Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

414 reviews

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes


My one and only gripe with this book is that it was hard to follow. There were so many characters it sometimes was hard to keep track. However, that may be due more to my lack of reading comprehension than to the actual writing. The story had me so invested. At certain points I even found it hard to breathe because it felt like I was right there experiencing these events alongside the characters. And there were so many great lines; some that made me laugh, some that made me think, and some that left me feeling a little bit haunted. The next logical thing is to read the sequel, but part of me wants to reread this immediately to notice things I missed and appreciate all the details a little bit more. One day I will definitely reread this, but for now I’m just excited to see what happens next.

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challenging dark 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: Complicated

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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: Complicated

This book is great, but wayyy too long. I nearly gave up at 40% because the plot wasn't progressing. Hours and hours of character introductions and world building got exhausting and repetitive, and there were too many characters. The plot itself was captivating!

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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

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Never would I have expected to find a book so triggering and love it so dearly- this was so specific in its traumas it became somewhat healing and I fell in love with the parts of me I saw reflected in these characters. This story of a small town and it’s hockey obsessed people branches into accountability, power, social norms, grief, the exploitation of children in competitive sports, sex and assault politics, homophobia (internalised and external), secrecy, systematic and institutional failures and family dynamics without ever feeling too full. Backmans writing is so easy to love and I will be thinking about this book for a long time 

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slow-paced

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional inspiring tense 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

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

Take Friday Night Lights and plop it down on the edge of the wilderness in Sweden. Hockey  moms. A story of a small town response when "boys will be boys." Beautiful, reflective, meditation on a family who has handled tragedy. 

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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