship impacts a stranger's life.

Fredrik Backman has been and will always be an immediate read for me. Something about his writing always makes me feel all the feelings and is such a unique reading experience. I know it’s not for everyone, but I encourage everyone to at least read one book just to say you did it and feel the magic.

Backman does such an amazing job of humanizing the hooligans and youths that I get annoyed with scampering around the neighborhood. He makes me feel like they’re all my best friends and I suddenly have so much compassion for them and their stories.

This whole book spans over less than a week, but I feel like Ted and Louisa lives a thousand lives. Backman touches on grief, friendship, found family, belonging, expressing yourself, and sooo many other beautiful themes in these pages.

Synopsis: A girl with no family and a man with the best of friends are forced together on a journey that both propels them toward their future while simultaneously causing them to relive their past.

While these two unlikely companions are polar opposites, they share a mutual admiration for art (and one artist, in particular) and an understanding that friends can turn into family and arrive (and, tragically, exit) our lives when we least expect them (and when we need them most.)

Review: Backman has the ability to serve up the most beautiful, tender moments of life but also the most raw, heart-wrenching, unjust moments, too. This book is no exception.

I couldn't scarf this book down quickly. No, I had to savor it slowly, even though it hurt sometimes. Even though I had a lump in my throat and in my heart almost the entire time. I had to read it slowly because the best things take time, and Backman is the best (but also kind of the worst because of the whole lump-in-my-throat situation (but mostly the best)).

While I did have that lump wedged in my esophagus, I also had a smile on my lips, and tears in my eyes. How does that even happen? How can I experience so many important emotions simultaneously?

I think that happens when you read a book about art and you actually realize what you're reading is, well, art.