Another amazing study of human character by one of the bests. Backman creates the realest of real people stumbling their way through life while finding its meaning in each other. I fell in love with these friends - new and old - and the lessons they taught each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. This is the new Frederik Backman, which for most people, is enticement enough to pick it up, without even a plot summary. However, this is a story told in two timelines— one in the past about a trio of young, male friends and one in the present, as one of the friends reckons with his life experiences alongside Louisa, a young teen who is struggling to find her own way.

I want to preface this by saying that I’ve enjoyed every other book by this author that I’ve read. However, this one was just not it for me. I think these might just be my own issues with the book but, I really struggled to get into it. From the first few pages, the author was using the present circumstances of the book to demonstrate messages about wealth, youth, just life in general… I appreciated this to start with but, after a while it just felt like it was too much. I recognize that the plot isn’t one that’s necessarily intended to move so quickly but, I just found these points made this too slow for me and I struggled through. I also struggled a lot with Louisa’s character; her dialogue felt way too immature for someone her age and someone who’s gone through as much trauma as she has.

Overall, I appreciate the story being told here but, the execution just felt like a weird mash of bouncing between being slow and profound, being immature and youthful, and deciding whether to move the plot or impart a wisdom— it just didn’t work for me. But, I think the book will definitely strike a chord with some readers— there are some beautiful lines and the characters, especially the young trio of friends, is very sweet. They’re easy to root for and there’s a warm feeling that accompanies this story that many readers will look for and find.

I look forward to seeing others thoughts on this one and hope other readers enjoy!

I have read every Fredrik Backman novel and I have loved every single one.
'My Friends' was such a gift and I still get an ache in my chest when I think about the book. This book has the same charm and wittiness that is found in Backman's other works. I felt all of the emotions when reading this book and I shed many tears while holding on hope for Ted and Louisa to find their happy ending. I loved how Backman realistically portrayed the violence and betrayal that the children faced throughout the novel, and especially how incredibly hopeful the prose was. I think he was artful in his descriptions of trauma and about the slow, and sometimes never ending process of overcoming fears. The characters were also so well-fleshed out with their quirks and personalities. I loved Louisa's vulnerability and also her child-like joy at hearing stories, especially love stories. Ted's big heart and the relationship the four friends had was so heartwarming and just filled me with hope. The overarching themes of art and the power of creativity and love are also so well nuanced and I just felt like I was enveloped in a big hug reading this novel. 'My Friends' is a book I will be thinking about for a long time and it is one of my favorite novels by Fredrik Backman.

Thank you so so much NetGalley and Atria Books for the honor of reading 'My Friends' and the opportunity to meet Ted, Louisa, Joar, Kimkim, and Ali.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman follows two characters whose lives end up uniquely entwined after an event that occurs very early in the book. Louisa is an orphan who has recently run away from her foster home and Ted is the best friend of a prestigious artist that Louisa really admires. While they are trying to sort their lives, Ted begins telling Louisa about a particular summer 25 years earlier when he and the artist were 14 and what happened to inspire the artist’s first painting.

This is a beautiful story in typical Backman fashion. There is a past and present storyline that weave together really well, a cast of unforgettable characters, and a lot of life lessons. One thing I love about Backman is his ability to write emotions and feelings that can be hard to describe in a way that is easy to understand and relate to.

I found myself tearing up several times while reading this book. It is an emotional story but it’s also charming and funny. I think if someone was wanting to start reading books by this author, this would be an excellent place to start.

My only issue is that Louisa reads a bit young for 18. This may just be because of the translation but I kept thinking that she was more in the 14-15 age range, especially since the past timeline features characters that are those ages.

I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read more from this author. I always enjoy his stories.

This book!! Backman’s writing is just so lush - there’s nothing like it. The humor, the feelings, the humanity in every scene and every piece of dialogue… they all make his stories so much more tender and believable.

This is a story about an orphan girl named Louisa. It’s also a story about an artist and his childhood friends. It’s told creatively from the artist’s friend Ted as an adult, and he’s telling the story to Louisa. The memories, flashbacks, dreams, and wishes come pouring out so naturally, as does a very convincing commentary on art and love. I cried multiple times throughout the book, equally from my love of Backman’s writing and the nostalgia it invokes, but also for the characters he pours so much life into. I want to be friends with them, you know?

This is definitely my favorite Fredrik Backman book... by far. However, it still features many of his trademarks--down and out characters who band together to form close bonds and help each other in ways they never knew they needed help.

Louisa is a foster kid with nobody to call her own and she somehow ends up inserting herself into the story of an artist and his closest friends, both in the past and very much in the present.
I love the way the time jumps around, the perspectives change and my perspective on each character changed along with it.

Well written, well-developed characters, and a satisfying ending. Just a LITTLE too long, so I'd say 4.5 stars overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication date: May 6.

I have loved almost every Fredrik Backman book I have read (except Anxious People) and was really excited to get to read his latest in advance!

