The story telling in this book was so beautiful. You meet these beautiful flawed characters and learn about their struggles, their love, their pain. you will laugh; you will cry. You will think “why did I subject myself to this?” I loved this book, I loved the way it analyzed friendship, grief, and the way we are as teenagers. Another masterpiece by Bachman.

Once again, Backman has bright to life characters that make us laugh and cry. His storytelling knows no bounds.

Fredrik Backman's "My Friends" is an absolutely fantastic read. I laughed, I cried, I'm pretty sure I felt the entire spectrum of human emotions. Backman has a way of writing about the human experience that makes you feel so deeply connected to every character. I fell in love with his prose when reading "Beartown," and "My Friends" only made me love it more. This book does cover some intense topics, in true Backman fashion, but he does so in such a beautiful way. I had to deduct one star simply because there were a few plot points I think should have been expanded upon more and others that I thought were drawn out too much. That being said, I think all of Backman's books are instant classics and everybody should read one of his at least once in their life.

I just finished Fredrik Backman's newest book. I cried because I was finished; I cried because of the beauty of this book. Just read it. Backman, a literary genius, has written another story that will live with me for a long time. His themes of friendship, humanity, and acceptance of one another and ourselves are timeless. I can't recommend this book enough. Ten stars. My top book of the year. Not sure another will be able to take its place.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

There is nothing like the friends you have when you are young. They are there for all of the trials and tribulations of growing up. The characters in this story crawl into your heart and you root for them as they overcome loss.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a tender and insightful exploration of friendship, connection, and the complexities of human relationships. The story follows a group of friends who, despite their differences, share an unbreakable bond that shapes their lives. Backman’s writing is filled with warmth, humor, and emotional depth, capturing the nuances of both the joy and the challenges of friendship. With its relatable characters and heartfelt moments, My Friends is a beautifully crafted reminder of the importance of meaningful relationships in our lives.

“You mustn’t think about the fact that it might end, because then you live like a coward, you never love too much or sing too loudly”.

Backman books are never meant to be a binge where you’re quickly flipping the pages and not taking it in. He’s become an author who uses his words not only as a story but rather a commentary on life… or people I should say.

This novel just jumped to my favourite of his. The unravelling of an unlikely friendship between an 18 yr old and a 39 yr old who just lost “their human”. They had ‘funeral in their eyes’ and walls around the heart but inch by inch, the connection began.

It was Louisa, straight out of foster care, with an artist’s heart, who stumbles upon a homeless man with secrets of his own. It was the painting of 3 friends that drove her to distraction. Whose grief took second place in her mission to see the painting.

And it’s the painting that ended up giving the family they all needed.

Poetic writing & beautiful friendships plus a few trigger moments that show the “why” they are the way they are. This book isn’t just about friendships that last a lifetime, it’s about resilience and trust; connection and love.

In the way that “Beartown” wasn’t really about hockey, “My friends” isn’t really about the art.

I highlighted a lot of passages, soaking it all in. Reminding myself that literary fiction can be beautifully done without being boring. Or being “talked to”. It’s books like these that dig deep in your heart and make you want to wrap your arms around each of them.

Ted, Louisa, Joar, Ali and ‘the artist’: characters that hold an endless sea of emotions and profound connections.

Easiest 5 ⭐️ I’ve given in awhile.

Ps. The friendship between Joar and the artist reminded me of “Good Will Hunting” and the friendship between Ben & Matt’s characters.

I finished this book maybe half an hour ago and I’ve just been sitting down letting it sink in. Wow, I was introduced to Backman through his Beartown series and anxious people and My Friends cements him as one of my favorite authors. I had to select almost all the “moods” options to describe this book because what a rollercoaster of emotion. Backman is a master at writing that feels so simple yet packs such an emotional punch. This books makes you laughs, makes you cry, and makes you yearn for the simple yesteryears of adolescence and examine where you are in life now. Simply powerful.

So, I seem to be in the minority, but this is not my favorite Backman book. I just couldn’t seem to get connected to the story or characters. But part of that, I think, is how I read this book. I think Backman’s books always need to be audio for me. I think something extra gets lost in translation for me when I try to eyeball read him. Aside from all that, I did enjoy the premise and the found family aspect. And as always, I love how there’s so many profound life lessons woven in to the story. Those get me, every single time. He gets almost a full star just for that. This is one I’ll definitely be rereading, just on audio next time.

This is the best book he has ever written! I needed this book. I laughed, I cried and went through all of the emotions. It is raw and needs to be read by everyone. It has friendship, love, grief, jokes, and more!

This is rising to the top of by Backman Favorite Title's list, and I've loved them all. As a "world famous artist" dies, he plots to sell everything he owns to repurchase his first and most famous painting. At the auction for that work is a young drifter about to be 18 for whom the painting has been a touchstone. He decides to gift her the painting, and she then accompanies the artist's friend to their hometown by the sea on an adventurous journey while relating the painting's backstory. True to Backman's style, there are many twists and turns, the assumptions youmake are challenged in the end, and there will be tears. Delightful, again, rising to the top of my entrenched favorites!!!

Another brilliant read from Fredrik Backman. This book had me in tears pretty much every page. He has this masterful talent of being able to rip the reader's soul into shreds in such a remarkable way that one can't stop reading. His flawed but oh so beautiful characters can't not be loved. Such a simple but devastatingly gorgeous story that will replay in your mind for a long time.

