Thank you to NetGalley, Fredrik Backman, and Atria Books for an ARC of this book!

This story was easily my most anticipated read of 2025 and wow it is so, so special to me. My Friends had me at page one and I can’t even count the number of times I cried throughout this. Fredrik Backman’s ability to write such real and raw characters is always incredible to me! And the characters we meet in this are no exception. As someone whose previous favorite book by Backman was Beartown, this story gave me all the things I loved about that story. It was pure art and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to read this!

I am a Backman Stan through and through and Beartown is one of my all time favorites. Well, I read My Friends and I am not ok. Welp. Talk about not just meeting but exceeding my expectations. The story of a young woman who ends up traveling with a man on account of a famous painting, only to hear the man’s rendition of the history of the painting and the friends in it. My heart is overflowing. I am a puddle. The stories were hilarious but so heartfelt and emotional. In true Backman fashion, sarcastic dry humor is peppered throughout and woven into the lines that he so perfectly writes, each word so perfectly placed. His characters have so many layers and are so real and so easy to become attached to. And the story itself was brilliant in how it was told and how it all tied together. I want to give this book every single star in the world. The best.

By all accounts, my life is pretty fast paced. My reading life is no exception, but every once in a while, a book comes along that really makes me want to slow down and savor it. It’s not typical for me to read sentences aloud to my husbands or book besties because they’re just so beautifully written, but when it *does* happen, it’s almost always a Frederik Backman book, and My Friends was no exception.

On its face, My Friends is a story about a famous piece of art. But it’s about the art world in the same way that the Beartown series is about hockey—the art is important but it is also the vehicle for a coming of age story about love, friendship, and belonging.

It is funny and tender and beautifully written. I legitimately cried multiple times and for multiple different reasons while reading this book, and I am not usually someone who cries over books. This was easily a five star read for me, and I already know it will be one of my favorite books of 2025. I CANNOT URGE YOU STRONGLY ENOUGH to go grab a copy!!

Thank you @atriabooks and @netgalley for the ARC of this masterpiece. I genuinely loved it and still think about it frequently.

heartfelt, emotional, and honest- this novel tells a raw story about the journey of life and the up and downs that come with it.
i highlighted easily over 100 lines because each backman’s writing is so poetic and beautiful. this story was beautifully to read about and you can feel the care backman put into creating this. the themes tackled in this were executed well and i definitely can see myself picking up other works by him. my only complaint was the pacing was a little slow for my preference

I was so happy to see that Fredrick Backman had a new book out, and for a change, I bought the hard cover copy of it, even though I had a copy on NetGalley waiting for me. I've been so busy with getting ready to move, and then moving to a new home as well, which has been quite an adventure, and quite exhausting. .

I absolutely loved reading this, and recommend it - especially to fans of Backman.

There's a lot of charm in these pages!

Many thanks for the opportunity to read this wonderful story!


Pub Date: 06 May 2025

A group of teenagers spends their summer on an abandoned pier where they take solace in their friendship, as they dream of leaving their small town and difficult childhoods. From that friendship comes one of the most famous paintings in the world which, years later, is given to 18-year-old Louisa, an aspiring artist.

After receiving the unexpected item, and struggling with her own feelings of abandonment and homelessness, she embarks on a cross-country journey to find the story behind the painting. What follows is a deep, touching story, of teens forced to grow up too soon, found family, and finding the light in the darkest of times… told as only Backman can write it.

Trigger Warnings
Domestic Violence

Why Kirsten loves it
It took me ages to read this book because of the incredible ruminations on life, love, death, and friendship peppered throughout this treasure of a novel. Numerous times, I would read a sentence, pause, read it again, and then marinate on the token of wisdom that felt like a gift from Backman.

This is not a story to be rushed, but one to be savored. Resoundingly one of my favorites of the year, it’s Backman at his best. #gifted by Simon and Schuster

I was so excited to read this book. The way the story of the friendship years ago gets reignited when it’s being told so many years later is magical. You can see how these friends were truly family for one another. Highly recommend!

Just dive into this one. What appears to be a simple story on the surface quietly unfolds into something far richer and more resonant. At its core, it’s about four friends who find solace and a sense of home in each other as they navigate the complexities of their own lives. But this story grows beyond them—it becomes an artwork in itself, one that deeply touches others, like Louisa, for whom the story becomes truly life-altering.

The author has an extraordinary way with words—never relying on overwrought prose or flashy language, but instead crafting sentences that are deceptively simple and deeply meaningful. So many lines are gems, worth pausing over, worth rereading. Without ever feeling heavy-handed, the book explores grief, belonging, family, friendship, and the purpose of life in terms that feel achingly real and profoundly relatable.

The dual timelines add another layer of intrigue, gently revealing where the characters are now and how their past shaped them.

