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milliemillz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse
bluebear1's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, and Child abuse
katharina90's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I adore the Beartown series.
This story captures so beautifully what it means to be human and all that we're capable of... the best, the worst, and everything in between. It is emotional and captivating, at times heartbreaking, funny, tense and hopeful.
Backman's characters are wonderfully complex, imperfect like the rest of us, and utterly lovable (or at least most of them...).
The writing style is simple, succinct and fairly blunt, and there's a lot of foreshadowing.
I was hooked immediately and will definitely be rereading this in the years to come.
Quotes:
"Words are not small things."
"Difficult questions, simple answers. What is a community? It is the sum total of our choices."
[I listened to the audiobook this time. It is well narrated and I enjoyed it a lot, but definitely prefer reading this story myself so I can reread sentences and paragraphs to my heart's content.]
This story captures so beautifully what it means to be human and all that we're capable of... the best, the worst, and everything in between. It is emotional and captivating, at times heartbreaking, funny, tense and hopeful.
Backman's characters are wonderfully complex, imperfect like the rest of us, and utterly lovable (or at least most of them...).
The writing style is simple, succinct and fairly blunt, and there's a lot of foreshadowing.
I was hooked immediately and will definitely be rereading this in the years to come.
Quotes:
"Words are not small things."
"Difficult questions, simple answers. What is a community? It is the sum total of our choices."
[I listened to the audiobook this time. It is well narrated and I enjoyed it a lot, but definitely prefer reading this story myself so I can reread sentences and paragraphs to my heart's content.]
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Classism, Rape, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
tiredenglishteacher's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This is a book about sexual violence. This is not a light fun sports read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, and Sexism
marippe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Never again do you find friends like the ones you have when you’re fifteen years old.”
This was really beautifully written! Although it was hard to get into it due to the slow pace at the start + the overwhelming amount of characters, once the story reaches the 40% point with the incident it gets really interesting. It was really sad but it was intriguing and irritating to see so many different viewpoints on a situation.
I particularly liked Benji, Bobo & Ana’s characters a lot
This was really beautifully written! Although it was hard to get into it due to the slow pace at the start + the overwhelming amount of characters, once the story reaches the 40% point with the incident it gets really interesting. It was really sad but it was intriguing and irritating to see so many different viewpoints on a situation.
I particularly liked Benji, Bobo & Ana’s characters a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Drug use, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
noaaustin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexism
daniellekat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Backman is so talented at writing characters with depth, emotion, and believable motivations. Just when you think you understand a character, Backman makes you reconsider. It's the reason why I love his books, but I struggled with Beartown. The plot was so heartbreaking and tense that it took a lot out of me. After reading a few chapters, I always felt like I had to both lie down and go running. Backman covered so many interesting topics relating to sports culture that wove together seamlessly. This was not a 'fun read' and I HIGHLY recommend checking out the content warnings before reading, but Fredrik Backman writes about intersecting lives and community like no one else. My only criticism was that the ending was a little flat for me. I'm super interested to see where the series goes from here, especially since I think his writing is best suited for stand-alones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, and Bullying
Moderate: Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Blood, Classism, Vomit, Child death, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
jane_moriarty's review
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I can't help but compare this to one my favorites this year, Firekeepers Daughter. Both are about a community in a northern town where icehockey players are the kings, both deal in parts with rape culture and both start with a scene were someone gets shot in the woods and we slowly find out what happened. But Beartown doesn't come close to the way Firekeepers Daughter deals with character development, topics about the beautiful and dark aspects of a community and wisdoms about intergenerational trauma and healing.
Long rant coming up:
First half was a 1 star tbh. If you enjoy Facebook motivational quotes on random nature backgrounds this might be for you. I hated the writing style, eyerolled at every pseudo-deep chapter conclusion that were like every fucking page after we were introduced to yet another cliche character who will probably be forgotten for the rest of the book. Not that I could tell the hordes of icehockey playing teenage boys apart but whatever. The author writes like he doesn't trust his reader to understand a single word if he doesn't drive it home with several repetitions and idiotic meaningless punchlines a la "it doesn't take much to let go of your children - it just takes everything", "she doesn't tell him that she's proud of him - he doesn't tell her he already knows" and so on. Also in case you didn't get it by the fiftieth time: ICEHOCKEY IS LIKE SUPER IMPORTANT IN BEARTOWN!
The only story I was actually invested in were Benji and the bassist and the only reason this book gets two stars from me is the handling of the rape. The way this affects the victim and the way the community deals with it (or not) is written in a sensitive and imo realistic way, which not that many authors get right.
Listened on Spotify (german translation) for the popsugar reading challenge "a book about about an athlete/sport".
Long rant coming up:
First half was a 1 star tbh. If you enjoy Facebook motivational quotes on random nature backgrounds this might be for you. I hated the writing style, eyerolled at every pseudo-deep chapter conclusion that were like every fucking page after we were introduced to yet another cliche character who will probably be forgotten for the rest of the book. Not that I could tell the hordes of icehockey playing teenage boys apart but whatever. The author writes like he doesn't trust his reader to understand a single word if he doesn't drive it home with several repetitions and idiotic meaningless punchlines a la "it doesn't take much to let go of your children - it just takes everything", "she doesn't tell him that she's proud of him - he doesn't tell her he already knows" and so on. Also in case you didn't get it by the fiftieth time: ICEHOCKEY IS LIKE SUPER IMPORTANT IN BEARTOWN!
The only story I was actually invested in were Benji and the bassist and the only reason this book gets two stars from me is the handling of the rape. The way this affects the victim and the way the community deals with it (or not) is written in a sensitive and imo realistic way, which not that many authors get right.
Listened on Spotify (german translation) for the popsugar reading challenge "a book about about an athlete/sport".
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Eating disorder, and Drug use
nightstitch96's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Violence, Rape, Sexism, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
sevensableyes's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.5
I love the writing style. The point-of-view changes were a little confusing at times (mostly just because I kept mixing up Peter and David). The victim-blaming was heavy handed. And while this is the start of a trilogy, I really feel no need to read more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism