If you crave more heartwarming, gut-wrenching stories with quirky characters that have a chip on their shoulder, My Friends certainly delivers. This time around, we meet an unlikely pair - eighteen-year-old Louisa, a former foster child who grieves the loss of her her best friend Fish, and Ted, a thirty-nine-year-old frightened former teacher that grieves the loss of his best friend ("the artist"). Over time, Ted explains to Louisa the story behind his circle of friends one summer that led to the creation of a painting that is now world famous.

Like other works of Backman, you'll be riding on an emotional roller coaster as you move through this book. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of his (A Man Called Ove or Beartown still take those top spots for me), but I was eager to learn where the story would go. There were cliff hangers and little twists (some happy, some less so), but it made for an engaging novel. I'll forever look forward to what Backman releases next.

A must read for 2025! Fredrik Backman is genius for again crafting such a gorgeous story! Beautifully written and characters are so delicately, yet thoroughly, developed. The saga plays out in real time with past remembrances woven in to explain how and why the characters are where they are in the current story. Some drama and suspense are thrown in which matters as the cast members have become so real during the tale.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

T hanks to Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own. So, a friend of mine likes to joke that I’m dead inside bc nothing seems to make me cry-not movies or books, just occasionally real life, and I mean occasionally. But you know what makes me cry? A book by freaking Fredrik Backman. I can’t even tell you how many times I teared up while I was reading this book. Gah. I’m like a real human when I read his work! Louisa is quite a quirky character with a sad story, and she happens to fall in love with a painting by a famous artist with a sad story of his own. As you progress through the book and Louisa’s journey with this art, you learn the story behind the artist and the painting piece by piece with her as one of the artist’s best friends reveals it. There are flashes to the past mixed with the present, and you wonder who has lived to be a part of this present journey. There were enough twists and little snippets that were finally revealed after chapters and chapters of leading up to it to keep me sucked in until the end. It’s as silly at times as it is also achingly beautiful and sad. This honestly might be my favorite book by him now. I couldn’t put it down, and I can’t stop thinking about it. FYI might be triggering with talk of sexual and domestic and substance abuse, profanity

A stunning homage to teenage friendships that endure the trials of life and never die out. Nobody tells a story like Fredrik Backman...his characters leap off the page and take hold of your heart as he weaves their stories, and you're never the same. My Friends was such a beautifully told history of four friends and a painting, but it is so much more than that. Literary perfection!

My Friends is a book full of nostalgia, taking you back to childhood summers with your best friends—when things were perfect even in their imperfections. Sad at times, joyful at others, this book made me feel all the feelings.

Thank you the NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. Fredrik Backman is an automatic read author for me. While this story was a bit different from his others it was good. It was a great story of friendship and I look so forward to more books by him.

Backman has such well developed characters that your heart aches for each one of them. He also surprises you along the way with twist after twist and hidden nuggets that bring the whole picture into focus.

He's got me into the skin of hockey players in the past, no small feat for an artsy girl, and managed to have the same sensitivity in this book for an artsy boy and friends who are resigned to their limited lives but desperate that he should see more. This author's range seems to be without limits.

I can't think of a better writer than Fredrik Backman.

I can see the beauty in this story. about helping the next generation by looking for the right qualities in others and lifting them when they don't think they are enough. This is a slower paced story that is very focused on character development. This isn't a bad thing. I am sad I read this immediately after the new Hunger Games book, because it felt much slower after an action packed book.

I think this story will be well received. I just suggest reading it when you are in the mood for a slower, character driven book.

I can imagine this to be even better on audio if it is done right. Having Ted telling his story. It would be so good.

I have not made my post schedule for May quite yet, but I plan to share this title right around publication date at the beginning of May. The post will be made on my instagram page at www.instagram.com/robinashleyreads

This was such a touching and meaningful story. I love the way Fredrik Backman writes characters that are flawed but lovable, it makes them so real and easy to connect with.

Fredrik Backman does it again! I will say, it took me a little while (50-60%) to connect with the characters, but once I did, the book opened up for me.

