December Read: "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman

An uplifting love letter to the transformative power of friendship and proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect . . .

In one of the most famous (and mysterious) paintings in the world, three tiny figures are on the beach. Most people don’t even notice them. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the landscape and sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers seek refuge from their difficult home lives by spending long summer days together. They tell jokes, they share secrets, and they commit small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to thrive.

And out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, of unknown origin, that has ended up in Louisa’s care. Determined to learn the secret behind it and to decide what to do with it, Louisa embarks on a cross-country journey to that seaside town. But the closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes.

What happened to the three boys?

438 pages