No one is more surprised by this 3 than me. I love Frederick Backman’s work more than anything. Anxious People and the Beartown series are on my God tier of books. But this one… just didn’t work for me. Backmans writing was beautiful as always but the story itself didn’t grip me like I was hoping it would. It felt slow at times. Even with a story that I didn’t connect with, I still found myself moved because his writing is just that dang good. I’m assuming I’ll be an outlier with this and tons of people will love it! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

Oh my heart!!!! I have been so excited about this one and it didn’t disappoint. This will be at the top of my list for 2025 and it’s only January. Phenomenal. I can’t say enough great things. 10/10! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC, it was truly a pleasure.

I adored this compelling story about friendship, youth and art. Four friends in the summer when they were 14 is told 25 years later to a young artist. The narrative holds a few twists. I will remember these characters for quite some time. Look for this when is it published in May 2025, you won't regret it.

This is perhaps my favorite Backman book, and that is saying something.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the arc!

What can I say about this book? It's a beautifully.told story about friendship, human experiences, grief, hope, and what art can do to a soul. I really enjoyed this story, but the characters are a stand out for me. This is another great one by Backman.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. This is an amazing story. I was drawn in immediately and enjoyed the journey immensely. The quirky characters that became friends and supported each other so well were a great example of true friendship. Louisa and I were both hanging on to every word of the story of their lives as Ted shared it. I was very sad when it ended however I would recommend this book to everyone who has experienced true friendship.

I really wanted this to be a five star review, as I gave for each book of the Beartown series, but for me it was not quite there. I loved that series but none of his other books measure up to them.
My Friends started off strong. I really loved the first third of the book. I enjoy Backman's style, which, admittedly, is different than I see from most other writers. He does capture what it is like to be 14 years old, and as a high school teacher, I appreciate that is no easy feat for most adults. I got a really good sense of the characters in a very sad (almost unbearably so) story. Four teenagers with tragic home lives find one another and form a bond that is so strong that it transcends everything. They are later brought together again by a painting created by one of the teens.
Perhaps it was better than I give it credit for but is so relentless in its depth and sadness that I may have found it hard to take. The Beartown series was also very sad as well but one thing that I think made it a bit easier to read was its sense of place. In the Beartown series, Backman immerses us in the world and those books were as much environment driven as character driven, whereas My Friends was totally character driven. That said, I might try rereading it a little later on to see if I still feel the same way. I would still give this 4.25 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to preview this book.

What a beautiful and heartbreaking story. So much grief and hope, an absolute masterpiece. Never enough good things to say about Backman’s writing. Superb

Thank you to Atria Books and to NetGalley for entrusting in me with an ARC of Fredrick Backman’s latest masterpiece. As my favorite author of all time, I had no doubt that my love for “My Friends” would run deep. I was not disappointed in any way.
We follow Louisa, an artist who had been bounced from foster home to foster home. She suffers a great loss when her best friend and confidant Fish who passed away of an overdose leaving Louisa feeling depressed and abandoned. She decides to fill her backpack with spray paint and hope that she can break into an art auction where a favorite painting of she and Fish was for sale. While she was running from the police, she ran into an elderly homeless man whom she befriends.
This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me grateful to have been raised the way that I was and it also made me miss my best friend of 50 years whom we lost a few short years ago.
Everyone will find a little of themselves in Louisa as this beautiful book continues.
FIVE ABSOLUTELY DESERVED STARS !

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of My Friends. Fredrik Backman's first stand-alone novel in several years was well worth the wait! My Friends has themes of friendship, family/found family, and art. Full of Backman's signature whit, emotion, and lyrical language, I went from laughing to tearing up to wanting to hug my book all within the span of a few sentences. One of my favorite things about Fredrik Backman is that, though being Swedish himself, he doesn't set his books in any specific place. The characters and experiences are so universal, though, you can imagine the book taking place anywhere.

Every single person needs to read this book. What a story! So beautifully written and emotional...I laughed, I cried, I was full of nerves. Every person in this story is important - even the ones without names - and the connections made between characters is incredible. I am so lucky to have been able to read this one early. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

"I love you and I trust you."

Fredrik owes me financial compensation for the tears I shed throughout this story. This was nothing short of being absolutely devastating and I loved every second of the way it killed me.

This story deals a lot with grief and trying to live when your reason for living is no more. Having recently suffered a great loss, everything hit incredibly close to home. He perfectly put into words how I felt and how I was (trying) to deal with it. There were times where the pain became too great that I'd have to put the book down but the story was too beautiful not to continue. I loved that in the midst of all the pain and anguish, there was light. A little joke here and there to remind us that yes, it is hard right now and it'll always be hard, but there will also be times where it doesn't hurt so much and you're reminded that things will be okay. Those we've lost will always be with us and I loved how Backman made that clear through stories and art and silly little games.

