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stacyxmarie 's review for:
Beartown
by Fredrik Backman
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not going to lie to you guys, I almost DNFd this book a couple times. Once at like 15% and then at around 30%. But I knew this was a super beloved book and I hadn’t really ever heard anything bad about it so I pushed through and I’m so glad I did.
To start off with this book is about hockey. There’s so much hockey. I don’t care about hockey. It’s also about how close and loyal these hockey teams are, how passionate people can be about their hockey teams and how much a star hockey player can get away with because he’s a star hockey player. To start with I didn’t care about the hockey and I was frustrated with these douchey teenage boys and how they were allowed to act however they wanted and the violence even seemed to be encouraged, on or off the ice. But then I realized that’s sort of the point.
There’s an inciting incident that happens at about 40% into this book and I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t say what it is but do check triggers if there are things you don’t want to read about. That sort of gives it away but if it’s something that’s going to trigger you, you should know about it ahead of time. The vibe of the book changes quite a bit after that. It becomes more about the community and how unwilling people are to believe that their precious star athlete could do something wrong. About how people are able to convince themselves that they must be mistaken and he could never have done that. And even if people believe that he did it, is it worth destroying his hockey career over?
This is such a heartbreaking and beautiful look at something that unfortunately happens too often and with similar results. It’s about how a community can come together, either for good or evil and how a few brave people can stand up for what’s right even if no one else seems to agree with them. There’s a quote from the book that spoke to me so much that I’m going to paraphrase because I don’t remember the exact wording but it was something along the lines of “When so many people are silent, the few people who aren’t are screaming,” There were so many people in this book who kept quiet because it was easier than arguing.
By the end of this book I was so surprised by the characters I ended up loving and feeling so much for. A couple of the boys who at the beginning of the book seemed like bullies, by the end of the book were some of the few defending people who couldn’t defend themselves. The people who were willing to stand up and say something were so interesting to me. I’m so ready to continue on with this series and see what else the community of Beartown gets up to.
To start off with this book is about hockey. There’s so much hockey. I don’t care about hockey. It’s also about how close and loyal these hockey teams are, how passionate people can be about their hockey teams and how much a star hockey player can get away with because he’s a star hockey player. To start with I didn’t care about the hockey and I was frustrated with these douchey teenage boys and how they were allowed to act however they wanted and the violence even seemed to be encouraged, on or off the ice. But then I realized that’s sort of the point.
There’s an inciting incident that happens at about 40% into this book and I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t say what it is but do check triggers if there are things you don’t want to read about. That sort of gives it away but if it’s something that’s going to trigger you, you should know about it ahead of time. The vibe of the book changes quite a bit after that. It becomes more about the community and how unwilling people are to believe that their precious star athlete could do something wrong. About how people are able to convince themselves that they must be mistaken and he could never have done that. And even if people believe that he did it, is it worth destroying his hockey career over?
This is such a heartbreaking and beautiful look at something that unfortunately happens too often and with similar results. It’s about how a community can come together, either for good or evil and how a few brave people can stand up for what’s right even if no one else seems to agree with them. There’s a quote from the book that spoke to me so much that I’m going to paraphrase because I don’t remember the exact wording but it was something along the lines of “When so many people are silent, the few people who aren’t are screaming,” There were so many people in this book who kept quiet because it was easier than arguing.
By the end of this book I was so surprised by the characters I ended up loving and feeling so much for. A couple of the boys who at the beginning of the book seemed like bullies, by the end of the book were some of the few defending people who couldn’t defend themselves. The people who were willing to stand up and say something were so interesting to me. I’m so ready to continue on with this series and see what else the community of Beartown gets up to.