About the book
Four teenagers find solace in each other’s company, and their friendship blossoms into a powerful bond that changes a stranger’s life twenty-five years later.
Published 2025
Contemporary Fiction
448 pages
It’s nice. I’d still recommend it.
February 6, 2026
If you’ve read Fredrick Backman books before, you know what you’re going to get: a quirky, saccharine tale full of opposite-type characters learning to love each other in the lead up to a wholesome, life-affirming conclusion. And that’s what we get here. And it’s nice.
So maybe I’m just in too much of a critical mood, but I started to get a little worn down by the constant effort to make every sentence feel like either a life-changing pearl of wisdom or a hilarious zinger. Sure, there were some good lines in there, but your success rate is going to keep getting lower when the repetitive duds keep piling up along with anything good.
It was also hard for me to get past the phoniness of the characters. I just don’t believe 13/14 year-olds talk to each other like that. And Ted repeatedly commented on his physicality like he was a beleaguered old man, and he was only 39! What happened to you, bro??? And I don’t think it was ever explained what ignited Louisa’s passion for this painting in the first place? The whole set-up is a little shaky.
But like I said, it’s nice. I’d still recommend it.
kelsi’s reading diary 