Backman, consistent with his distinctive approach, adeptly crafts a narrative and characters that elicit a range of emotions, from humor to sorrow. I hold a deep appreciation for this author, as he is my preferred choice when seeking respite from the intensity of thrillers.

My Friends is ultimately the story of friendship and how it shapes, and sometimes saves, us. From the first page; Backman reaches in, grabs your heart, and doesn’t let go until the last page. He is one of my favorite authors and the way the story unfolds, often in unexpected ways, is masterful.

The story is told both present day and with flashbacks and is the story of a group of friends, as well as a new friend in present day. It was at times quite sad but in others very funny. I love how he writes his characters; whether good, horrendous, or somewhere in between they all play an important role in the story.

It’s really rare that a book makes me cry, the reticent Swede I am. This one had me in tears by chapter 8, a record for me. Mildly embarrassing too as I was reading while dining solo in a restaurant in Porto.

Just a caution for my fellow tenderhearted readers. If there is content that is an issue for you, I highly recommend checking the content warnings for this one. There are several very difficult subjects covered that were at times an issue for me. I’m very glad I read it and think it is a really important book, but wasn’t always an easy read.

I highly recommend the newest book by Fredrik Backman, and I am sure fans of his Beartown series will love this story.

Thank you to the publisher Atria Books, author Fredrik Backman, and NetGalley for the gifted digital ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC of this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion.

All I can say is "Wow"!! This book met my expectations and more. I wish it was possible to give this book more than 5 stars. I am going to go out on a limb and say this even if this is only the start of the year, that this will be my favorite book of 2025. I have been a huge fan of Fredrik Backman for years, but this may just be my favorite. No one writes like Backman. If someone gave me one of his books without a cover or title page, I am positive that I could identify his writing. When I read his books, I can't devour them in a short time because I have to savor his sentences. I have so many of his passages bookmarked so that I can go back and reread them. Years from now, I am sure that I will remember each one of his wonderful, quirky, flawed, but lovable characters. Ted, KimKim, Ali, Joar and Louisa feel so real that you will feel their pain and joy as if they were your own friends. If you are a Backman fan, you are in for a real treat when the book comes out later this year!

5 ⭐️

As a huge Backman fan, I was both excited and nervous to read this latest book. I can happily say that it did not disappoint! I am already looking forward to a re-read when it is published in May. I will say that the subject matter is a little darker than other Fredrik Backman reads, but this is definitely one of my favorites.

Like his other books, Backman once again excels at creating a storyline and characters that make the reader laugh out loud and cry easily. I lost count at the number of times I teared up while reading. I also had a few moments where I had to set down the book, cry, process what I just read, and then continue reading. This one will give you all the feels and, if you’re anything like me, that’s your favorite part of a Backman book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this novel.

I was so excited to be approved for an early copy of My Friends by Fredrik Backman. I was almost nervous to read it as my expectations were so high. My Friends absolutely did not disappoint!! Fredrik Backman continues to amaze me with his writing. Characters to cheer for, an amazing grasp of the human experience and absolutely beautiful writing. This story of a group of teenage friends and their impact on a lonely stranger had me laughing and crying. It is a story I won't soon forget. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Fredrik Backman for the advanced copy.

A postcard of a famous painting is one of the few possessions nearly 18-year-old Louisa has carried with her through the foster care system. She's looked at the postcard countless times, so when the opportunity comes to see the real thing in person, she comes up with the perfect plan. Unfortunately, she's never been great at sticking to plans and soon she's being thrown out of the auction and literally running straight into the person who completely changes the course of her life.

Louisa's journey to uncover the muses for the painting takes her on an adventure that proves kindred spirits exist, and you often find them in the most unexpected places. Told from the present to reflections of the past, the dual-timeline flows beautifully as the full story unfolds from the friends 25 years ago who depended on each other through the tragedies they faced, to Louisa who has no one to count on.

Full of humor, heartache, and hope, Fredrik Backman pens a beautifully written story about the impact of love and art. It's been a long time since a book left me feeling so attached to its fictional characters. The weight of their struggles, the pain in their losses, and the pull to each other felt so authentic, that I felt lost when I finished the last page. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time and has become my first favorite of 2025.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this eARC, I'm so grateful!

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is so good I would give it a bonus star if I could! I absolutely adored this coming of age story about a group of friends secretly featured in a famous painting. It had me from the first chapter when we meet Louisa, who is trying to make her way in the world and has been inspired by the painting. If you are familiar with Fredrik Backman’s books, you know that his characters are quirky, and his stories are rich and emotional. My Friends lives up to those expectations. I always find it harder to write about a book that I love because I want to do it justice without giving anything away. I know it’s only January, but it might be my favorite book of the year. You should just read it when it comes out in May! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

Perfection! Fredrik Backman writes in such a way that you feel everything the characters are feeling. He has a way with words unlike any other author. I just adored Ted, Louisa, Joar, Ali and the artist. It was such an incredible story of friendship and love. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I was concerned when I started this book because it is so sad. I almost stopped reading! Then I was nervous: how could I not love a Fredrik Backman novel?!? So I stayed the course and was rewarded with a brilliant story of friendship, loss, hope, and the beauty of art. And yes, sadness. The story of these characters will stay with me for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced digital copy of this book.

My Friends is mostly told through Ted’s point of view, as he tells Louisa the story of the summer he and his three closest friends turned 15, and how his friend, “the artist’s”, world famous painting came to be. The story is told in a back and forth timeline, which focuses on friendship, true love, trust, grief, and selflessness.