I loved this book! I do really love books about found family and this one is so heartwarming. Although it also incorporates a lot of tragedy, it is so uplifting. It’s really just a beautiful story of friendship. The whole books feels somehow mystical or dreamy as we look into the past of the summer the group of friends turned 15. I could picture the town so vividly and loved their friendship and bonds so much. It shows how much friends can save each other.

The ending was perfection and I love when a book’s ending does it justice.

I don’t think this can overtake Beartown as my favorite of the author’s but it was up there. If you haven’t read Fredrik Backman, it’s time to grab one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

It saddens me to say that I think I'm losing interest in Fredrik Backman's novels. I think My Friends will be very popular, but for me it was up and down, and mostly boring. The stuff about the art just didn't hold my attention at all. I finished it but just barely. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This was heartbreakingly beautiful and precious. By chapter two, my heart was steadily aching; by 15%, my tear ducts were activated. This was an emotionally draining story, but well worth the read.

Not everyone has the advantage and luck of getting to grow up in a stable, nurturing, and loving home. To be loved, to be understood, to be heard, are what all children want and need. Unfortunately there are broken homes and broken parents out there incapable of providing that. This story brought together four of these such unfortunate teenagers, and showed us how their love and friendship saved them and gave them the push to continue each day. From the promises of tomorrow, and the declaration of “I love you and I trust you”, and the many laughs and moments throughout the story, I was right there with these kids laughing, crying, and cheering them on.

At one point in this story, it is described that bookshelves are filled with imaginary friends. I gained four imaginary pals from this story. What more could I ask for?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Bravo! Fredrick Backman does it again! Although this book started a little slowly for me, once I was hooked it was mesmerizing. Backman is an author who has the ability to write such different stories that one doesn't feel like he or she is reading rechurned stories. This book made me laugh and cry, and also surprised me at many turns. Don't assume you know what is going to happen! The characters are deeply developed, and pull the reader in. I loved how Bachman developed his characters, tying in past, present, and future settings. Thank you to Netgalley for this free ebook in exchange for a free review. This is a book that I will buy immediately upon release to have on my shelf and read again.

I have been a longtime fan of Fredrik Backman's writing since the publisher sent me an early copy of Beartown and I had never felt so immersed in a story. Since that day in 2016, I've read all of his other books and was so fortunate enough to meet him on his last book tour in Ontario in 2022 (see the pic on the right!).

I didn't even really know much about what My Friends was about before starting it, but I was quickly very swept up in the story of Louisa and the art postcard she's carried around for years. There's a cast of characters here that we meet slowly as the story unfolds, but the connection that I felt to all of them was sudden and intense. This story doesn't shy away from hard topics, much like most of his books. There are some definite trigger warnings that I'll include in the comments but the heaviness of some of the topics was also infused with humor, poignant observations about life and humanity, and hope.

This book features a train/other transportation journey with two unlikely companions with very different personalities and world views. I love how Backman likes to thrust a tightly wound anxious character into a situation with a vibrant and chatty over-sharer. It's been the theme of a few of his books and it just makes for such a stark contrast in the human condition lol. The intergenerational connections between the characters was a delightful experience to read about and the ending absolutely blew me away.

Honestly, I think this book is one of his best. So many of his books hold a special place in my heart especially the Beartown trilogy and A Man Called Ove but this one had me in tears and laughing and highlighting a passage on almost every page. I was so grateful to have @booksforthedavisfam to text while I was reading and I loved reliving the experience through @hsumanityreads this week :) I completely plan to set aside time to listen to the audiobook in early May when it's out and sink back into this breathtaking story.

So far this is probably my top read of the year and a very easy 5 stars from me even with my high expectations.

This book was serious so lovely. It's only my second Fredrik Backman novel but I'm so looking forward to reading his other ones now. This was a really touching and honest portrayal of friendship and love and art. It was funny and it was sad which is sneakily one of my favorite combinations. I remember when I was reading Anxious People that there were quotes that would just immediately make me cry and this book had no shortage of them. This book seriously takes you on a beautiful journey of a group of friends and is so deep and emotional and touching. Love!

This book is a prime example of why Fredrik Backman is my favorite author. If he writes it, I'll read it. As always, his characters, his words, his insight into human nature are profound and real to the core. The friendships portrayed in his story are the kind we hope for...full of loyalty, love, laughter, disagreements, and trust. They are friendships based on heart, not age. They don't waver based on location or time. They're the kind that change you, and go with you wherever you go. This is a book that will make you laugh, make you cry and definitely touch your heart.

If you want details of the book, I'm sure you can find another review that delves into the plot and characters, but sometimes it's nice to discover a story without a preconceived idea and allow it to open up before you. That's what I recommend here. You won't regret it.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC for an honest review.

"Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people."

Teenagers on a pier, in that last moment before have to grow up. Memorialized forever in the form a painting. This painting is so beautiful, that many people love it. It is in the moment that this painting that is being show in an art house for an auction is the catalyst to a whole host of people and moments colliding together. That is our story.

