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emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Gun violence, Alcohol
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Where do I start with this book...?
First off: it is amazing.
The author has a talent for introducing characters as (un)likeable and then completely turns it around at some point. I changed my opinion on almost every character in thus book and I loved the way Backman achieved that.
The topics were hard, but true. I could relate to so many things in this book. It is just the truth, it happens every day and some people have to open their eyes to that. I cried a lot but at some point I just couldn't anymore and I was just so disappointed, angry and speechless.
Needless to say I would recommend this book all the time and think it is a beautifully written work of art that talks about so many important topics.
First off: it is amazing.
The author has a talent for introducing characters as (un)likeable and then completely turns it around at some point. I changed my opinion on almost every character in thus book and I loved the way Backman achieved that.
The topics were hard, but true. I could relate to so many things in this book. It is just the truth, it happens every day and some people have to open their eyes to that. I cried a lot but at some point I just couldn't anymore and I was just so disappointed, angry and speechless.
Needless to say I would recommend this book all the time and think it is a beautifully written work of art that talks about so many important topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My first book by Backman and it won’t be my last!
Beartown drew me in. I could picture myself in the small town and feel the chill in the air. I really enjoyed how well-written the setting was. There was also a very large cast of characters - the hockey team, the staff of the hockey club and the board/sponsors, plus other people in the town.
But this town is all about hockey and honestly seems to be putting all their eggs in that basket: they plan to win big, bring in more sponsors, build a hockey academy that everyone will want to send their talented hockey players to, then they’ll need a shopping mall and other attractions and it will bring new jobs to this struggling small town, etc. Quite a bit of pressure on these 17-year-old boys.
Because there are so many characters, and the narrative jumps around often (multiple different perspectives within each chapter), I did have a little difficulty keeping everyone straight initially since I was listening on audiobook. I probably could have used a reference sheet or something.
What I cannot emphasize enough is the emotional rollercoaster this story put me on. I didn’t read the synopsis, content/trigger warnings, or any reviews before heading into this one. I’m a huge mood reader and just thought it seemed like a good winter book! It was but I would also caution anyone that may be sensitive to certain topics to take a look at the trigger/content warnings at the end of this review and take them into consideration. This book broke my heart, made me angry and frustrated, and I cried multiple times. Some characters disappointed me, while others pleasantly surprised me. Despite how many characters there are, Backman did an amazing job giving us insight to each character - their background, family dynamics, fears, heartaches, and what motivates them.
This book is a story about a hockey town. But it’s about a lot more than hockey. It’s about toxic masculinity, peer pressure, rape culture, entitlement, patriarchy/misogyny, dehumanization (mostly of women), the danger of silence, and power imbalances. How the whole town becomes complicit in a culture that is so toxic and has everyone thinking backwards about a terrible assault, blaming and slandering the victim, and making the perpetrator a victim himself.
I did appreciate the ending and will continue on with the series to see where things go from here!
“Culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit. Most people don't do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with.”
TW/CW ⚠️: rape/sexual assault, victim blaming, suicide (happened in past, mentioned), suicidal ideation, child loss, homophobia, locker room talk including misogynistic and homophobic comments, guns.
Beartown drew me in. I could picture myself in the small town and feel the chill in the air. I really enjoyed how well-written the setting was. There was also a very large cast of characters - the hockey team, the staff of the hockey club and the board/sponsors, plus other people in the town.
But this town is all about hockey and honestly seems to be putting all their eggs in that basket: they plan to win big, bring in more sponsors, build a hockey academy that everyone will want to send their talented hockey players to, then they’ll need a shopping mall and other attractions and it will bring new jobs to this struggling small town, etc. Quite a bit of pressure on these 17-year-old boys.
Because there are so many characters, and the narrative jumps around often (multiple different perspectives within each chapter), I did have a little difficulty keeping everyone straight initially since I was listening on audiobook. I probably could have used a reference sheet or something.
What I cannot emphasize enough is the emotional rollercoaster this story put me on. I didn’t read the synopsis, content/trigger warnings, or any reviews before heading into this one. I’m a huge mood reader and just thought it seemed like a good winter book! It was but I would also caution anyone that may be sensitive to certain topics to take a look at the trigger/content warnings at the end of this review and take them into consideration. This book broke my heart, made me angry and frustrated, and I cried multiple times. Some characters disappointed me, while others pleasantly surprised me. Despite how many characters there are, Backman did an amazing job giving us insight to each character - their background, family dynamics, fears, heartaches, and what motivates them.
This book is a story about a hockey town. But it’s about a lot more than hockey. It’s about toxic masculinity, peer pressure, rape culture, entitlement, patriarchy/misogyny, dehumanization (mostly of women), the danger of silence, and power imbalances. How the whole town becomes complicit in a culture that is so toxic and has everyone thinking backwards about a terrible assault, blaming and slandering the victim, and making the perpetrator a victim himself.
I did appreciate the ending and will continue on with the series to see where things go from here!
“Culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit. Most people don't do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with.”
TW/CW ⚠️: rape/sexual assault, victim blaming, suicide (happened in past, mentioned), suicidal ideation, child loss, homophobia, locker room talk including misogynistic and homophobic comments, guns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism
Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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
Beartown is a great read. It starts off rather interestingly and then gets *really good about 1/3 of the way in. There are quite a few characters routinely involved in the story. For a while, I wasn’t sure which ones were MCs and which were supporting. The first 1/3 of the book was a bit hard to follow. As a listener, I needed to back up several times in order to keep the story straight. More/deeper character development from the beginning would make this better.
