TL;DR: believe the hype, this is a beautiful, heartbreaking (and heartwarming!) book about found family and the lengths people will go to for those they love. If you enjoy Backman, you'll enjoy this. It was wonderful (cut to me crying my face off on an airplane after finishing the book).

Backman is a bit hit or miss for me, and this one was unfortunately a miss. I can see how the story would appeal to many readers, but sadly I just didn’t resonate with it as much as I did with Anxious People (my all time fave) and A Man Called Ove.

Fredrik Backman has the amazing ability to make you become truly invested in his characters right from the beginning. This book is no exception I absolutely loved the friendship of these 4 teenagers The Artist, Ali, Joar, and Ted as well as the relationship between Louisa and Fish. This book will stay with you long after you have finished. You will laugh and cry through this novel as you travel back and forth thru the past and present as Ted shares the adventures of his friends. This book explores the power of true friendship the ones that would sacrifice it all for you, as well as the power of art. How art can influence and inspire and may take you on a journey you never expected. Also having someone who truly sees you and the gift you possess in a world that often ignores the broken.
This is a must read! You won’t regret and you will not want it to end.

I’ve read plenty of books with good plots, but it’s rare to find one where the characters feel like friends. Every moment I spent with them made me smile, ache, or laugh. The author has a gift for crafting dialogue that feels authentic and emotional, making the entire cast impossible not to love. I already miss them.

What could I say that hasn't already been said? Backman continues to deliver those life altering books that make you question. It's an epic quest for friendship and the lost moments of that friendship. Backman can tear out your heart over and over again and make you fall in love with flawed characters whether they be a hero or not.

5⭐️ a devastatingly beautiful sad slice of life. i loved this sooo much!!!!

thank you Netgalley for this copy

Fredrik Backman is SUCH a good writer!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

While most of this book takes place on a train, it was rich with stories within the main story. Louisa meets an artist who is dying and they connect instantly. He ends up leaving her his famous painting of his three friends from childhood, which is how she meets Ted. She goes on a journey with Ted and learns all about how this painting came to be and the lives of the four friends. We also learn how Louisa would have likely fit in with this group, and why her banter/conversations with Ted are so fun to read.

Somehow, Fredrik Backman knows how to take the most difficult topics and add the lightest touch to make such an endearing full-circle story. I will forever read anything this author puts out because the writing is just that dang good!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

There’s nobody who writes like Backman. Nobody. His writing style is unique, but also so relatable. He just UNDERSTANDS the human experience.
 
My Friends is a story about friendship (duh), but teenage friendship specifically. There’s just something so special about those friends that were so important to you during your formative years, isn’t there? This book definitely made me nostalgic for those days. And in addition to that, it’s about the power of art, unlikely friendships, and human connection. It’s emotional, tender, funny, relatable and just SO good, I literally tabbed to the crap out of it!!  My Friends didn’t knock A Man Called Ove from my top Backman spot, but I still really liked it and will continue to read whatever Backman writes 🩵

I got through around 40% of this book before DNFing. I understand that the book is meant to be meaningful and it probably will be meaningful to other people. However, for me, it just feels like a drag to get through. It just kind of feels like, in a way, that the messaging and writing style is somewhat geared towards a younger audience. I also tend to dislike lit fic books, like this one, that have lines that directly state the thesis/moral of the story. In particular, there are many instances of short quips or lines that have nuggets of wisdom sprinkled throughout the chapters - I don't really love that. I think I prefer lit fic that is more subtle in its themes and forces the reader to work to understand the meaning.

I love Fredrik Backman's style of writing and this did not disappoint. It reminded me of Beartown, so if you liked that book, pick up this one. Perhaps it was because it was mainly about four teenagers, looking for connections while dealing with a lot of yucky stuff that their lives threw at them. Maybe it was because he highlighted the fact that you'll never have friends like you had when you were 14 (and I'm pretty sure Beartown had a similar line). Maybe because it was about friends, and people, and life and loss and a lot of real stuff that happens in between. But I loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the premise,I loved the whole thing.
There is not a lot of action in this book, and that's ok. It's about the people and their feelings and emotions. But it is definitely a Backman style of writing and some people don't love that (I am not one of those people).

I love this author so freaking much. The characters in his books are always phenomenal. They make me legit, they make me cry, and they make me feel like I'm right along side of them. I appreciated the dual points of view and the dual time lines. I also appreciated that this wasn't your typical storyline. I had no idea where this book was going at the beginning of the novel. Loved it! 10/12 would recommend.

