Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Complicated
Both this and Beartown have completely wrecked me in the last few pages and left me eagerly awaiting the third book.
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
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
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book actually killed me I wish I could give it 50 million stars. I’ll never emotionally recover
Reread** I enjoyed rereading this second Beartown novel in preparation for the newest book. It is just as deep and moving as its predecessor. I love and care about these characters so much.
This was not as good as Beartown. I didn't even get mad at Matt once!
Pretty early on in the book, I had a thought: I don't know how Backman manages to break my heart and irritate the crap out of me in the same sentence. He continued to do that throughout the book; his omniscient narrator kept dragging me out of the story, and his continual fake-outs drove me nuts. He couldn't be trusted to just tell the story. It made me wonder if it had been translated by someone different, but nope. Same author, same translator. I would have made some different editorial decisions, but no one asked my opinion.
Even so, Backman still knows how to make tears spring to my eyes, even if I'm not letting them fall or yelling at my husband because MEN. I'm a different person than I was when I read Beartown. I have a better understanding and appreciation of some of these characters, and a different understanding of grief and community. Maybe that's ruined me for the ways Backman has previously been able to rip my heart out, or maybe I just didn't need a sequel to Beartown and no sequel was ever going to be as good as the original.
Pretty early on in the book, I had a thought: I don't know how Backman manages to break my heart and irritate the crap out of me in the same sentence. He continued to do that throughout the book; his omniscient narrator kept dragging me out of the story, and his continual fake-outs drove me nuts. He couldn't be trusted to just tell the story. It made me wonder if it had been translated by someone different, but nope. Same author, same translator. I would have made some different editorial decisions, but no one asked my opinion.
Even so, Backman still knows how to make tears spring to my eyes, even if I'm not letting them fall or yelling at my husband because MEN. I'm a different person than I was when I read Beartown. I have a better understanding and appreciation of some of these characters, and a different understanding of grief and community. Maybe that's ruined me for the ways Backman has previously been able to rip my heart out, or maybe I just didn't need a sequel to Beartown and no sequel was ever going to be as good as the original.