This newest book by Fredrik Backman will break your heart -- and put it back together again, better than it was before! He does such a good job of writing “feelings.” It’s like he’s inside of you, manipulating your head and your heart. And, my, is he a master at this kind of heartfelt storytelling.

This one begins with Louise, who is an admirer of a famous painting that is about to be sold at auction. And because I don’t want to drop any spoilers, I will say that that is the beginning of 18-year-old Louise’s meeting the artist, and his good friend, Ted. And Ted is about to take her on a “story” journey by telling her what happened twenty-five years ago when the painting was first created.

It is sad, exciting, funny (and fun!), heart-wrenching, heartbreaking, and especially heartwarming.

Fredrik Backman really does it again with this one. You’re definitely going to want to add this one to your TBR list!

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and Atria Books for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Backman is a master at helping us see what it means to be human, all the flawed bits and messy parts. All the heartache and hope. On one page you can be laughing out loud, then smiling and nodding in agreement, and then find yourself crying. The characters and the beautiful story made me slow down my reading, drag out the amount I read each day, all to savour the words this gifted man, and equally talented translator, put down on paper. This book is unique in plot and characters from previous books, but has the same heart all his other works do. It is about friendship, trauma, coping, love and found families. It is also about the power of art to heal, inspire and help.

'No one could paint friendship like this without first having been a completely lonely child.'

'He was good at seeing the beauty in everything, that happens if you're not good at seeing it in yourself.'

'When you get old, gravity pulls the corners of your mouth down, the road to a smile grows longer.'

''I love you and I trust you.'

'You can't love someone out of addiction, all the oceans are the tears of those who have tried.'

'The basic function of a parent is just to exist. You have to be there, like ballast in a boat, because otherwise your child capsizes.'

'Their dad had worked at the factory, just like their mom, to give their kids a better life. Trying to be a musician, following their passion, that sort of thing was for parents who only wanted to give themselves a better life.

'It is an act of violence when an adult yells at a child, all adults know that deep down because all adults were once little. Yet we still do it.'

'Sometimes we remember the last moments before a great catastrophe as more beautiful than they actually were.'

'His parents were often told their child wasn't normal. They believed that, sadly, which is why they missed out on the incredible joy of having a child who was special.'

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are of my own.

W🤩W. I’ve read six of Backman’s books, and this is my new favorite! Britt Marie, Ove, the Beartown cast are all amazing, but the friendships described in this book are so authentic, purposeful, and life-changing in the way they impact one another. Despite life’s hardships, we all need a Ted, Joar, Ali, the artist, Fish, and Louisa. Mothers who fight the circumstances of their lives to keep showing up with love and care. Art created with laughter, love, and trust. The way the book is structured creates so much suspense surrounding the “end of the story” that has you holding your breath to see who of the four survive and thrive. Who is a hero, a villain, or a victim.

This book is the coming-of-age story twenty-five years later, told on a train, between two strangers connected by art. It will make you laugh, cry, and remember why memories contain both joy and pain. I had over fifty highlighted annotations, quotables that made me pause and reflect. Louisa’s strength and Ted’s quirky underdog archetype are beautifully woven together to be the unlikeliest friendship. It’s a beautiful story similar the force of A Little Life, The Secret History, and Beartown. Highly recommend!

I love all things Fredrik Backman. Anxious People remains a favorite and holds a prominent position on my bookshelf. Unfortunately, and to my surprise, this one was a miss for me. I didn't connect with the characters and although the writing had true moments of beauty, it felt repetitive and overly "mushy". I am sure I'm in the minority and am so grateful to the publisher for the advanced copy. 2.5 stars rounded up because it's Backman.

6 STARS!!! BOOK OF THE YEAR!!!!! Fredrik Backman never ever disappoints me. I feel so insanely lucky to have found one of my favorite books of the year (potentially of all time) in January :) I keep describing My Friends as the perfect mix of Beartown and Anxious People. It has the beautiful unique writing that we all have come to expect from Backman. It has the trauma, beautifully tragic events, and poignant writing on life/grief/death similar to Beartown. It has the quirky, complex, humorous characters from Anxious People. It is truly one of his best books and I predict this will be a favorite for many people.

