NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: LibraryReads BookBrowse Goodreads “You’ll love this engrossing novel.” –People The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove returns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream–and the price required to make it come true. People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground … true.
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.
Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.
Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.
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This book is something else. I didn’t know till the end what will happen.
I loved the story. But it literally pulled emotions out of me. I was crying and laughing and crying and was nervous and crying.. you get the drill right? I cried a shit ton of tears. My heart was breaking for her. For her never to have peace again. For her never to be carefree again. He stole the teenage years from her.
I really hate small communities. Everybody wants to know everything about everybody. They think that they do, but in reality they only see what they want to.
I try and not judge people if I don’t know them, but over the years I really got good at reading charachters.
At first the book confused me because of all the characters, but once you get to know them it gets easier. I still don’t get it how people let themselves be manipulated. It is horrible what happens in this town. I couldn’t live with myself, really. My thoughts are all over the place. But I need to post this review while the emotions are still raw. You know what is the worst? That these things and situations happen in real life. And people do nothing. How can you do nothing when you are a witness to something horrible? How can you look the other way?
This book is everything and more. I will be book hungover for days after this. I will be thinking about these characters.
And I love the ending. I don’t feel the need to read the sequel.
Beartown was such a fantastic mix of sports, real-world issues, and complicated relationships. I desperately wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. Definitely worth the read!
After reading several of Backman’s books, this was a surprisingly different format. Instead of a focus on an individual quirky character, this delves into the heartbeat and character of a tiny, down-on-its-luck forest town desperate to rise again. Though not a hockey fan myself, I appreciated the notion of a singular focus of a town, its hope pinned to a team and its stars. The tragedy and how it impacted all involved was gut wrenching and well handled. Bravo, Fredrik.
This deserves 20 stars.
I read the entirety of Fredrik Backman’s BEARTOWN while in the labor and delivery waiting room while my granddaughter was being born. The storyline is so engaging that it made the time fly by! I’m not a sports fan, but after reading this book, I can tell you that I’d attend every hometown hockey game in Beartown! I highly recommend this book—it’s a great read. So much so, that I’m now reading the followup book, “Us Against You.”
The characters are so real. You spend the entire story feeling their anxiety, joy, triumph, fear, confusion, and the final moral backbone that becomes fortified in some and shatters in others. Beautifully written.
Beartown is one of the best books I’ve read in years. The characters were riveting. The story line was compelling and timely.
I read this book only because my book club picked it. I didn’t think I would like it because I’m not a sports fan. To my surprise, the book is not just about hockey, but a hockey town. The diverse characters grew on me. I’m glad I read this book!
Excellent
Timely. And life changing.
A little slow at first but great characters and a theme that is so relevant today that keeps you reading til the end and certain characters you are rooting for todo the right thing!
A book that was hard to get into. Once you got into this book is very interesting. Personalities ,competitiveness, and dedication to a sport.
Beartown is one of the most inspirational books I have read in a long time. It is very thought provoking and heartwrenching. The story starts out developing the background and the characters. You learn fast that this small town is close and share a huge love for ice hockey. Ice hockey is what makes their town proud and unique and although small, have the ability to stand out. When a tradegy occurs in this small town it becomes challenging how the people decide how to respond.
Great character development, great story. 5 star!
Great novel! Universal truths of power, money, sports and gender. Should be required reading for politicians, teachers, professional athletes and their coaches.
Loved it
Riveting!
down to earth look at sports and the need to win verses doing the right thing
Backman’s insight into life really makes the reader think.
This book might be slow at first. It is setting a stage with all the characters that are developed to the max and yet can surprise you in the last chapters. The story will stick with you long after you finish reading it.
This book is about hockey. Not specifically about the game itself, but the boys who play it in a small town and the men who coach it. If you’ve watched Varsity Blues just as football is everything in a small West Texas town and high school students live the best five years of their lives as team heros so too hockey is god in this northern town in the woods. Winning is everything and the welfare of the players comes second always. A winning team puts podunk on the map and brings fame and glory to the town. Sport is not recreation or fun but serious business with the esteem of the town and its citizens at stake.
Just as Marty McSorley followed Wayne Gretzky every time he got traded so there’s a goon who runs interference to let opposing teams know the price of messing with the star player. Early on we hear about the big game and everything leads up to it. The reader is made to feel the same anticipation the characters in the story would have felt.
The book confronts more serious issues. Teenage drinking and drunken parties after the team wins. Winning players’ sense of entitlement and rape. “For the perpetrator, rape lasts just a matter of minutes. For the victim, it never stops.” But actions have consequences for both, for the team, and for the town.
Sexual assault sees the woman victimized twice. When the act is committed and in the aftermath when her morals are attacked, when she is seen as having asked for it, when she undergoes the degradation of a court trial and cross-examination that puts her on trial rather than her attacker. When the principle of no means no is not upheld. The woman seems held responsible for having made herself vulnerable. So, will any of ‘his’ buddies come forward to admit they know he did it or will the pack mentality pervade.
Another side-issue is that of a tough young player who can hardly admit his homosexuality in this environment.