Blurb

Now an HBO Original Series

“You’ll love this engrossing novel.” —People

Named a Best Book of the Year by LibraryReads, BookBrowse, and Goodreads

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

By the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in that ice rink Kevin, Amat, Benji, and the rest of the town’s junior ice hockey team are about to compete in the national semi-finals—and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Under that heavy burden, the match becomes the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown.

This is a story about a town and a game, but even more about loyalty, commitment, and the responsibilities of friendship; the people we disappoint even though we love them; and the decisions we make every day that come to define us. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

Review

This was a book club pick for an online group I am in, about a year ago. The group decided mid-month to bail on the book and pick something else. That was before I even got a chance to start it, so it moved to the backburner. My wife wound up reading it before I did and she enjoyed it, so I kept it in my archive and eventually got to it.

The first half of this book reads like a young adult sports book. I kept getting “The Rookie Fights Back” vibes from Amat, the undersized role player of the story. I could see why a group of non-sports nerds gave up on the book. I don’t know if most of them got to the “event” before they did or not.

I generally avoid spoilers in these reviews, but I don’t know how to do that here, so here we go. The “event” is a sexual assault. The rest of the book is the fallout and rebuilding relationships after.

The book takes on a deep, dark subject. although mostly on surface levels. It is more about who is to be believed, and why, than it is the actual trauma the victim goes through. But it also serves as a reminder of why so many assaults go unreported. Something I have too often been reminded as I’ve gotten older.

After I finished this one, my wife informed me it is actually book 1 of 3. I don’t think I will be reading the other two any time soon.

3 of 5 stars.