Backman, as always, hooks the reader with his poetic descriptive writing style and his character building. I laughed. I cried. I reminisced and felt nostalgic about my own childhood summer days.

This is a typical Fredrik Backman book - beautifully written, well-developed characters and five stars from me! The book goes back and forth between current day and twenty-five years ago when the friends were 14-year-olds. I enjoyed all of the relationships in this book. Backman's characters always feel so real to me.

There is a lot of grief in this book. So be prepared for that but I think if you have enjoyed his other books, you will enjoy this one as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

At about the halfway mark, I realized I wasn't sure what to make of this book. I read it in probably 6-7 sittings, which for me, is usually an indicator that I'm not super into the book. But I don't think that was true with this one? I wasn't able to read more than 10-15% of the book at once (I think due to the more train-of-thought like storyline), but I was always excited to pick the book up again. Backman just has such a lovely way of bringing characters to life, but I do think this book was more chaotic than his previous ones. I also was a bit disappointing in the ending--so much time was spent telling these characters' stories and there were some flash-forward-y scenes, but it just felt a bit quick and easy. All in all, I will read anything Fredrik Backman writes, but this one probably isn't a new favorite of mine.

Wow. Wow. Wow! Fredrik Backman does it again, with potentially his best book yet. My Friends follows Louisa and Ted - a man grieving the death of his greatest love, and the girl entrusted to the famous artist’s painting. Louisa is freshly 18 and has had a hard life in foster care, and is also grieving the loss of her best friend. Ted tells her the story of the artist, and his three best friends Joar, Ted, and Ali. The book is written in Fredrik Backman’s classic style, and is full of heartbreak that brought tears and some moments that made me laugh out loud. No author has the ability to make the reader feel and think quite like him. I loved this book and wish I could read it for the first time again. I’ve already pre-ordered a finished physical copy for my shelf.

I love the way Fredrik Backman tells a story and will read anything he writes. This was simultaneously funny and heartbreaking with themes of found family and how art can be healing. It did feel a little too long, but overall I really enjoyed this.

This is a unique, wonderful story of friendship, love, survival,heartbreak and OH so much more!
The story of three friends is disclosed to a young woman, Louisa; in present day after she meets a famous artist and deeply admires his painting. She, herself loves to paint, and therefore feels a desire to know more about the work,this artist, and the young people on the canvas.

The journey is intense at times and definitely warrants a tissue box.
It's so well told that I could not help but feel as if I was a friend of these kids so many years in the past.

Fred Backman has written another winner for sure! I would love to see it in a theater!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Atria for this amazing ARC and allowing me to provide my own review after reading.

What a beautiful book! As a big fan of Fredrik Backman, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. I found its style quite different from his previous books, but it was equally as powerful. The author did an amazing job showing the best and worst of humanity with his characters. I loved both the contemporary story as well as the revelation of the impactful summer when many of the characters were 14. I also appreciated the role art, community, family and friends played throughout the book. I think I will remember and think about these characters for a long time. I think this book would be a great choice for book discussion groups. I highly recommend it to all readers.

This was heart shattering, beautiful, and humorous! Backman’s prose is amazing. He had me laughing and crying simultaneously. I’m pretty sure this was the most I’ve ever cried while reading (basically every time I continued reading it). His descriptions of grief, friendship, and art were astounding. It’s difficult to read any of his works without highlighting every line. Every piece of his books feels so significant and has impacted me. His characters also feel so real. Truly outstanding!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

I really, really enjoyed this book and plan to check out his others. The writing style is a bit different, but once you get the hang of it, it is a very quick read. A story about childhood friends and trauma, and how that carries through to adulthood. I definitely recommend you check this book out!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria books for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE Fredrik Backman’s books and this one did not disappoint. Such an amazing story that I could not put it down. I think I read every chance I got for like 3 days.

Another incredibly poignant, emotionally devastating read from Backman. His usual style of quirky characters, off beat humor, and relentlessly flawed and messy humans is back in a love letter to the enduring power of not just childhood friendships, but that specific, small window in our lives where life feels both limitless and contained, where days are never ending yet also fleeting. He perfectly captures and manages to bottle the feeling you have at 14 where you feel invincible yet also relentlessly beaten down by the world around you. Where you don’t know if you’re the chaos or the chaos is in the world around you.

Told in pieces, as we follow Louisa in present day, we are treated to pieces of the past that defined the lives of so many and continue to create ripples around them.

The writing is elegant and raw, it visceral and shows a deft understanding of this unique time in our youth while also brutality highlighting all the ways the world can crush a child’s dreams, can force them to grow up, can try to stamp out the wings and magic that pour out of them.

All that said, I can’t say this is a favorite for me. Why? Well because it ran a smidge too long and when Louisa finally gets to the end of the story, I felt like we took just one too many side quests to get there. I also felt like it was a bit difficult to find my footing in the story as there was quite a bit of it that was repeated but somehow kept shifting and changing, including the addition of a major character yet later on. It felt like by the time we got to a later retelling, everything we had been told before needed to be re-contextualized and retold, instead of feeling layered. In many ways while this had a very clear message and purpose, I wished it almost didn’t. I’m used to Backman stories having multiple angles that come together, multiple characters and their stories that collide and coalesce, but instead, with My Friends, it felt like the characters were all a singular entity with the same message. I just missed having more POVs I think, that would have added more depth and angles to that special summer. While we get some towards the end, it felt a bit too late.

Overall it’s a compelling read and it is committed to its message on art and friendship, but I did feel a little bit of something missing. A 3.5 I’m rounding up to 4.