I love this author. I always know the story is going to be beautiful - beautifully written with amazing characters that are both flawed and perfect. I was scared to start this one - because I knew it would emotionally wreck me, but I was so excited and scared to miss out - because I love this author's work.

In the end, it's another beautiful story that made me laugh, cry and remember what it is to be human. It's messy and ugly and beautiful and so amazing. Thank you, Mr. Backman. Another amazing story.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is an homage to friendship. The story narrates the life of four friends and that one summer where everything was perfect before having to deal with the realities of life and adulthood. It’s a piece of art in itself and a very very long train ride.

This is was my first Backman novel and I can now understand why a lot of people enjoy his books. As the story unfolds in the most natural ways, you fall in love with the characters and feel like you’re sitting in that pier with them enjoying the summer sun and feeling the breeze. The way it’s written is simple, yet it has a very big impact on the reader. One second you will be laughing out loud by how simple a teenagers mind can be, the other you will be crying because of the way adulthood sometimes feels like it’s joyless. And it’s a ride where you’ll be up and down emotionally but ultimately feel that warmth that we all crave, that feeling of belonging, of finding your people.

This was such an amazing story and I can’t wait for it to come out!

I guess 2025 is the year that all of my favorite authors decided to flop? This simply cannot be the same man who wrote Beartown!! It was like someone asked AI to re-write A Little Life. It’s way too long, the characters felt flat and the writing was juvenile. Has anyone in this book ever felt a normal amount of emotion? Everyone is always “crying so hard that tears stained their shirt” or “laughing so hard they fell in a bush”. Calm down! Ugh! So disappointing.

This was a really moving story about four friends and their journey. I laughed and cried! I really enjoyed this. I thought this book was really well written, it is very poetic. This would be a good pick for a Book Club!

Fredrik Backman is a master in empathy building, and as usual, he always makes the reader put on the characters' shoes. In this case, a teenager girl. First, you can see her distress and unconventional behavior, and then you find out the story behind.

I like the way he centers the reader's attention toward youth. New generations are now more exposed to more risks, and there are more cases of anxiety and depression.

There were times during the book that I was thinking the novel is more for a younger audience or for parents of children at this age but then, I was back to care for the characters and think on the youth, in the crisis some might be suffering.

This is a novel about friendship, fears, and trust. In this novel, characters are full of fears because of traumatic events, but in the hard moments of their lives, they haven't been alone.

If you are interested in reading this, consider that throughout the novel there is a story to be revealed and it gives you hints to draw your own conclusions but as the novel keeps going it changes direction on and on. So be patient. That was one of the things I enjoyed less, but I guess it's part of the author's sense of humor. The use of language is simple and easy to follow, and the dialogues were according to the characters' ages, but sometimes they were too plain or goofy.

Reading Fredrik Backman is always enjoyable, but I couldn't love this as much as
A Man Called Ove and Anxious People. I think if you like Beartown, you'd like this one too.

Publication Date: May 6th, 2025

Thank you, Atria Books, for the digital ARC via Netgalley.

I did not realize how emotional of a book I was signing up for!! I loved what I read but due to me dealing with grief in my life, I was only able to read 50% of this book. I just know that one day I will come back to it and reading about the friendship and grief will fix me. I’m giving it 5 stars even though I did not finish it because I loved what I read and it was just my personal grief journey that stopped me from being able to keep reading the rest for now.

Unlike most of the readers who have left reviews for this book, I have never read another book by Fredrik Backman. Because of this, I believe I went into this book not knowing what to expect, and therefore I was able to take it at face value.

When we first meet Louisa, an 18 year old aspiring artist, she is crashing an art auction in the hopes of seeing her favorite work of art, the world famous "The One of the Sea," by C. Jat. The fact that none of the people at the auction seem to understand the painting frustrates her, because no matter what the title is, Louisa know it's not a painting of the sea, Most people miss the fact that there are four tiny people at the end of the pier, and this must be what the painting is really about. Louisa longs to learn more about the story of the painting. Who are these people? Why did C.Jat paint them this way, so that they practically disappear into all the blue of the sea and of the sky?

That's all you're going to get from me as far as revealing the story, because to me, this setup in the first chapter also gives us a clue that many people miss. This is not a book about friends. Like the four figures disappearing into the painting, this story is about something much deeper. It's about love, and trust, and the power of art to be the catalyst for the magic that brings these four souls together and binds them in a way that most of us never experience.

"I love you, and I trust you." This phrase, when spoken by one of the characters, lets us know that, for these damaged souls whose lives are full of pain, fear, and violence, the act of trust is even more difficult, and more difficult to share, than the act of love. Backman is the omniscient narrator, able to frame the story for the reader in a way that exposes not only the characters' stories, but universal truths as well. Love and trust don't always end up as happy endings, but they do end up with bonds that transcend their individual circumstances. Art is the medium that helps it all happen..

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I'm a sucker good writing and characters whose lives are transformed by art, and so for me this one was pretty close to perfect.