by: Fredrik Backman
Goodreads description:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.
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 find 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 the 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.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓
This was my favorite book by Fredrik Backman (so far). Holly generally prefers his books more than I do, but this one really delivered. I listened on Audible, as I do most of Backman’s novels. I highly recommend listening to it. It immediately hooked me and was so funny…and poignant. My mom (Janie – our number one fan) loved this one too.
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓
I really do love Frederik Backman. I think he is smart, funny, creative and appealing with just the right amount of sarcasm and snark. This is a great novel, and the storytelling is very entertaining. The story is creative, original and very unpredictable, which I always appreciate. The book is not perfect, but it’s well worth your time. My book club is reading it this month as well. This was definitely my favorite book of the month.
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 