Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of My Friends by Fredrik Backman.
My Friends is a beautiful story about friendship, art, and the people who save us. Backman has a way with story telling that captures the reader's full attention. After reading the first chapter, I knew this would be one of the best books I read this year! Backman makes you laugh, cry, feel all the feels. He brings the characters to life and keeps you rooting for the underdog. His books may be a bit predictable, but the outcome is the way you want it to end, even if you know it is coming.

Louisa is desperate for one glimpse at a painting that has held so much meaning in her life. She breaks into the building where it's being shown and is mistaken for a vandal. While trying to escape being arrested, she runs into a homeless man who turns out to be the artist himself, at the end of his life. Her brief run-in turns into a train ride with one of the artist's friends who tells her the story of the friends in the painting while they both process their separate griefs over the death of loved ones.

It is a deep, heartfelt, emotional story that is iconic Backman. He is such an amazing storyteller and the reader will get wrapped up in the story and not want to let go when it's over.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Where to begin…I began reading this book on what would’ve been my son’s 31st birthday 2/25/25. How appropriate that I read this masterpiece on that very magical date…it’s as if my angel Tyler sent it especially for me.

This book, with its exploration of grief, had me on the edge of my seat. If you’ve read “Anxious people” or “Beartown” by Fredrik Backman, you know how he masterfully weaves multiple stories into one big, glorious, interconnected over arching tale. This book is no different.

Told from the main povs of Ted & Louisa, this story had so many twists & turns. One moment, you’re laughing, the next, you’re afraid to turn the page. Ultimately, all of the stories merge into one amazing trip. There were times that I cried, just to be smiling ear to ear the next.

Run, don’t walk to read this beautiful book. Five stars, no notes, just a recommendation to pour yourself a cup of tea and get lost in this book. Become…one of us. I love them, and I trust all of the characters in this book: The artist, Joar, Ted, Ali & Louisa…

Again, thanks to NetGalley Mr. Backman & the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! It was truly an honor & a privilege.

Fredrik Backman writes like no other. It's sort of choppy in a sense, but it just works really well. This story explores friendships and art. I particularly loved the unexpected friendship between Louisa and Ted. The parts of the story delving into details about the teens in the painting brought on a lot of feelings of nostalgia. It's the perfect combination of humor, suspense, and heartwarming moments. This is a book everyone will enjoy and if you are an art lover you will enjoy it that much more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am such a fan of Fredrik Backman, and this was another fantastic read. I loved the character development over time and the way that the story was told in little bits and pieces. Telling the story through flashbacks made the reader piece the story together and allowed it to feel like we were experiencing hearing the story, just like Louisa did. The language use was amazing, I found so many passages that I stopped to read over and I was constantly stopping to highlight sections to come back to and share with others. I felt so connected to the characters and the emotion that Backman seems to pull from readers is one of his greatest strengths as an author. There is lots to unpack and would be a great book club choice. Friendship, trauma, abuse, the importance of art, marriage, death and dying, poverty, suicide, importance of art, belonging, are all things to talk about. And the ending, soooooo good!

I think that there could be some great sections to use to look at author craft. I am thinking about parts where Ted is telling Louisa the story of their friendship and then others where Joar tells the story. I think this could be a great way to look at how authors create voice and develop characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the early reader copy.

Frederik Backman's stories continue to be a delight. This one was just what I needed right now. It's the story of a mysterious painting with 3 people in it. The story explores friendships, and how art can create a connection between people, sometimes in surprising ways. It was a good balancer of humor, warmth and just enough suspense for me to be eager to find out what was in the next chapter. Highly recommend this one.

*Disclaimer I received a free galley of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.*

Fredrik Backman you are so beloved. My Friends is another incredibly hopeful and yet sad story. Please never stop writing.

ackman strikes again with another compelling, emotional, witty read that will tug at your heartstrings the entire time.

Following a newly 18 year old Louisa and 40 year old Ted as he tells her the story of his youth and the birth of her favorite painting. This book is a testament of childhood love and loss and an in depth exploration of the giant feelings such young people can experience.

This book had me annotating almost every page as the words Backman wrote dig a hole into your heart and bury so deep until you are living and breathing them.

A beautifully poignant story about chosen family and friendship from the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove.

