My Friends, by Fredrik Backman

Backman is one of my fave authors. I especially loved A Man Named Ove...but My Friends is a masterpiece. Wow. The quotes. Backman is the king of satire, which makes reading about tough topics easier. 

    This book explores teenage friendships, families, dysfunction, foster kids, and art. The teen years is when we are so very vulnerable...at school, sometimes at home (abuse), out in the world, and Backman treats all these topics with finesse and satire.  Our friends from the teen years can feel like a lifeboat. That's how it is with Ted, Joar (yo-ar), Ali, and "the artist." Those friends create a world whose ripples are felt decades later by Louisa, who is a foster kid who has lost "her human" - her BFF, Fish. 

    I highly recommend listening to this on audio. The narrator is spectacular in bringing the characters to life. 

Ps. I read 2 books simultaneously -- this one (audio) and "A Boy's Life" (print copy), and I found similarities in the topics.