I have always been a fan of Fredrik Backman so I was excited to read this one. This story was full of so many different emotions which tend to happen with his books. It really focuses on grief, friendship and love/relationships. You get their backstories from their past and see how they had to live and what went on. Definitely a good book!

Fred is back at it again, writing stories full of hardships but also equally full of heart. Even though I do think his characters and books all kind talk about the same things over and over, and at times it does get repetitive, he does it in such a way that it’s too heartwarming and full of heart for me to dislike it.

As always, there is a cast of characters all with their endearing quirks and personalities. I only wish he would’ve delved in deeper for some of them.

Though I couldn’t help but see the characters of Stand By Me in my mind.

The Artist was Gordie.
Joar was Chris. (I also think Benji Ovich is him too from Beartown)
Ted was Vern.
Ali was Teddy

I do think you have to leave your sense of plausibility at the door when reading most of his stories. Just go with it, don’t question it. Because at its heart, the story is only trying to make you as a reader, feel uplifted and maybe a little lighter than before you read it. I really appreciate that about Fred. He comes from a good place always.

For me, I think this was a solid story and I enjoyed it more than I’ve enjoyed some of this other books. The Beartown series will always be number one for me…sorry nothing is coming between me and the residents of Beartown!!

But I really do think that this was his version of Stand By Me. Because you don’t really ever have friends like you did when you were 12…or 14.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC copy of My Friends by Fredrick Backman.

First, I need to let you know that I LOVE Fredick Backman's books. They are all so heartfelt and deep. The translations are amazing! This book is no different from the rest. Although, this wasn't my favorite one of his, Beartown, Anxious People, and A Man Called Ove, will always have a special place in my heart.

My Friends has a dual timeline where readers follow a group of teenagers as they navigate life in a small town and Louisa and Ted, who start off as strangers, but later become close friends. The story is easy to read and unfolds slowly. There were a few times I laughed, but some of the jokes just fell flat for me. Still, the writing was beautiful, and the story showed how important it is to have people in your life.

This book was 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, because of my love for Backman. I will always give his books a try!

5 stars.

It’s 3:21 AM, and I’m sobbing. And no, this has a happy ending. But it's just so beautiful. I had a lump in my throat throughout the book.

This was my first Fredrik Backman book (I know, right?), and what a beautiful book it is, with beautiful prose, a beautiful world, and beautiful characters. And for me, this book is already breaking a record: it made me ugly cry by chapter 5.

The setting feels so dreamy. In my head, their summer feels like this-so golden and nostalgic, everything green and blue, cicadas humming in the background like a lullaby. It made me want to step right in, live there, breathe their air, be their friend. I stretched this book out, reading it bit by bit, because I didn’t want to leave. Because every time I opened it, it felt like warmth spreading all over me.

Note: Thank you, Atria Books, for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my heavens, Backman has done it again!! My heart. Sobbed at the end of this book, an easy five stars. I feel forever changed.

This book broke my heart in the best possible way—I had to pace myself, reading painfully slowly just to take it all in. It made me feel everything: I laughed out loud, ugly cried, and even made my husband sit down to hear all my annotated quotes.

The bond between these four friends—plus Louisa, discovered 25 years later—is raw, whole, and imperfectly impeccable. One can only dream of a friendship as deep as theirs. Despite enduring so much pain at the hands of those who were supposed to love and protect them, and despite all they have lost, they still found space in their hearts for each other. Their story of unwavering support, through joy and grief, is profoundly moving.

Although I would have liked to know more about Louisa and her best friend, Fish, the other characters were developed with such detail that I felt completely invested in each of them. I cheered for them, braced myself for impact, and held my breath, never knowing if they would make it out. The narrative shifts seamlessly between timelines, weaving past and present together in a way that feels effortless yet deeply impactful.

A standing ovation to Fredrik Backman for crafting such a heartfelt novel and reminding me what life and friendship are truly about.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me the digital ARC.

My Friends is a sad yet satisfying story of friendship. The narrative of four friends during the events twenty-five-years ago, when they were fifteen, is doled out in a now and then format. It’s an origin story of how the artist known as C. Jat came to paint his most famous work The One of the Sea that summer. Ted is supremely irritated, and afraid (natch), that he is the one to tell the tale of the artist, Joar, Ali and himself to eighteen-year-old Louisa. In a way, it’s reminiscent of the film Stand By Me, but the observations and writing style are all Backman. And typical of Backman’s style, you get all the feels. All. The. Feels.

Not a lot happens per se, but you put the book down and you can’t stop thinking about the characters, their insights and most of all their love for one another. There are a lot of passages, quotes and sentiments that will resonate with you and I suspect your copy, like mine, will be heavily highlighted.

***“You can be whatever you want to in life, as long as you don’t become a critic! Not of other people, and not of yourself. It’s so easy to be a critic, any coward can do that. But art doesn’t need critics, art has enough enemies already. Art needs friends.”*** This passage in particular resonated with me. I also get the irony, as I am writing a review of the book. However, My Friends is just that, my friend and I hope it becomes yours as well.

Thank you to publisher, Atria Books, for providing the digital ARC via NetGalley, which I voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of My Friends by Fredrik Backman. It comes out on May 6; go immediately and preorder this gem.

No one writes like Fredrik Backman and this new novel is one of his best. It’s a love letter to the power of art and friendship (not necessarily in that order) and his luminous language captures the feelings and inner thoughts of teenagers living in difficult circumstances that make them grow up too fast.

To give more details about the story would be to ruin it so I’ll just say run to get this book as soon as you can. Five stars.