I love Backman's style of writing, and really admire his ability to voice truths about the human condition in the most singular way. But for me, this book fell a little short. I was unable to finish before my ARC access expired through NetGalley (though was grateful to have received a copy!) and I think that had to do with the heaviness of the subject matter being a bit overkill. When every character has a tragic backstory that's so massive (abuse, death, addiction, abandonment, abuse again) it gets overwhelming and borders on melodramatic. Of course there is some levity and quippy jokes, but it's not enough unfortunately to carry the tone to a place where it feels balanced.

Fredrik Backman weaves an emotional and personal tale of dealing with trauma and grief with poignant messages and heartfelt situations that make you think twice about the way you live life. With such a personal style of writing, you can’t help but be swept away by the tide of emotions.

All the stars in the universe wouldn't be enough to explain my love for this book.

But let's try...

Woah, this is a hard review to write because I have so much to say and I don't really know how. First of all, I'm super grateful that I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley, because otherwise, I would've probably put off reading it (like I did with Beartown). So, this was my first Fredrik Backman book, and OMG, I don't know if that was the best idea ever or the worst because I don't think any other can compare. I'm not going to explain what this story is about because I think it's best to go in blind, like I did, but I'm going to talk about how it made me feel because OMG, HOW MUCH IT MADE ME FEEL.

This is a story about friendship, love, art, grief, and family. If you know me (which I know you don't, but let's pretend you do), those are my absolute favorite subjects to read about. And they are all here, together, and beautifully written. It's such a profound story that it's also, quite ordinary, which makes it even more special. This has become one of my all-time favorite books (and I have only two, counting this one) so...

I'm not so young anymore, so I feel like it's incredibly hard for a book to alter my brain chemistry, but this one did. And not because it inherently taught me something new, but because it put everything I've ever felt and thought into words, through a set of wonderful and fully fleshed-out characters. This story, these people, are a work of art. I loved every single word written in it, and I can't wait to have a physical copy of it to highlight and reread (and hug it, let's be honest). Also, I swear I can see the whole story so vividly that I feel like I just watched a movie, and that's more proof of how well-written it is—that it feels like such a tangible thing.

The only thing I can think to say that I didn't love is that the humor didn't always land for me, but I do think that it was a fundamental part of the story since it's such an intense emotional rollercoaster.

Okay, this review is literally so messy and it probably didn't help anyone, but in case it wasn't clear enough, do yourself a favor and READ IT (wink wink if you already have). I'm never going to forget these characters, this town, and how understood it made me feel. I'm going to come back to it every time I feel lost or sad or like I'm not good enough to create something. Because this book, strangely enough, since it's only words on paper (or actually on a Kindle), gave me so much confidence in myself. And I will also come back every time I feel like grief is an alone kind of sport, because it's really not. I hope everyone can enjoy it as much as I did. Literature is the most beautiful thing in the world.

You know a book has had an impact when, after you've finished reading and crying, you finally go out of your room to get dinner, look at your family, and feel like your heart's going to burst with love. Even if they are not perfect. Specially because they are not perfect, but like everyone, they are on their way...

To end this endless and pointless review, if I had to summarize it, I would say that it's an extremely human story that reminds you that we are all going through it—today or a thousand years ago. We've all felt the same way and looked at the same moon, praying to be enough, praying to learn how to be human.

Fredrik Backman perfectly captures the feeling of being fourteen and life revolving around friendships. The adventures the friends go on in their small town 25 years ago are perfectly woven into Louisa’s present day story and into the painting that is the center of this novel. Themes include acceptance, perseverance, love, and grief. This book reminded me that friendship can endure the greatest obstacles and can show up in the most unexpected ways; friends are chosen family. True friendship is steady, always seeing the best in us, especially when we can’t see it ourselves. This is a book to savor, pondering on the deep lessons shared through Louisa’s journey to discover more about the painting, and, in turn, about herself.

Wow. I loved every single word of this beautiful book.

Like all the Fredrik Backman books that I have read, this one has all the humor, all the heart, all the depth, all the profound observation into what it means to be human, and gave me all the feels.

Unlike some of the others that start a little slower as they build toward something, this one "starts" immediately. I both couldn't stop turning pages and didn't want to keep turning them because then it would soon be over.