I loved the family the friends found amongst one another. The group formed over the years but there was never a "before", it was just them. And losing a few didn't mean the end of them, either. They continued through life, bringing those that were "one of them" into the fold. Showing others that they're not alone in the world and that there are others who see the world as they do. That feel as though they are too much or not enough. Letting them know that there is a future full of light; that the darkness won't always be.

While this was a heartbreaking story, it was also a story of healing, love, trust, and vulnerability. I felt as if I were a part of their lives just as they've become a part of mine.

My first Fredrik Backman novel was insanely perfect and I definitely recommend that everyone read this.

⤷ Fave quotes:

- 'Adults always think they can protect children by stopping them from going to dangerous places, but every teenager knows that's pointless, because the most dangerous place on earth is inside us.'

- 'The only thing we can take for granted is that everyone we have ever met and everyone we have ever known and everyone we have ever loved will die.'

- "Being human is to grieve, constantly."

- 'You don't wish for happiness when you have lost the love of your life, because you can't even imagine ever feeling happy again.'

- 'Until then he hadn't known that grief is physical, an abuse of the living.'

- 'Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people.'

-'...it doesn't matter if life is long or short, it isn't time that's the problem, it's the speed. Far too much happens when you're alive, everything goes so damn fast, how are you supposed to have time to be a human being?'

- 'That's the worst thing about death, that it happens over and over again. That the human body can cry forever.'


Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this arc in exchange for a review!

All the stars! All of them. This book is as emotionally-charged and beautifully-written as we have all come to expect from Backman. It is a hearttbreaking and powerful story about friendship, love, and the meaning of success. Cannot recommend it enough!

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. A beautiful story of young friendship that spans a lifetime. The sacrifices, the humor, the heartache. Each person in this book is given a real life and personality and deep feelings. This one will stick with me. Don’t hesitate to, read this book!

A huge thank you to Fredrik Bachman, NetGalley, and atria books for this ARC!

What a roller coaster of a novel, and one that I think could easily become the best novel of 2025 for me - even though it's only been a week into the new year. I've long loved Fredrik Backman's writing and "My Friends" has solidified the many reasons he's been one of my favorite authors.

The novel takes us across two different timelines; in the present, a young runaway named Louise has left the orphanage a day before her 18th birthday with the intent to see, first-hand, the famed painting known as "On the Sea" by a renowned painter known a C. Jat. For Louisa, it is work deeply personal to her as she's kept a postcard of it at her side for most of her life, and being a talented artist herself, she's able to see the many layers beneath its surface brushstrokes. A series of unexpected events follow, and Louisa suddenly finds herself the sole owner of the famed painting, and must embark on a journey with it in tow - as well as a chance to learn more about the painter and the origins of his work.

Twenty five years earlier, there was a group of friends - the artist: a quiet, misunderstood genius easily bullied at school; Joar: a loud, brazen child whose love and loyalty to his mother and his friends knew know bounds; Ted: the sensitive reader who lived in the basement of his home after his father's cancer diagnosis; and Ali: the impulsive and witty girl of the group who's masked a tragic past of abuse with her tough outer exterior. Each of these children have had their unfair share of tragedy and heartache, but find joy and solace in each other and their regular meetings at the pier with the promise of "Tomorrow!". The group becomes focused on an upcoming art competition, encouraging the artist to create a work for the opportunity to leave their current home for fame and success - and the ensuing adventures that follow their attempts solidifies their friendship even further.

These two storylines converge on the present, creating a masterpiece that pulls together a story of love and trust, family - both born and made, sacrifice and hope, the incalculable value of art, and the darkest depths as well as the brightest hopes of humanity. Backman has crafted a beautiful, complex, and unforgettable cast of characters, each with their own unique and flawed personalities and backstories. Their lives are a dotting of small victories against the larger difficulties that they can't escape, but there's an incredible amount of solace and joy in seeing how they continue to hope and love.

Well worth a read when "My Friends" is released in May 2025 and I will continue to think about this novel for weeks to come.

How do you love a book so much when it seemingly makes you cry on every other page! Reading Fredrik Backman is making an emotional investment, but one that gives unbelievable dividends. He understands wounded human beings; his words hug those who are emotionally or physically damaged (or both), comforting and providing balm for their pain. "My Friends" is filled with characters like that, the most endearing and annoying people you can imagine. And you feel what they feel; you hurt, love, anger, fear and rejoice when they do. Backman has given us another tale to adore with all our might, filled with words that delight both the heart and the intellect.