The author does an excellent job of making the reader feel included in the story. As the tale unfolds, it’s almost as if the reader is also an interested Beartown dweller who is trying to understand what’s happening. There are some very difficult topics embedded in this story. Depending on one’s perspective, there could be some triggers. The relationships between characters throughout the book are beautiful and go a long way toward making the tragedies easier to process. My interest is more than piqued—I can’t wait to read about what happens next in the lives of these people.
The author does an excellent job of making the reader feel included in the story. As the tale unfolds, it’s almost as if the reader is also an interested Beartown dweller who is trying to understand what’s happening. There are some very difficult topics embedded in this story. Depending on one’s perspective, there could be some triggers. The relationships between characters throughout the book are beautiful and go a long way toward making the tragedies easier to process. My interest is more than piqued—I can’t wait to read about what happens next in the lives of these people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Rape
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence
dark
reflective
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
There was a distinct moment in my reading of Beartown where I felt the dread set in. Like many parts of this book, it happened on the ice. Amat, one of our central characters, is acclimating to his new position on the Junior hockey team. Here, we see a player who should represent all the ideals of sportsmanship and, by extension, the ideals of his community - diligence, discipline, even gallantry. But the world, the spotlight, he is thrust into is not all good and it brings its fair share of pressure - and fear. Beartown has a way of sparking that same apprehension in its readers and I remember taking in Amat’s initial encounters with his Junior teammates and thinking this: this league will teach him how to play hockey, but it will not teach him how to be a good man.
The events that follow spiral us further into this reality. Fredrik Backman expertly draws you into the world of the bears, and the lions. He tells you from the start where this story will take you - a place of violent transgression in the form of sexual assault. And yet, there is so much in this story which keeps you on your toes. I am compelled, I am anxious, I am driven to reach into this story and deliver a message to the impressionable teens (and parents) of this hockey town, a warning that not everyone has your best interest at heart. And so, I am caught off guard when mere pages after this moment with Amat, we catch a glimpse of their coach David’s careful and caring cultivation of the boys on his team. Love - David’s secret to being a good coach is love. So how does love go all wrong?
This is where Beartown succeeds in telling a heart-wrenchingly familiar story to us all. It asks us how we can build communities and center that which unites us, while also becoming places that exclude and destroy. It shows us how commitment and community can walk hand in hand with misogyny and xenophobia. It asks whether a community is an inherently hypocritical beast. It takes us through intention versus action, and how opposing motivations collide; how hearts obscure and can be obscured; how love can be led astray by greed and by pride. Beartown asks much of its residents and its readers. How do you survive? What makes you good, noble, or loyal? How does a community pick its heroes and its outcasts?
We hear this refrain multiple times: what is a community? The sum of its actions. What it encourages, and also what it allows. The times in which it seeks a simplistic answer for a complicated question.
I think what broke my heart most of all in this book was feeling that sense of realization from several of the characters when they understood they had failed someone - as a friend, as a parent, and as a mentor. Beartown has a way of laying all your incorrect sacrifices out.
Just a phenomenal, painful, book which leaves you awestruck. And no - it’s not just a hockey story.
The events that follow spiral us further into this reality. Fredrik Backman expertly draws you into the world of the bears, and the lions. He tells you from the start where this story will take you - a place of violent transgression in the form of sexual assault. And yet, there is so much in this story which keeps you on your toes. I am compelled, I am anxious, I am driven to reach into this story and deliver a message to the impressionable teens (and parents) of this hockey town, a warning that not everyone has your best interest at heart. And so, I am caught off guard when mere pages after this moment with Amat, we catch a glimpse of their coach David’s careful and caring cultivation of the boys on his team. Love - David’s secret to being a good coach is love. So how does love go all wrong?
This is where Beartown succeeds in telling a heart-wrenchingly familiar story to us all. It asks us how we can build communities and center that which unites us, while also becoming places that exclude and destroy. It shows us how commitment and community can walk hand in hand with misogyny and xenophobia. It asks whether a community is an inherently hypocritical beast. It takes us through intention versus action, and how opposing motivations collide; how hearts obscure and can be obscured; how love can be led astray by greed and by pride. Beartown asks much of its residents and its readers. How do you survive? What makes you good, noble, or loyal? How does a community pick its heroes and its outcasts?
We hear this refrain multiple times: what is a community? The sum of its actions. What it encourages, and also what it allows. The times in which it seeks a simplistic answer for a complicated question.
I think what broke my heart most of all in this book was feeling that sense of realization from several of the characters when they understood they had failed someone - as a friend, as a parent, and as a mentor. Beartown has a way of laying all your incorrect sacrifices out.
Just a phenomenal, painful, book which leaves you awestruck. And no - it’s not just a hockey story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Rape
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child death
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Violence, Grief
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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
I really enjoy Backman's style and will definitely be reading more from him. I preferred Ove to Beartown, but this book definitely kept me hooked and interested all the way through. I love how Backman lets his characters be complex, but sometimes feel he could go a bit deeper with the relationship development. Didn't love the end as I felt there were a few loose ends I was wondering about. Still would recommend to a friend though!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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
“Sometimes the entire community feels like a philosophical experiment: If a town falls in the forest but no one hears it, does it matter at all?”
After reading an ARC copy of Fredrik Backman’s newest title to be released in May, I found myself captivated not only by his writing, but the life lessons woven within his work. Beartown has one of those lessons…we can’t always protect our kids. This book actually has many lessons, but as a parent of a teenage girl, this book hits different. Beartown might center around a teenage ice hockey team, bonded together, but this book is so much more than that. It ultimately follows what happens after a violent act leaves a young girl traumatized, the storm than ensues within the town, and the collateral damage that wrecks so many involved.
“Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.”
What’s On The Pages:
-small town
-ice hockey
-poverty
-bonds
-teens seemingly having to grow up way too fast
-complicated relationships
-forgiveness
⚠️CW/TW: death of a child, rape
✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death