[3.5] i was so excited to be approved for this arc, after reading and loving anxious people earlier this year. there was definitely the same witty tone throughout this one, as well as plenty of sad moments, but for some reason i just couldn't get into this one the same way, which explains the slightly lower rating. one thing that did hold up however was the characters - fredrik backman makes you care about them so much, and really makes you feel like you were there and knew them. i loved the idea that all of these events stemmed from one painting, and finding out the lore behind it almost unravelled like a mystery, with different characters telling different parts of the story. not my favourite by him, but 100% still worth the read, especially if you're interested in art (or friendship).

thank you to netgalley and simon and schuster uk for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
At times enchanting (the beauty and purity of childhood friendships, the pain of loneliness, the joy of being accepted), but at times repetitive ( please no more quite whispering, no more farts, no more speculation as to what art is) and self conscious.
The “back story” (set 25 years previously, telling the story of childhood friends, escapism and how a painting came to be) was the real pull. And I liked that it was framed against a present day narrative, when another neglected child stumbles across the painting, but those interactions felt unbelievable, and sometimes the whole device tripped over itself.
mainly a lovely book i read in 3 sittings

I enjoy reading stories by Fredrick Backman and I was delighted to receive a copy of his new book My Friends.
The story is told in two timelines.
Three fourteen year old boys and the friendship they shared twenty five years ago and how their lives turned out.
Modern day a teenage girl Louisa has run away from the state home on the eve of her eighteenth birthday.
I found the character of Louisa annoying and unbelievable in parts and this put me off her story.
I enjoyed parts of the story but some of it was very was slow and depressing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending it.

The best book I have read so far this year that will undoubtedly stay with me forever.

As a huge fan of Fredrick Backman I was absolutely delighted when I got approved via #netgalley for an advanced reader copy and couldn't wait to get started on it.

After reading A Man Called Ove a few years back I have been looking for a book that could live up to it to fill the void it left behind in my life and My Friends did exactly that.

As heartbreaking as it is beautiful My Friends is an absolute masterpiece, it made me laugh, it made me angry and it made my heart break just a little more the further I read to the point I actually shed a few tears.

Fredrick writes so beautifully and has such a wonderful talent for being able to fully immerse me as a reader and has the ability to make every emotion possibly known every time I read his books.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it's outstanding in every way and like A Man Called Ove it will stay with me forever.

I AM LAUGHING THROUGH SNOT AND TEARS.
My favourite book by him yet.
Frederick Backman is one of those incredible writers who can take you through the whole spectrum of emotions.

<b>“It might sound like an unhappy ending, but only if you forget how many times during this story we’ve told you that someone laughed. How many really good nows is that? How many people ever have more?”
</b>
We have a present day runaway foster home teen girl who is given a dying artist’s most famous work. She feels worthless and doesn’t feel she deserves the responsibility and tags along with the artist’s friend. She talks alllll the time - unfiltered, strange, wildly, brash. Her companion is scared of everything and craves quiet and solitude.
Then, we have the story about the painting 25 years earlier, following a group of friends who are all broken but fill in each other’s missing pieces.

I felt so immersed and deeply connected to these characters and their seaside town. These characters are all angry and scared and longing and children who need to be cared for and loved.

<b>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. So how great must our imaginations be for us to even summon up the enthusiasm to get out of bed each morning? Endless! Imagination is the only thing that stops us from thinking about death every second. And when we aren’t thinking? Oh, those are all our very best moments, when we’re wasting our lives. It’s an act of magnificent rebellion to do meaningless things, to waste time, to swim and drink soda and sleep late. To be silly and frivolous, to laugh at stupid little jokes and tell stupid little stories.
</b>
This is a contemporary fiction, and yet I felt more shocked by the reveals than most thriller books.
A gut punch exhale, an expectant inhale, an intense staring-at-the-wall session.

Note: there is quite a bit of swearing (specifically from one character), and sometimes this did take me out of story.

This has made my favourites of 2025 list and it is April.

<b>Once he read a book that said that people with neuropsychiatric disorders need to “make friends with their brain,” but Ted and Ted’s brain are not friends, they’re classmates, forced to do a group assignment called “life” together. And it’s not going great.</b>

Arc gifted by Simon and Schuster UK.