Best Backman book I have read by far!! Feeling so special to have read it early… a gut wrenching story of friendship. I was constantly anxious to hear the next scene in Ted’s story. Who knew I would love a literary fiction book (usually my least favorite genre)!!

Backman was an excellent choice for my first read of the year! I once had a professor give an assignment where once of the prompts was to write about a situation and in the piece reveal information in a way that changed the reader's perception of the situation. i'm not describing it well but that's what came to mind reading MY FRIENDS. the way Backman replays and reveals memories to shape and change our understanding of these characters and their lives. this story was brimming with emotion--fear, joy, pain, despair, hope. it was a testament to friendship and love and resilience. it was both a roller coaster and a warm blanket on a cold day. I knew it was over for me when Louisa said, "she was MY human. she was my HUMAN." --it was the most accurate way I've heard friendship describe, succinct and powerful all at once.

Wow!!!!! Fredrik Backman once again proves his mastery of human connection. This book is a deeply moving exploration of friendship, art, and bonds that shape our lives.

The story alternates between past to present, following four inseparable teenagers who formed a bond 25 years ago. Their shared history collides with the present through a young girl captivated by the first painting one of them created. The narrative beautifully evokes the nostalgia of childhood friendships, illustrating how acts of kindness and love can sustain us, even in the face of heartbreak.

As always, Backman’s characters feel achingly real, brought to life through his raw, vulnerable prose that captures the complexities of human nature and the resilience needed to navigate life’s challenges.

Heartbreaking yet hopeful, this book is a testament to the enduring power of friendship, and the profound love, trust, and sacrifice that comes with it. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a poignant story about belonging, nostalgia, and the transformative power of art.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC!

This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me voice message my friends to tell them I missed them.

There is something about Backman's writing that will always leave me feeling seen and loved. This book could be so many things to so many people. I love that about this book. There is so much wisdom in each page. He wrote this with emotion and it shows.
It feels so deeply about childhood friendship and how the memories we make as a children shape us into the adults we will become. It speaks to the grief filled parts of me that are screaming to be seen. I'm not sure anyone has strung together words that just get me like Backman did with this book. I highlighted half of this book, I swear. But for every sad feeling this read brought me, it brought me twice as many smiles and laughs. It's about love, just as much as it's about grief and friendship. To be seen is to be loved- that's what this book said to me over and over again.

Each character brings a strong personality that compliment each other is the most beautiful way.
There isn't one character in this book (besides Joar's dad, he can eat rocks) that I don't think you'll be able to not fall in love with. The banter between this group of friends, old and new, is so witty and heartwarming. Each one of these kids has something so special about them. The adults bring a realness that most people are scared of talking about. I think that's why love Backman so much, he isn't afraid to talk about what keeps most of us up at night.

Everyone who picks up My Friends will find some beauty as they flip through the pages. I hope everyone reads this book. Mostly because I want to talk about it with you.

I received an ARC of this great author's upcoming novel through NetGalley.

Author Fredrik Backman has written some of the finest novels I've read in the last 5-7 years. A Man Called Ove is a classic, a wonderful story with excellent humor. The Beartown trilogy was riveting, entirely different novels in tone, intense and suspenseful. This novel, My Friends, is more along the lines of A Man Called Ove. Lots of storytelling, lots of humor.

Ted is kind of the main character in this novel. He is 40-years-old or so. Much of this book is spent with Ted reflecting on his adventures with three other friends when they were 14 and 15 years old. He is telling these stories to a feisty 18-year-old girl who is escaping from a troubled youth, spent in one unhappy foster home after another. Ted and his friends also had their share of difficulties, growing up in troubled households.

Quite a few themes pop up through these stories. Loyalty amongst friends. Growing up amid domestic violence. The value of being "ordinary" versus being rich and famous.

One of Ted's friends became a famous artist. The artist died at an early age and chose, in an unusual way, to die broke. He left a famous painting to the 18-year-old girl. That's how Ted met up with the girl, as Ted was with the artist on his deathbed.

Much of the humor in this novel emanates from the author's frequent observations about the idiosyncrasies of human beings and from the antics of the 18-year-old girl and the young girl that was one of Ted's friends in his youth.

This is an excellent and suspenseful book. What happened to Ted's friends? Where are they today? How will the 18-year-old girl handle the famous painting, worth millions of dollars?