My Friends ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Friends by Fredrick Backman

Creepy Cover
(depicts a fictional famous painting "The One of the Sea")**
No offense intended to fictional artist C.Jat, but I see bad skin conditions.

I prefer the Sweden cover but nobody
asked my opinion before it went to press!

**Here's the thing about the cover. Google said “it depicts the fictional famous painting” however it really doesn't. The painting was described as the ocean and sky, and that most people wouldn't see the three kids sitting on the dock in the background. This is also indicated in the first sentence of the About.

So apparently his friends on the cover were someone else's imagination of them swimming in the sea. I know, it's supposed to be the reflection of the water but still...I can't un-see bad skin conditions.
~Judgmental Patti will not deduct any stars for the cover image!    

G👀dreads

Most people don't even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it's just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers found refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing 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 love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa's care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting's birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she'll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don't always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

Genre: Literary Fiction, Coming of Age 

RSCBC = RSCBC BookClubRead

The How/Why: This is my book club's BotM. I was going to wait until the beginning of next month and listen to it right before the meeting, but it came off hold on Libby and if I suspend it now it might not be available in time... so here we are. 

I'm hopefully optimistic. My friend Pat liked it. She is the one who suggested it for the group. Some else said it's a "sorrow and misery sandwich". I'm going into it with five stars and we'll see where I end up. 🤞

Day 2 ~ It *IS* a sorrow and misery sandwich but in the best possible way. By the half way point I've gone from being on the verge of tears to laughing out loud. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🎉 Overall Enjoyment?  🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention?  🎣 🎣 🎣 🎣 🎣

🗣️ Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕

🕮 Would I want a sequel?  Maybe 🤷 Not really necessary however if he wrote a book following Ted's next adventure I would listen to it. 

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author?  Yes ➕

💣💥 📢 Sort Warnings? Google says several: AbȖsɇ, Vi0lɇncɇ , Sɇlf-Hǻrm and SȖicidɇ , Rǻpɇ  and SɇxuǺl A$$aȖlt, and the list goes on.

😟Oy! 😟 Was there a basket of issues and he had to use them all?

UPDATE after finishing the book:  AbȖsɇ and  Vi0lɇncɇ yes. The others were mentions, not details so I personally would not list them as TWs however I might add depression.

🌶 Spice? No

🌪 Plot Twist? No

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ I was pleasantly surprised at how much I *LOVED* this book. I was  hopefully optimistic  because it sounded so sad yet such a great story of unwavering friendship. Someone said it was a "sorrow and misery sandwich" and I don't disagree, however it wasn't the Grinch's Sauerkraut Sandwich. It was a sorrow and misery sandwich in the best possible way. The sandwich also included condiments such as joy, laughter, hope, friendship, encouragement, and determination. I went from being on the verge of tears to laughing out loud. 

I enjoyed how each of the four friends were highlighted as the heroes of the story and the lengths they would go to protect each other.
I enjoyed how Louise was so annoyingly adorable she was able to draw stories of their earlier days that they didn't realize they wanted/needed to tell. I wanted to take her under my wing and tell her I was sorry for her past but she'd be safe now.

This quote crawled into a corner of my heart and will live there for a long-long time: " Don't worry every time I cough that I'm going to die . " " I'm not worried about you dying. I'm worried about you dead. I'm worried about being alive without you. " ~wonders off to get a tissue~

Another quote to ponder: " Our brains only store a few moments of the best times in our lives, but every second of the worst ". Yes, we are wired that way. 

~Goodnight Ghost...

🎧Merin Ireland 👍

🎧13.0 hours 🕮 448 pages

Side Note 1: I went to the half price book store in Phoenix to buy this book for my sister to read. I'm a listener, she's a page turner. I couldn't find it so I asked the staff member who was at a computer. He said "probably not but I'll check". I said "probably not because it's too popular or not popular enough". He said "WAY.POPULAR". They didn't have it but he offered to order it. Since I was out of town I passed on that but I'll keep my eyes out for one. 

Side Note 2: I found a recipe for Joar's Midnight Lasagna. I might need to make it! It's not very clear but I get the jest of it. 

I also found another picture on Pinterest that someone created which is kind of like elements of the book in a nutshell. Sorry I can't give credit to the source, it's not listed.