17 May Review: My Friends
My Friends
Author: Fredrik Backman
Atria Books, 2025
ISBN: 9781982121655 (paperback)
9781982121662 (eBook)
$26.99 CAD (paperback)
$14.99 CAD (eBook)
488 pages
Ages: 15 years and up
Review by: Hannah Weaver
Louisa, freshly out of the foster system, has always loved a famous painting of the sea because of the three almost unnoticeable people painted in the corner. When she meets the artist by chance, he bequeaths the painting to her and Ted–the artist’s friend and one of the figures in the painting–attempts to give Louisa the painting and move on. But Ted cannot shake Louisa as she pushes her way into his life and unravels the story of the friends in the painting and the summer it was created. The narrative moves between the past, where the friends each face personal struggles but find strength in each other, and the present, as Ted and Louisa travel together. Although lengthy in places, Backman captures the intensity of the adolescent experience while also addressing topics of domestic violence, grief, and friendship. Good for a public library collection and young adult readers.