Backman is masterful! Definitely one to recommend and will likely be with me for a long time. Simply put, t has all the things you want in a good read. Perfect for book clubs and any age reader! I bet it will be on all the best of 2025 lists; yes, it's that good!

Wow! Fredrik Backman has done it again. He is one of my favorite authors and still can surprise me with such beautiful books. I think this is one of my favorite reads from this year. I absolutly loved this.

I have such conflicting feelings about this. On the one hand, so much of the writing was excellent. So many moving quotes or just fantastic lines. The book made me tear up several times from the way something was written or the exact, simply stated emotion and how relatable and heartbreaking it was. For so many reasons, this was Backman at his best.

...but then it would also be Backman at his worst. Some of the stuff in this book was so incredibly annoying. I think Backman has somehow never spoken to a teenager and, weirdly, a 39 year old. Every. Single. Age related quip or ancedote or thought in this book was ridiculous. The way the 18 year old Louisa thought about "old" 39 year olds (newsflash, I was 18 once, my every thought about 39 year olds was not about how ridiculously old they were), or how the 39 year old Ted thought about Louisa, himself, or his friends, it was all just very weird and did not feel like how people think. Worse, they would think the exact same, which is so odd. Example, Ted sneezes three times in a row. Louisa thinks when you're old, you can never sneeze just one time. One second later, Ted says he misses how when he was young, he would sneeze once instead of multiple times. Why would both of these people think this super weird, specific, not true thing? I definitely sneezed more than once at 18 😂 the book was LITTERED with stuff like this.

Another annoying thing is that the entire book refers to one character as "the artist". The artist the artist the artist. And then randomly reveals his name near the end of the book. For nothing. No impact. Why did I have to spend so much of the book hearing about THE ARTIST then?

But those grievances aside, the book is just so emotionally impactful. The story is a mediation on art, on friendship, on how those friends we make when we are at our lowest are our strongest bonds and get us through life, how grief and regret shape the arc of our lives. So many things to think about. I also loved the ending. Backman has an effortless way of making you invested in character's emotional lives.

8/10

I will always love Fredrick Backmans books. He writes with such heart and wit. I loved this and it’s another 5 stars from me :)

This was interesting! But unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the characters as much as I wanted. There was a lot of heart in this that was very obvious, and seeing how all the different characters connected over art and stories was sweet.

Thank you to the publisher for a gifted copy of this book.

Fredrik Backman is so so talented. This book is definitely no rainbows and butterflies. There are some hard things these kids went through but somehow Backman also made the story feel hopeful. There were so many great quotes to highlight, I just adore his writing!

In My Friends, Fredrik Backman delivers a moving and quietly powerful story about art, memory, and the deep imprint of friendship. At its heart is Louisa, a young artist who becomes captivated by three small, nearly unnoticed figures tucked into the edge of a famous seascape painting. While most people see only waves and sky, Louisa senses something more—an untold story waiting to be discovered.

The novel traces back twenty-five years to a quiet coastal town, where a group of teenagers form an unbreakable bond during a single, transformative summer. Escaping fractured home lives, they spend their days on an abandoned pier, finding laughter, solace, and purpose in each other. Their friendship becomes a lifeline—and eventually, the inspiration for a remarkable piece of art.

Years later, the painting falls unexpectedly into Louisa’s hands. Determined to uncover its origins, she sets off on a cross-country journey filled with surprises and emotional revelations. What she learns reshapes not only her understanding of the painting, but also her sense of self and what it means to truly connect with others.

Backman’s storytelling is tender and resonant, capturing the beauty of small moments and the long shadows cast by our most meaningful relationships. My Friends is a heartfelt tribute to how art preserves the spirit of those we love—and how friendship, no matter how fleeting, can echo across a lifetime.

All of the stars and then some for My Friends, Fredrik Backman’s new masterpiece. You can’t read this in one sitting because you desperately won’t want it to ever end….

Louisa is almost eighteen, almost homeless, and has no idea that her life is about to take a monumental turn when she’s discovered vandalizing property with the most beautiful art that a fellow creative genius has ever seen. So begins the story of an unlikely friendship and the retelling of decades-old bonds that brought the most gorgeously flawed and deeply lovable characters together.

This is an unforgettable tribute to the power of friendship and the true meaning of art. For a bunch of kids who believed they meant nothing, they sure did change the world for everyone around them… and that’s the magic that Fredrik Backman’s words hold for his readers.

No one tells a story as rich in characters and emotions as Fredrik Backman. My Friends is a journey of young love, rebellion, and how we life can take unexpected turns!

I haven’t read every Backman novel, but years ago when my dad shared A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, I really grew to enjoy his writing. When I saw this book was coming out, I was eager to jump at the chance to read it—and it didn’t disappoint!

Like all of his books, My Friends is laced with comical scenes and humorous writing. The characters, like usual, are so unique and quirky. They’re familiar, like friends or people you’d know yourself—especially Ted and Louisa, our storytellers. Following Ted, a middle aged man, and Louisa, a teenage girl, as they journey together to a sea town Ted calls home, they return to deal with a painting that has linked them. As they journey home, Ted shares the story of his friendship with the artist of the painting and their childhood gang. Throughout the anecdotes, the struggles that built and burned the friends are shared, leading to the end where we see what life has had in store for them since, and what will follow.

Backman does a masterful job tying the stories and characters together in the end with a satisfying, warm and fuzzy note. Another solid read for anyone who loves friendship, multiple perspectives, and plot twists!

There’s something about Backman that I find deeply cathartic. He captures the human experience like no one else can. Even the smallest observations feel profound. His characters are unapologetically messy, and he lets them exist in that messiness with so much compassion and truth.

In My Friends, Backman celebrates the beauty of friendship. If you’ve ever found your “tribe,” you’ll see yourself in Joar, Ted, Ali, the Artist, and 25 years later, the addition of Louisa—a found family built on vulnerability, loyalty, and love.

Themes I loved:
✨Grief: “Grief is a selfish bacteria, it demands all of our attention.”
✨Belonging: “Perhaps knowing you are enough for one person goes a long way.”
✨Found family: “…it’s impossible to return home now, he realizes, because home was his people.”
✨Art: “Art doesn’t need critics, art has enough enemies already. Art needs friends.”
✨Dreams: “Tell me, what is your plan to do with your wild and precious life?”
✨Mental health rep: “Nothing weighs more than someone else’s belief in you.”

It’s funny and tender - a love letter to art, connection, and the kind of friends who always show up. “I love you and I trust you.”

🎧 Narration Note: Marin Ireland. Enough said! The voices she gave Louisa and Ted completely captivated me. I never would’ve imagined those voices on my own, but now they’re the only ones I hear. She brought them to life so perfectly.

Final Verdict: 👍 1000% YES. This one’s going on the re-read shelf!

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A story of love, friendship, found family, and a touch of mystery, My Friends is one of those books that sticks with you long after the last page. It just might be my new favorite Backman.
Set in a blue-collar town where dreams rarely come true, we follow four childhood friends—Ted, Ali, Joar, and the one known only as The Artist. Forming a deep connection over their neglectful home lives, their world shifts one summer when Joar pushes The Artist to enter an amateur art competition that changes everything.

Fast forward twenty years, and we meet Louisa—a smart, streetwise girl raised in foster care, now on the run after trying to vandalize The Artist’s most iconic piece, a piece that has actually been meaningful to her for just about her entire life. When she literally collides with The Artist in the midst of fleeing, it sparks a chain of events that will alter her life, as well as Ted’s, and leave a lasting impression long after The Artist is gone.

🎨 This one had a slow start for me, but by the end, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself completely pulled into these characters’ lives—their relationships were so beautifully woven, it almost felt like I was part of their circle.

