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alexashabit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
victoriakerr131's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beartown covers some heavy topics with incredibly well written and thought provoking prose. I loved how well Fredrik captured the diverse thoughts, feelings and conflicting emotions of the citizens of Beartown - multiple povs can sometimes get confusing but in this case it painted a complex and beautiful image of a small town and how everyone sees and experiences events differently. I'll definitely be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Violence
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Self harm
kayleejanes's review against another edition
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
mareliweb1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
An amazing book! Frederick Backman is an amazing writer capable of writing true humans with complicated morals and emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
kfawcett's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
abbey1s's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such a powerful story, with amazing curated characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
jrae1334's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Homophobia
echaurz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
oatmilktea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
I don’t know why, but I expected this book to be lighthearted and cosy, going in. Probably because of the German title, which roughly translates to “Small Town, Big Dreams”. A bit misleading imo, but on me for not looking it up prior to reading. Also, I don't think I would have picked it up if I had known that most of the book is about SA and how the town handles it (not well. At all.), but that's also on me.
All right, let's do this. I did not really enjoy this book but I can recognise it for what it is and/or tries to achieve. The way I see it, it’s mostly a character study as well as an analysis of society, in the broadest sense. There are almost as many themes as pov characters, so, a lot: (club) hierarchies, peer pressure, esprit de corps, hush-up/rape culture, abuse of power, classism, sexism, homophobia, lynch law, child abuse… I could go on. Some themes take the spotlight, others are only touched upon, but overall there's value here.
Despite not being a fan of an omniscient narrator with an unlimited pov, especially one who keeps jumping back and forth in time and place, I thought the author handled it rather well. I may not have liked the narration style, but there were only a few characters, like Benji’s sisters, that I failed to tell apart from one another. Most characters were discrete, and I don’t think that’s easy to do.
However, I have gripes. This book is way too long. It could have easily done with a hundred pages less. It moves very slow and I get it, it’s all about the characterisation, but then the book is so repetitive in places that it added unnecessarily to the word count. Especially with the constant foreboding, ice hockey analogies, and telling-not-showing statements about friendships or how things work in this town. Because, you know, it’s Björnstad, after all, and ice hockey is ice hockey, so... cherry blossoms?
I found Bear Town intriguing enough, but for the most part I wanted to finish it for the sake of moving on to another book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Transphobia, and Death of parent