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faithwalan's review against another edition
5.0
I feel too raw to process anything rn. i’m so upset. i cried so very much. this was painful and so beautiful and this series is one of the best i’ve ever read. i fell in love and felt for nearly every character.
This hurts too much to touch with words
He has seen good people capable of great evil, but also evil people capable of incredible light. It's the same everywhere. Almost everybody loves too much, hates too easily, forgives too little. But most people want the same things: to live in peace, to make their hearts beat a little slower when the night comes, to earn some money to support the ones they love.
We fool ourselves that we can protect the people we love, because if we accepted the truth we’d never let them out of our sight.
Because he was always the sort of person who stood in the way, the sort who protected, the sort who ran. He always thought he was the bad guy in all stories, the real heroes always do, that’s why stories about boys like him never end with them growing old
There will be a spring and a summer. It's almost excruciating. But then comes autumn, short as a wink, before winter is finally upon us again. Life does not go on, it starts again, everything is possible again. Anything can happen, all the best and all the most beautiful and all the greatest adventures on earth
Because of course it was only a dog. It’s so hard to explain that it’s more than an animal when you’re that animal’s human. Perhaps it takes more empathy than most people are capable of. Or more imagination
When we are little we grieve for the person we have lost, but when we’re older we grieve even more for ourselves. He wept for her loneliness, but also his own.
Yes, Mom. It did. Your love was like organ donation. You and Dad and Leo gave me pieces of your hearts and lungs and skeletons so I could put myself back together again. And now you hardly have the strength to stand up and keep breathing yourselves. I think about that so often, and I think about all the girls who don’t have you. I feel like I only just managed to survive this. How the hell does everyone who doesn’t have you as their mom even stand a chance?” Good luck having a daughter and not going to pieces when you hear that.
What is life, other than moments? What is laughter, other than a small victory over sorrow? A single moment, just one, when everything inside us isn't broken.
We aren’t freshly blooming flowers, we’re two trees with intertwined roots, you’ve grown old within me.
Mothers and daughters know how to wound each other in totally unique ways, possibly because daughters often carry the guilt of their mothers' consciences, until they end up arguing about sins that they haven't even committed
The two young women trample over the memories and two invisible little girls pad after them. Because they're always walking behind us: the children we were before the worst that has happened happened.
She lets someone play with the number 16 again. For one single game. Alicia gets up from the bench in the locker room and leads her team out and storms the ice, and Zackell watches her and for a single moment forgets that it isn’t him
It doesn't matter that she knows that isn't true. Guilt is always stronger than logic.
And eventually enough time has passed for it to hurt only almost all the time. She has endured. She can miss him without screaming every time. Hug without crying all the time. Laugh without always feeling guilty. Life goes on. It doesn't give us any other choice
Love is a job for an adult. Love demands a whole person, all the best of you, all the worst. It has nothing to do with romance, because the hard part of a marriage isn’t that I have to live seeing all your faults, but that you have to live with me seeing them. That I know everything about you now. Most people aren’t brave enough to live without secrets. Everyone dreams about being invisible sometimes, no one dreams of being transparent. Marriage? There ought to be a different word for it after a while. Because there’s no such thing as “eternal infatuation,” only love lasts that long, and it’s never simple. It requires a whole person, everything you have. The whole lot.
Kira didn’t run toward the fire, she ran after the children. Behind her comes Tess and soon other women will come, from all directions, in red and green jackets, some even in black. They wrap their arms around each other, in circles, ring after ring, forming a wall around Alicia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Homophobia, and Suicide
caoxtina's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Drug use, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Suicide, and Death
redhothabanero's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
The end of the trilogy is so bittersweet. I loved this book (and series) even when it absolutely emotionally wrecked me. Character development was superb which made the deaths hurt that much more. Backman really captures what it means to be human. How our mistakes affect the people around us. The good that's inside people but also the violence and the hatred that comes so easily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide and Child abuse
y2kaitlyn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Addiction
beccahblue's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Bullying, Rape, Sexual violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Miscarriage
cosmokristen's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Suicide
rewo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Drug use
jillyfitz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I love Backman's style of writing, he kind of meanders through some really tough topics. If you like his style you'll love this trilogy. He does a great job of humanizing his characters, even those who do terrible things. This book is a great study in the responsibility of individuals, families, and communities in the outcome of major events. He's not afraid to stay in gray areas.
This book is a great conclusion to the trilogy. It was emotional to say goodbye to these characters. No one gets out unscathed and the ending is extremely human.
The narration was great, Marin Ireland is fantastic throughout the series. She's on my list of must-listen narrators.
This book is a great conclusion to the trilogy. It was emotional to say goodbye to these characters. No one gets out unscathed and the ending is extremely human.
The narration was great, Marin Ireland is fantastic throughout the series. She's on my list of must-listen narrators.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, and Rape
Minor: Physical abuse
andrearuthelyn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
audreywright's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This whole series wrecked me. Backmans character building is like no other. He is an incredible author and this series made him my favorite. The topics are hard hitting but important and impactful. You will be challenged to rethink your perspectives and you will fall in love with Beartown and these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Outing and Self harm