A true masterpiece: quiet, powerful, and unforgettable.

Fredrik Backman is such an auto-buy author for me. I was worried this one wouldn't live up to my love of Beartown but I was wrong! This book is beautiful, I laughed out loud and cried. Backman as always, manages to make me feel every emotion when I read his work. The observations on life, death, grief, and friendship in this book was incredible and personally, it hit close to home for me.

I loved everything about this book. It amazes me how the little tidbits he wrote about each character was enough that I felt each character in the stories was fully developed and I cared about them all! Beautiful work. Tragically wonderful story

Fredrik Backman does it again, this time, leaving my jaw a bit on the floor. This is a beautiful friendship story and holds some of the best characters I've read all year. I absolutely loved it and was incredibly moved by it.

As always, Fredrik Backman never ceases to amaze me with how talented of a writer he is. This book was a bit more introspective than his others, and it felt like a book that Backman needed to write for himself. It's filled with observations on life, death, grief, art, friendship, and love. In true Backman fashion, he struck a fairly good balance of levity and seriousness, though this book had more of a melancholy tone than most of his others. As always his characters are what really stood out with this one. You can't help but love them all. Overall, this isn't my favorite Backman book but it's still really good and he remains one of my favorite authors of all time.

I didn’t love it, but it’s not a bad book. My biggest complaint is that I think it’s trying so hard to be profound and poignant that it ends up kind weird and overbearing. A lot of the characters are almost a caricature which breaks any illusion of realism. Which is all totally fine because I think it’s all on purpose, but this book is just not really for me.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a quiet, layered reflection on grief, love, and the complicated beauty of friendship. His writing is as introspective as ever, with moments that feel like someone reaching across the page to hold your hand. It’s less plot-driven and more like sitting with someone as they try to make sense of everything they've lost and everything that still matters. If you've loved his previous books, especially Anxious People or A Man Called Ove, this one will hit you in a different, softer way.

It seems like the only backman books I really enjoy/love are his Beartown serried. I didn’t love anxious people or a man called over when I read them. My Friends was also just okay to me. His writing style is VERY good. He has such a way with words and turning them into human emotion that so many people resonate with. I just don’t seem to connect with his books like I want to.

So many people have loved this book, so if you want to read it, and have loved his books in the past, I say still give it a chance! Just because it didn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for you!

This book completely consumed me. Like all of Fredrik Backman’s work, My Friends stayed with me long after I turned the last page. It was so beautifully written, raw, tender, and full of emotion. I could see every scene play out in my mind like a movie I didn’t want to end. Backman has a way of capturing the depth of human connection in a way that feels both intimate and universal. Absolutely unforgettable.

Fredrick Backman never disappoints! Told in the present and flashbacks, we meet the artist and learn about his friends and the summer he created a life-changing work of art. Funny, beautiful, full of heart.

Thank you so much @AtriaBooks for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 06 May 2025)

SYNOPSIS | Louisa is an 18-year-old orphan who is grieving the loss of her best friend (Fish) when she breaks into an art auction in the hopes of seeing a world-famous painting. After this, she meets Ted who is a 39-year-old man grieving the loss of his best friend ('the artist'). As they travel to his hometown, he begins to tell her the story that led to the creation of the world-famous painting.

WHAT I LIKED:
- Backman's writing style (& his ability to bring humor to heavy topics) is impeccable
- such a heartwarming yet gut-wrenching story chock full of quirky characters that you can't help but fall in love with
- I don't annotate books but ooof this story had so many perfect quotes & moments that I wanted to remember later
- the fact I laughed out loud, shed some tears and somehow managed to feel nostalgic about a childhood summer that I never experienced
- "I love you and I trust you"

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- that I have to wait to get my hands on another Backman story!

I absolutely adored My Friends, the latest book by master storyteller Fredrik Backman. And as much as I loved the book, I loved the character of Louisa even more. As with all of Backman’s stories, the characters come alive adding multitudes to the plot, theme and story. So few authors today can so beautifully pen humanity and give life to their characters so thoroughly and naturally. Thank you for such a great book that I will recommend highly throughout the year.

Every once in a while, a book comes along and takes hold of your mind and heart. My Friends by Fredrik Backman has done that to me. This book tops the list as my favorite Backman novel. It's still early in the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is the best book I read this year. If you couldn't tell, I loved it. I am not sure there's an author out there who writes such real and complex characters the way Fredrik Backman does. Everything just worked with My Friends. The dual timeline, likable characters, unlikely friendship, pacing of the story, heartfelt and funny. It's a story you want to race through, but also read slowly to savor it. Well done. Happy Publication Day to @backmansk!

It was a pleasure and an honor to read an advanced digital copy. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher.