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Book Review: Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Saturday Nite Reader25 Comments

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5 disco balls

Publish date: April 25, 2017 by Atria Books
Category: Fiction, Contemporary, Sports

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I could not put this book down, and when I found out there is a sequel set to be released in early June I was ecstatic. I was certainly tardy to the party in reading this and wish I hadn’t waited so long. So, if you were like me and haven’t read it yet – well, you know what I will say next: what are you waiting for?!

In Beartown hockey is everything. The town is counting on the junior hockey team to win a championship – not just for the glory – but for the economic success that would come with it; that is a lot of pressure for seventeen year old boys. The town (parents, former players, board members and sponsors) all say to act in the best interest of the team, but their viewpoints are more selfish than they will ever realize? How far would you go to win? One of the players will commit an act of violence and a young girl will be forever changed. Who will the town rally behind and why? How does one act when the truth could ruin everything?

You will love and you will hate, really hate, some of these characters. If you are like me, you will wish you were written into this story as a character so you would have the opportunity to shut one of them up. My goodness did I despise this character. If you read this, or decide to read, you can only guess who I am talking about. Let’s discuss! The characters you love, you really love. It is pretty simple, you either love them or hate them: the character development – hero or villain – was strong.

There were many characters introduced in the beginning, but I was so engaged in the story that it was easy to keep track. I was a huge fan of the pace and flow, and jived well with author Fredrik Backman’s writing style and the message he set to deliver through his characters. If you are a fan of contemporary fiction, I highly recommend this read.

I have also read Backman’s A Man Called Ove and need to read more of his novels. I cannot wait for the sequel to Beartown, Us Against You, out June 5th!

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If you read ‘Beartown’, or any other of Backman’s work, let me know what you thought!


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25 thoughts on “Book Review: Beartown by Fredrik Backman”

  2. This was absolutely my favourite book this year!
    You are right… i so wanted to slap some of those people 😀 But that said, the author wrote the negative characters so well and everything tied together so nicely ❤

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  4. Oh shucks – I remember seeing this one and passing as I don’t know a thing about hockey – kicking myself after seeing your lovely review!

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  17. Great post-Nikki I have one book by Fredrik Backman but I have not read it yet, but this one looks and sounds really amazingly intriguing. I absolutely love any book that is set in a small town that is heavy in sports, plus I love books that have tough subjects as well. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.

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  19. I’ve heard about A Man Called Ove but not about Beartown. I’m not sure if this would be my cup of tea because of the sports theme but at the same time I like stories set in a small town especially if it’s about community dynamics… Nice review!

    Ronnie @ Paradise Found

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