This is a book about many things: art, grief, laughter, family, struggle, coping, adolescence, farts... but primarily is a book about friendship- that deep, loving, trusting friendship we are only lucky enough to experience when we find someone who is "one of us,"- when we find people who let us be our true selves, who see the wings brushing beneath our skin, and who will enact really, really bad ideas in order to get us to the life we deserve.

Endless thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sending me an ARC of this gorgeous work. I will still be there at the book store on the day it comes out. I will buy my own copy to put on my own shelf so that I can share it with... my friends.

I was fully captivated by this book and didn't even realize that I had been sitting for hours and reading it.

It was very much in the Backman voice that I love, and full of moments that had me weeping and cackling, sometimes almost at the same time. I think the way the characters described art in the book is what Backman has achieved with this- which I really hope he knows. This book felt more personal in some ways than Bear Town did, but had more of that commentary about humans vibe than Anxious People.

The characters were beautiful and I want to be friends with all of them. I am also absolutely not cool enough to be friends with any of them. Even Fish, who wasn't in the story the same way, felt like a real person who I wanted to know.

I think the non-linear story could be harder to follow than some might like, but it gives the Backman twists such satisfaction when you figure them out.
One of the major themes is my favorite line that I say all the time- it's incredibly hard to be a human. It's broader here- it's incredibly hard to be alive. But it's also incredibly beautiful to be alive and this book made me feel all of this.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for the e-galley of this book!

4.5 Stars!
My Friends is a tale of friendship and how the people we grow up with might see the most authentic versions of ourselves no matter how far we stray from each other as the years go on. The four friends in this book all have beginnings that are not pleasant but have led them to each other. Their collective goal for each other is that no one will stay in the town that they grew up in, even if they can't think or dream of that for themselves. You follow a 25 plus year friendship through loss, laughs and plenty of unexpected turns.

Fredrik Backman writes friendship as no other author I have read before. He goes beyond 'found family' and into something even deeper. He writes characters as someone we love, have loved and will love. And the way he delves into grief is powerful. His description of pain, loss and hurting of someone we love is poignant in this work. My brain instantly knows I will love whatever characters or storyline is coming next by how familiar his writing is to me. His writing style is almost nostalgic.

The only reason I took a half star off is because I didn't love the plot of the current timeline, but that was more personal preference. Everything else is 5 stars! A must read for 2025!

Thank you to #NetGalley and Atria Books for the Arc copy of My Friends! Forever grateful for the chance to read books early!

Fredrik Backman, You had me at page one!💗
Louisa feels so desperately alone in the world. One month away from aging out of foster care, she has nowhere to go. Her only wish is to see a special portrait of the sea (which really isn’t of the sea) in person. But what she finds is so much more.

Soon enough Louisa will find herself taking a journey with one of the characters portrayed in the painting. Where will this excursion take her? And what, or shall I say who will she discover along the way.

A life lesson…it’s a matter of fitting in. Finding your people and holding them so close that even miles and life cannot separate the bond.

Fredrik Backman has such a unique writing style that is instantly recognizable. His prose is mesmerizing, allowing you to find yourself swept away in the narrative of Louise’s most incredible expedition

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this eARC! My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a beautifully written and deeply emotional story about friendship, love, and the lasting impact of the people who shape our lives. The dual timelines weave together seamlessly, creating a heartfelt journey of nostalgia, loss, and hope. Backman’s signature wit and emotional depth shine through, making this a touching and unforgettable read. Fans of his work will not be disappointed!

I love Backman’s voice when he writes. It has such a dry humor and his characters are robust and unique while also being completely relatable. These characters in particular are so ridiculous and full of life you can’t help but laugh.

The beginning half of the book was slow. There was no urgency behind the plot and I had a hard time getting pulled into the story. I didn’t feel hooked until 2/3 through, so I think the pacing could have used some work.

The last third of the book had some unexpected twists and you weren’t quite sure how the story was going to end, so that was a nice surprise. Overall it was a beautiful ode to friendship. I think this will be a favorite for many of Backman’s readers.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my favorite book so far by Frederick. I loved getting to know each of the characters. Along the way I felt like I was one of their friends. This heart warming story makes you laugh and cry right along with the characters. Even when the story ended I found myself thinking about the characters still for weeks after.