My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's SorryMy Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
Score Modern
What it's about
Elsa is seven and different, and her grandmother, seventy-seven, is crazy, the kind who fires paintball guns at strangers from her balcony. She is also Elsa's best and only friend. When her grandmother dies, she leaves Elsa a series of letters to deliver to people in their building, and Elsa discovers the true stories behind the fairy tales she grew up with.
Why it's worth reading
It spent 53 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists. It's funny, heartbreaking and full of love, from the author of A Man Called Ove.
You'll love it if you liked
A Man Called Ove
Anxious People
BeartownGood to know
It mixes real life with Grandma's fairy tales. Britt-Marie, one of its characters, gets her own book.
By the numbers
- Readers63 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller62 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #59 of the 219 young adult books we rank
- #140 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #495 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #951 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Epic
More by Fredrik Backman
A Man Called Ove
My FriendsAnxious PeopleIf you like this, read next
Sing, Unburied, Sing
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The City of Brass
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Book of Form and Emptiness
The Princess DiariesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry worth reading?
Yes. It spent 53 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists. It ranks #951 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 73.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry about?
Elsa is seven and different, and her grandmother, seventy-seven, is crazy, the kind who fires paintball guns at strangers from her balcony. She is also Elsa's best and only friend. When her grandmother dies, she leaves Elsa a series of letters to deliver to people in their building, and Elsa discovers the true stories behind the fairy tales she grew up with.
How long does it take to read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry?
About 10 hours (384 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry?
If you liked it, try A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman or Beartown by Fredrik Backman.