Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Kleine Stadt der großen Träume

I went into reading this knowing nothing about it, other than having seen lots of praise and recommendations for it. It right away starts the intrigue with the short chapter one and the "this is the story of how we got there," and then goes on to develop the town and characters and explain all the various aspects of living in a "hockey town". Because of that first chapter, I assumed that the "violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil" from the back blurb was about someone killing someone else with a shotgun. Even though Backman does a phenomenal job of hinting at what's coming through the character development and locker room culture, I was still unprepared for when

Kevin rapes Maya

and emotionally had a hard time continuing to read after that moment. But all in all it was a fantastic book with lots of interesting themes and thoughts about the human experience wrapped up in an interesting story about a small hockey town.

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bookswstella's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked to read Beartown, it’s such a important book I think everyone should read. It’s really emotional and some parts hurts so bad to read.

Some of the characters I loved, and some I hated. They all felt so real it easily could have been a real story.

Even tho I’m really excited to read the other books in this series, Beartown would have been a great standalone, but maybe my opinion on that will change after I’ve read the rest of the series.

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louisa_o's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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stephaniezd's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Just WOW. Another incredible book by Backman.

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mandalacb19's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.75

This book is one of my ultimate favorites. I do a re-read of it almost every year, and it gets better every time. With the Winners coming out I decided to re-read the series, and gosh, Fredrik Backman never disappoints. He is my idol, and I would claim the best writer of the modern age. His stories are captivating, inclusive, and heartbreaking. This is the first book I recommend to anyone. Its incredible. I love the characters, especially Benji and Ana. So good.

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