This was my first Fredrik Bachman novel and I can say that it didn't disappoint! The way that he can represent the depths of human emotion and suffering is incredible. The characters were so realistic that I wished I could have friends like them! I loved how all the friends fought desperately to protect each other, both physically and emotionally, and learned to love each other despite not receiving love from other people in their family. The writing style did take a little to get used to, but overall this is a fantastic book and will pull at the heart strings of every reader. Just make sure to read with a box of tissues next to you!

The literary style of Fredrik Backman never disappoints and this beautiful prose will stick with the readers for months to come. It was impossible not to become intertwined with the characters' pasts and presents and root for them all. Beautiful story through and through.

Fredrik Backman does it again. He creates a world where all the relationships feel so alive and you just keep hoping for a happy ending for everyone while also holding your breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. I also have never felt so old when someone who just hit 40 is described as old old.

Laughing and crying, page after page, make this an intense and wonderful experience. Don’t expect a fast-paced novel; this story lingers long enough to give each character a full personality and life. A painting is supposedly at the center of the story but it is really about friendship, trust, and love. Four teens, self-described misfits all, bond one summer vacation when their home lives are unhappy and, for some, dangerous. Many paragraphs are laugh out loud funny while others caused my tears drip freely. The writing gives the reader a chance to see and feel through the eyes of these kids. This is really an unforgettable reading experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC to read and review.

This was a beautifully written book. It was definitely true to his unique writing style. His writing is filled with words of wisdom that I like to ponder. He expresses feelings so well. This book is a story of childhood friends, growing up in a hard life. From the beginning of the book you know that "something" bad has happened, "somebody" has died. As Ted recounts the story of the friends it is not until the end that you find out the what or who. Maybe my favorite book of the author's yet. I believe this book will be one of the 10 best of 2025. Thank you SO VERY MUCH to Atria Books and NetGalley for the gift of a digital ARC. This review/rating has not been coerced in any way. I just happened to love this book.

As soon as I finished this book I decided that I need to read Backman's whole back log. I'm not usually a plain fiction fan but this book kept me on the edge of my seat. The beginning can be a little confusing as you start to figure out the timeline as well has trying to recall everyones names. This felt like it could of been a whole series on and then this book could of been like a novella. There was just something about the was the words flowed through the chapters and made the transitions through the timeline seamless which is usually something I struggle with in books. This was just such a wholesome down to earth book. The ending when you essentially are getting everyones resolution ], it just made my chest warm and fuzzy.

I wish I could give this more than 5 stars. I never thought Backman could top A Man Called Ove. That is one of my all time favorite books. But I am delighted to say that My Friends has definitely knocked Ove into second place. It is a rare author that can make you sob and belly laugh at the same time. I'm a sucker for books set in the art world, and thus was drawn into this book immediately with Backmn's signature quirky, but lovable and very real characters, with much wisdom to impart to the world.. Nobody does quirky Like Fredrik Backman. This author makes a whole world and a whole life out of one painting and one summer for a group of friends who only have each other for a short time. This book has my vote for best book of the year - and it's only March! Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC opportunity. It was truly a delight and a privilege to be an early reader of this wonderful book!

I have yet to read a Fredrik Backman novel I haven't loved! His newest addition "My Friends" is a beautiful rollercoaster of emotions. "I love you, I trust you." Those simple words says it all. Thank you NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this ARC.

“ At the end of his life, he only wished for what almost all of us wish for, to have our childhood summers back”

These four friends, the summer between the ages of 14 and 15 stretched out between them (25 years ago)would change everything for each one of them.

I think we all need, or hopefully have had friends like that time and time again in our life.

Friends with who you can be yourself, who can see you for you, who can see the potential in you even at the age of 14 when you couldn’t see the potential in you.

To call this a book is an understatement, it was a lifetime, it was a journey, it was love, and the cruelty of life all wrapped in in one and written as only this author can write.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the arc. I definitely think it's the best book Backman has ever written! A story of friendship, grief, art, and love where all the characters find a great sense of closure! I love his writing style and the depth of the stories he presents. How he gradually unravels the story and makes it addictive to read.