My Friends follows a group of four teenagers who were the best of friends in their youth. It is told from the perspective of Ted, one of the four friends, when he is grown up and Louisa, a young artist. The bond of these four teenagers is so strong that they change the life of Louisa 25 years later, when Louisa comes across one of the friends. Ted tells the story of his friends, reflecting on their days together and the little family they formed. There is Joar, an angry, vulnerable, empathetic, boy who never backs down from a fight; Ted, who is quiet, bookish, and grappling with his broken family; Ali, a girl who is moved from place to place often and never has the chances to set down roots; and the artist, a quiet boy with a heavy heart, who fights demons in his brain and just wants to create art and leave this town behind. This group of friends lifts each other up, protects each other from the horrors of the world, and will do just about anything to give the artist an opportunity to leave the town behind.

The strings woven between these four friends and their impact on not only each other, but the world at large was so beautifully woven. I LOVED learning about the group of friends from Ted's perspective and also seeing how the decisions a group of teenagers made affected not only the course of the world, but teenagers decades later. I genuinely cried throughout the entire book, each chapter started with a quote about such mundane things in life that still had me tearing up. However, I also LAUGHED often, because of how humorous (dark and quirky) these characters were and the light and life they tried to bring to the many horrible things they faced. I found myself connecting so much and falling in love with each and every character. I was so unsure of how this book would end, because like Beartown, there is constant foreshadowing throughout the book of the tragic events that occurred. However, although the end had me sobbing, I was so proud of each of these characters and the impact they had on each other.

This book is about friendship and how the friends we make at such a young age can lift us up, hold us together, encourage us, and get us through some of our darkest days. It is a book about art, about one single painting and the difference it made in so many people's lives. I will be rereading it as soon as it releases in May because I CANNOT WAIT to physically annotate this book and get my heart torn apart again.

Thank you thank you Atria Books for this free book!!

Oh my word! What a story written to make you have all the feels. You will instantly fall in love and cheer these characters on. They are so well developed and the story draws you in and makes you feel like you are the 5th in this friendship of 4. GET this book!

An astoundingly told story of friendship and love, found family, and the lasting impact you can have on the lives of others. It’s so beautifully written I’m pretty sure I highlighted half the book. He had me crying and then belly laughing on the same page. I fell in love with these characters and I feel like they’re my friends too. Everyone should read this book. Just be sure you have some Kleenexes by you.

What a beautiful, life-affirming story! Fredrik Backman writes in such a dynamic way in My Friends. The way he tells the stories of the characters throughout the book is humorous and hopeful while also being haunting and tragic. I was laughing and crying along with the characters of the story. It unfolded in a beautiful, satisfying way that pulled at the heartstrings. He explores themes of grief, longing, innocence, trust, and love from a childhood and adult perspective and he can put the human condition into words in a way I haven't encountered before in a novel. The developing friendships in this book were a delight to read. When it described how lucky they were to have each other, the sounds of their laughs, and the ways that they supported each other throughout difficult events of their childhood/adult lives, it all felt so real. Absolutely worth reading.

4.5 ⭐️My Friends is a heartfelt exploration of what it means to truly know and care for others, told with Backman’s signature charm and emotional depth. The story unfolds with grace, offering layers of meaning that encourage thought long after the final page.

What I Liked
✅ The way Backman captures relationships: He portrays friendships honestly, highlighting both the beauty and the challenges.
✅ Art as a metaphor and an outlet: Art isn’t just something the characters do—it symbolizes their emotional journeys and gives them a way to process their struggles and experiences. This adds depth to the story.
✅ Complex, empathetic characters: The characters are deeply shaped by their pasts, particularly the hardships they endure as children. While it isn’t always easy to connect with them, it is easy to empathize with their struggles.
✅ A narrative that lingers: The writing feels simple yet leaves a lasting impression, much like the painting, The One of the Sea stayed with Louisa—its presence speaking of memory and connection.
✅ An ambiguous ending: The open-ended conclusion encourages readers to form their own opinions, adding a thoughtful and personal layer to the reading experience.

What I Didn’t Like
❌ Occasionally overworked details: At times, the narrative lingers too long on smaller moments, which slows the story’s momentum.
❌ Missed opportunities with side characters: A few secondary characters are interesting but feel underdeveloped, leaving me wishing they had more time to shine.
❌ An ambiguous ending: While thought-provoking, the lack of closure feels slightly unsatisfying, making me wish for a clearer resolution.