🎨 The dual timelines added a layer of mystery that kept me on my toes, and I loved how each thread came full circle by the end. Backman didn’t shy away from the tough stuff, which gave this an authentic coming of age feel.

🎨 The beauty of this book was in its simplicity. Backman told a heartfelt story full of life’s highs and lows with so much empathy and care. I loved the dynamic between the four friends, and Ted and Louisa’s relationship had me laughing out loud more than once. This one gave me ALL the feels!

Fredrik Backman is a master of writing about adolescent friendships. My Friends begins with a famous painting, a foster child and an artist's friend. Louisa, on the cusp of 18, is trying to avoid another foster placement. She sees more than most people when she looks at a famous painting.  To some, it may just be an image of three teens bonding on a pier but Louisa knows there is more to the story about a reclusive artist and that group of friends. 

This was a beautiful story of friendship, resiliency and life imitating art.  For the first half of the book, it seemed like Backman was writing his farewell novel due to the similarities between The Artist and him.

THIS BOOK!! I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I texted so many friends who were also reading, or about to read, this novel - I didn't want it to end and I felt like I was with these characters on every page. Fredrik Backman continues to be one of the greatest writers of our time. Absolutely beautiful, thoughtful, heartbreaking and heartwarming - all at the same time. Don't miss this one!!

4 - 4.25 stars

This was my first Frederik Backman book and it took me a bit to get a feel for the pacing of the book. I enjoyed the full circle story with all of the cast of characters we meet along the way. I found the middle to be a little slow when it seemed like one bad thing after another (I was distraught about the ashes for so long until the end). But, I overall really enjoyed the stories (dual timeline and all of the smaller stories within). I also appreciated all of the messages about art and its beauty.

I will definitely be reading another book by Frederik Backman.

I am not sure how to describe this. Louisa is a teenager about to age out of foster care who sneaks into an art exhibit to see in person the painting that has gotten her through a very difficult life. After a chance encounter with the artist, she ends up on a journey with one of his childhood friends because of the painting, and the friend, Ted, tells the story of how it came to be. This was a bit of a melancholy story early on, with the feeling of heavy, sad things to come, but by the end, it was terrific and lovely. This is my favorite book of the year so far. 5 stars.

Told in typical Backman style, heartbreaking yet hopeful. It took me longer than I wanted to read this because I was struggling with my mental health but I did really enjoy it.

My Friends felt disappointing and unlike the compelling stories I expected from Fredrik Backman. The plot dragged in places, and I struggled to connect with the characters on a deeper level. It seemed repetitive and lacked the emotional impact that his other books usually deliver. Overall, it didn’t live up to the promise and left me feeling underwhelmed.

4.5 ugly cried reading this heartbreaking and gorgeo4.5 ugly cried reading this heartbreaking and gorgeously written one of my favorite from Backman so far

My Friends is an endearing examination of friendship which concentrates on a painting by a soon to be world-wide and famous painter among the group. Looking at the relationships among the four teenage friends and also the rather brutal home life of several of them, family and character development grow in importance. There is hope, grief, trauma, and loss as well as humor and kindness in relationships.

When the artist, toward the end of his brief life, determines to leave his famous, brilliant, and infinitely valuable painting to 18-year-old Louisa, it thrusts her into a growing and affectionate relationship with Ted, her elder by about 20 years. Through Ted, Louisa hears many stories that encapsulate the nature of the interactions among the "friends" and their hi jinks over the years.

My Friends moved a bit slowly at times, and the frequent mention of crepitations occasionally grows a bit tiresome. There is also quite bit of parental violence but at the same time, a lot of parental affection. The interweaving of the sometimes complex plot and the strength of the sometimes astonishing friendships is compelling and moving. The book is long but at the same time its strength is the power of relationships that never ebbs.

Thanks to Atria Books and Net Gallery for the opportunity to read this book.