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Four misfit teenagers are broken by dysfunctional family situations, by grief and the heartaches that sometimes come with self discovery. They manage to survive their sad existences because they have each other . “I trust you . I love you�� they say to each other. The depth of friendship they feel for and show each other is everything when you believe you have nothing .

Twenty five years later, two of the friends connect with , through one of the friend’s paintings, a misfit teenage girl who is broken by loss , grief and the foster care system. They immediately recognize she is �� one of them.�� Our journey begins with Louisa’s present story and takes us back twenty five years as Ted tells the story of the four friends in the painting to Louisa while forging a bond of friendship between them.

If you can manage their sadness, if you can manage their pain sometimes emotional and sometimes physical, if you can manage the violence , it’s totally worth it getting into their hearts and minds and learning their stories. It’s not always all heartbreak as there are moments of love and caring, fun, and many funny moments that have the four friends laughing their heads off over their corny and clever jokes. The majority of the story is about these teenagers, but this should not be mistaken for a teenage novel. This is a story about the depth of friendship that helps them survive the worst things in their lives. It’s also a commentary on life and art and hope when it seems there isn’t any to be found. The emotional connection I feel with Backman’s characters is immediate and deep . I felt it in all of his novels, especially The Beartown series, but then I read this book. Backman’s understanding and ability to express the twists and turns of the human heart in this novel is nothing short of stunning.

I received a copy of this book from Atria through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.