Fredrik Backman's latest novel follows Louisa, a newly 18-year-old artist who’s just aged out of foster care and finds herself unexpectedly gifted a famous painting that holds a mysterious connection to her own life. As she sets out to uncover the story behind the artwork, she meets Ted—one of the teens depicted in the painting—who’s quiet, bookish, and still grieving from the losses from that long-ago summer, and whose heartfelt stories help Louisa begin to heal and rediscover her own creative spark.
As always, Backman writes a beautifully crafted novel that engages readers on every page. This book is a love letter to the teenage years and the potential of art to heal old wounds. There are too many beautifully written phrases and paragraphs to highlight just one; his hope and insight shine through. Backman is, and always will be, one of my absolute favorites.

4.5

Eighteen-year-old Louisa has had a harder life than many. Bouncing around foster care, she has had very few people she could count on. But when one of the only people she has dies, she doesn't know what to do next. Louisa is an aspiring artist and she hears an original painting by one of her favorite artists is up for auction, she knows she has to see it in person at least once. She has carried a post card with the image for years. The image of three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier is one of the most famous paintings in the world, but Louisa feels there is more to it than the rich art collectors could ever know. After breaking in, seeing it, and leaving her own little memory for her friend, she quickly has to get out away before security catches her. Ducking into an alley she crashes into a man, who Louisa doesn't know it at the time, but will change her life forever.

This book has been talked about a lot but with good reason! It was such a beautiful story of friendship, loss, chosen family, and dreaming bigger than yourself. It made me laugh and cry. The characters are each unique and their pure love and support of each other touches you and makes you know and love them. The story does have parts that moved a bit slower, and my mind did want to wander a bit, but the overall story and ending was so good! I still am getting teary eyed days later thinking about the ending. Just a beautiful book about friendship and growing up that I cannot recommend enough!

Fredrik Backman has this way of writing authentic characters with their charms and flaws so seamlessly. I chose to wait to listen to this on audiobook once I knew that Marin Ireland, who’s previously narrated most of his works also narrated this novel. She truly had a wonderful way of telling Backman’s stories with inflection that allows the reader to feel his character’s emotions and experiences.

This book took me so long to finish simply because every single one of Fredrik Backman’s books leaves me in utter shambles and I wasn’t ready for another to do the same. I feel like I can’t really leave an adequate review other than this: you must read it. The most soul-crushing, simple but complex because it’s so inherently human, achingly beautiful tale of friendship and loss and connection. Just like all of his books before it, My Friends is a must read.

I have been hearing so many incredible things about Fredrik Backman, so when I saw My Friends on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it! And boy, am I glad I did. Fredrik Backman has a way of writing that is at once simple and beautiful, thoughtful and surprising. His writing beautifully captures the ache and profound beauty and heartbreak and hopefulness of life. His characters are living, breathing, real people for whom you can't help but feel deep investment and emotion.

My Friends follows four friends over the course of 25 years, from adolescence to well into adulthood. It will make you laugh, cry, and turn page after page.

I cannot recommend this book more highly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Fredrik Backman for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own!

I’ve loved all of Backman’s books, so I went into this one with pretty high expectations. My Friend felt different from his other novels. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but by the end I really appreciated the change of pace.

It’s definitely not my favourite Backman book, but I admire how he pulled off a different style without losing the emotional depth he’s so good at. It’s raw, thoughtful, and lingers with you after you’re done. If you’ve read his other books, this one might surprise you—but in a good way.

I will read anything Fredrik Backman writes!!! I loved this story as much as his other books (if not more). He has a way of storytelling that is unlike anything else I've read. I'm not even sure I can put into words how his writing makes me feel. He has a way of describing humanity in a way that I would never be able to write myself, but it resonates so deeply as I'm reading it.

THIS BOOK!! I can't remember the last time I highlighted so many passages. Fredrik Backman has an immense talent for putting complex emotions into words that heal and uplift. With a touch of honest humor, he brings light and hope into even the darkest of life's circumstances. Needless to say, this book did way more than touch my heart!

I loved how it explored themes of friendship, devotion, sacrifice, and belonging through the story of several friends as they meet and go through adolescence. As a result, the book covers a lot of ground, and there were a few times when I felt it was overexplaining certain situations. That's honestly my only knock against it, though!

Art also plays a key role, both in how it helps an artist express themselves, and how it acts as an outlet and escape for those enjoying it. This portion of the book was especially poignant to me, and provided a meaningful link between several of the characters. The chosen family vibes were STRONG and art is absolutely one of those family members.

Settle in and enjoy! This is a book to savor!

I love love love this author and I love a melancholy book, but I couldn’t get through this one. Just so heavy and depressing. It’s a me problem- not an author problem. This will not stop me from reading his next one!