Louisa is a teenager newly released from foster care who has had to fight for everything in her 18 years of life. After losing her friend, the only constant is her love of a piece of artwork by a famous artist. Through a serious of fortunate events, she meets the artist and is bequeathed the painting only to find herself on a journey through the lives of the then teenage artist and his friends.

In the Frederik Backman way this story is full of heart and humor and a train trip of remembering and self-discovery.

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Fredrik Backman does it again. A beautiful, heartwarming, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, story about art, belonging, and friendship. I truly loved all of the characters which is not shocking cause Fredrik really does write the best characters. His writing is always so magnificent. It has a way of sucking you in with these characters you can’t help but root for. Highly recommend this one, especially if you enjoyed Beartown or just character driven books in general. But do note TW: alcoholism, homophobia, domestic abuse/child abuse.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the digital ARC!

No one does storytelling like Fredrik Backman. No one captures humanity in the same delicate and careful way he does. No one captures indescribable emotions and somehow puts them to the page like he does.

My Friends is another well thought out story with such heart. It’s sure to please fans of his work and general literary fiction fans as well. There’s a lot of childhood nostalgia and found family themes in here that resonate so well with readers.

I do feel that this could have been trimmed down and if it had, it would have packed that much more of an emotional punch. I think I am partial to the characters of Beartown, but there are plenty of rich characters in this novel to love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books.

Backman is back with his very best work! I can't say how much I loved this book.

Fredrik Backman's "My Friends" is a heartfelt and poignant tribute to the enduring power of friendship. Through a dual timeline narrative, Backman masterfully connects the lives of four teenagers from twenty-five years ago to a young artist in the present day, using a singular work of art as the thread that binds them together.

The novel delves into themes of love, loss, and the transformative nature of human connection, all while maintaining the wit and warmth that fans of Backman's previous works have come to love. Though the pacing can be slow at times, the emotional payoff is well worth the journey, and the novel's themes will resonate long after the final page is turned.

Overall, "My Friends" is a powerful and deeply affecting read that celebrates the beauty of friendship and the ways in which art can transcend time and loss. It's a must-read for fans of Backman's work and anyone who appreciates a story that explores the complexities of the human experience with humor and empathy.

Oh my gosh, this was such a beautiful story. Fredrik Backman flows through the past and present timeline so seamlessly. These characters will forever be in my heart.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 🌟
This book moved me in the best way.
A renowned artist, nearing the end of his life, has a chance meeting with Louisa, a woman profoundly shaped by her foster care experience. Before his passing, he entrusts his close friend Ted with the task of delivering a painting to Louisa. This sparks a journey that unravels the interconnected stories of the artist, Ted, and their childhood friends. Despite their vastly different and often difficult upbringings, these friends forged an unbreakable bond in their youth. This poignant exploration of friendship, resilience, and the lasting impact of our connections is sure to move you to tears.

I love everything this author writes. All of his books have been wonderful, emotional reads. I didn't think I could love a book more than Ove but I think this one has topped it. I laughed and I cried. It was so good.

if my brain was capable of processing the world the way Backman can, I would be able to explain the magic of this book. his ability to use all the same words I have access to, and create characters, a story, a world like this….is absolutely mind-boggling. I will be grateful for this book (& NetGalley for letting me read it in advance) for the rest of my life. my new favorite book. his best work. I can’t wait to buy it on release day and re-experience the magic while I mark up a physical copy with all 800+ annotations on my kindle.

What can I say about Fredrick Backman….everything he writes is gold. There were times while reading I had tears streaming down my face without even realizing. Fredrick Backman understands the human condition more than any author I’ve read. This book has everything but is a truly hopeful tale of friendship, growth, and what it means to be a kid.

This is a beautiful and sweeping story of friendship. In the story we meet Louisa who is obsessed with a painting - The One of the Sea - and the friends in the painting. She meets the artist and soon is on a journey with one of the friends in the painting and learning more about the kids that she sees in the painting.

I loved the characters in this story. I loved the feeling of summer that is invoked throughout the story and the relationships that are developed throughout the novel. Backman has a way with words that is so hard to explain. He says things in a way that is so beautiful and so true.

Poetic, symphony, rich…all words that came to mind as I read, My Friends. Backman’s style is smooth, yet complex, revealing characters that stand in the gap for one another time and time again.