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taylorparrott99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Rape, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Grief
liaminator18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, and Bullying
"Björnstad" (Beartown) by Fredrik Backman is a gripping and emotionally charged story that revolves around a small town's junior ice hockey team and the life-changing events that unfold around it. Set in a close-knit community, the book explores the intense pressures of sports, the complexities of human relationships, and the moral dilemmas faced by its residents. The audiobook is brilliantly narrated by Marin Ireland, who captures the depth and nuances of each character, making the story even more compelling. With its medium pace, "Björnstad" offers a mix of plot and character-driven elements, ensuring that listeners remain engaged from start to finish. The character development is strong, and despite their flaws, the characters are deeply loveable and relatable. This audiobook is perfect for those looking for a story that is adventurous, challenging, dark, emotional, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.taracloudclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The first half of this book is a lot of exposition, setting the stage for the driving action. But it’s done well, creatively, interestingly. In other words, “nothing happens,” and I was *almost* bored with it, but I only had to push through a little. It kind of reminds me of Spoon River Anthology with the intertwining of lives and stories of a small town where everyone knows everyone and always have (except the newbies, but that’s not portrayed as harshly as many of this trope).
While it’s a sports town, the sport itself doesn’t take a front seat. It truly is the background while still sating any love for it.
This definitely borders on literary fiction bc the structure is done in a very precise and lovely way, using almost poetic mechanisms such as repeated phrases and parallelism. The narrative style also has a starkness that reflects the setting and the situation, and vice versa. Tension and foreshadowing are done in an obvious but not ridiculous manner. The *way* it was written is as well done as the story itself.
This is definitely a book for consideration. The story is laid out, and while there’s no ambiguity as to “what happened,” there is much speculation to be made as to why and how and what the underlying issues are and how else they affect society. There are no stark answers given. Bad behavior is mentioned, implicated, but not condemned outright. That’s for the reader to determine, negotiate in some cases. Anyone who feels this is moralizing is probably on the more brutal side of the issue.
The narrator Marin Ireland does very well in complimenting the narrative style as well. It’s 3rd person, and the author is male, but I’m pleased they chose a female to tell this story. Such topics through the male perspective can be troublesome, but I feel like the author did well and the narrator helped convince me of it.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Vomit, Classism, Blood, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide
meb1916's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think this book is incredibly important for a lot of reasons, and I'm grateful I read it.
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexism, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Transphobia, Animal death, Dysphoria, and Panic attacks/disorders
beatle426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Classism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Death, and Alcoholism
eljarvo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape and Gun violence
Moderate: Drug use, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, and Blood
Minor: Suicide
elise0405's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All the characters struggle deeply and alone and I could literally feel how all those unsaid worries and traumas that every one of them bottled up are slowly suffocating them.
It describes how hard we struggle in the hopes to do things right and get out and still hurt people or get hurt. How sometimes its just never enough. How it feels being stuck in toxic surroundings, how helpless it feels and what this helplessness does to you.
As i say time and time again, Fredrik Backmans writing stile polarizes; some love it, others find it overdramatic… you gotta find out for yourself
Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
The topics are heavy and not sugarcoatedhomealone2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Blood, Rape, Death, Mental illness, Bullying, Suicide, Violence, Homophobia, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Lesbophobia
jadedjill's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Outing, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Classism