Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I simply fell in love with My Friends. It is a beautiful and touching tribute to friendship. It's the kind of book that you wish you could read again for the first time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved parts of this so much—the character development and their relationships, the importance of art—but felt like other parts of this were SO overwrought, even for this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is about friendship, the power of love, the difficulty of parenting. It is full of forgiveness and joy amidst pain and real life. The writing is poetic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book went on forever. I've enjoyed several of his other novels but this felt like diminishing returns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
🌊 My Friends by Fredrik Backman 🌊
MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Few notice the three tiny figures on the pier in one of the world’s most famous paintings—but Louisa does. An artist herself, she's determined to uncover their story.
Decades earlier, four troubled teens—Joar, Ted, Ali, and a gifted but troubled young painter—find solace on that same pier. Their summer of friendship and dreams inspires a masterpiece.
Now, with the painting in her care, Louisa sets out on a journey to trace its origins. Along the way, she uncovers not only the story behind the art but also her own creative voice in this moving tale of friendship, loss, and the healing power of art.
Wow. No review could ever come close to capturing what this book was. This was one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever read. I got about 50 pages in to the copy I had taken out from the library before I had to buy a copy so I could highlight parts of every single page. This book, in true Fredrik Backman style, was absolutely incredible. It was emotional, the characters felt so familiar and real, and the plot kept me invested throughout the entire book. This is definitely one of his best pieces of writing yet, and I was emotional the entire time. Before I finished, I had bought 2 additional copies for people I know, and think everyone needs to experience this story.
Read this if you like:
- to cry
- emotional stories
- unexpected friendships
- existentialism
Vibes: 🎨🖼️🌊🛤️📝😩
Song that matches the vibe: Modigliani by Lucy Dacus
Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
some people won’t like this, and those people will be wrong.
at first it took me a bit to get into, not because I didn’t love the writing or the characters, but because it’s one of those books where things just happen and you have to sit back and enjoy the ride. (and i was coming off a sunrise on the reaping hangover). but MAN. i will ready anything fredrik backman puts out. he knows how to sucker punch you with a random line. and the respect for art? everything is just so thoughtful.
at first it took me a bit to get into, not because I didn’t love the writing or the characters, but because it’s one of those books where things just happen and you have to sit back and enjoy the ride. (and i was coming off a sunrise on the reaping hangover). but MAN. i will ready anything fredrik backman puts out. he knows how to sucker punch you with a random line. and the respect for art? everything is just so thoughtful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug abuse
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fredrik Backman has a unique ability to convey the spectrum of human emotion so precisely. Everything he writes is amazing, this is no different. Gut punch after gut punch, but ultimately hopeful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I definitely didn’t begin this expecting a road trip (on a train), but that’s largely where this story takes place.
Louisa ran away from a foster home to see her favorite work by a famous artist. She discovers someone she assumes is homeless behind the church (having the art sale), to whom she shares her story of the painting and her love of art. This all begins her journey of learning the history of the painting.
This story is for those who love:
Found family
Art
Road trip stories
Coming of age
The story alternates between this train trip and the history of the figures in the painting. It tells each character’s back story. They were all from a rough area of town and have tragic stories. But she is a girl who understands tragedy, and they all recognize her as one of them.
“Because in an ugly place, he was born with so much beauty inside him that it was like an act of rebel-lion. In a world full of sledgehammers, his art was a declaration of war.” P20
“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 trivolous, to laugh at stupid little jokes and tell stupid little stories.” P39
“We never get that age back again, when every friend is a childhood friend, we measure all infatuations throughout our lives against that.” P78
“When sufficiently wealthy people want something bad enough, it becomes invaluable, because then art isn't experienced through the eyes, but by the ears, they're not paying for a picture but for its name and his-tory. In their world it isn't the artist who should be admired, it's the owner, because only something which has a price can have any value.” P96
“…nothing is more valuable at auction than an unfulfiled life." P111
“…he and Mom weren't like two magnets. They were like two colors. Once they were mixed together, there was no way of separating them.” P319
“…how life is so fragile, coincidence decides so much, it takes so little to change everything.” P377
Louisa ran away from a foster home to see her favorite work by a famous artist. She discovers someone she assumes is homeless behind the church (having the art sale), to whom she shares her story of the painting and her love of art. This all begins her journey of learning the history of the painting.
This story is for those who love:
Found family
Art
Road trip stories
Coming of age
The story alternates between this train trip and the history of the figures in the painting. It tells each character’s back story. They were all from a rough area of town and have tragic stories. But she is a girl who understands tragedy, and they all recognize her as one of them.
“Because in an ugly place, he was born with so much beauty inside him that it was like an act of rebel-lion. In a world full of sledgehammers, his art was a declaration of war.” P20
“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 trivolous, to laugh at stupid little jokes and tell stupid little stories.” P39
“We never get that age back again, when every friend is a childhood friend, we measure all infatuations throughout our lives against that.” P78
“When sufficiently wealthy people want something bad enough, it becomes invaluable, because then art isn't experienced through the eyes, but by the ears, they're not paying for a picture but for its name and his-tory. In their world it isn't the artist who should be admired, it's the owner, because only something which has a price can have any value.” P96
“…nothing is more valuable at auction than an unfulfiled life." P111
“…he and Mom weren't like two magnets. They were like two colors. Once they were mixed together, there was no way of separating them.” P319
“…how life is so fragile, coincidence decides so much, it takes so little to change everything.” P377
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent