cort_kaye's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
novelesque_life's review against another edition
4.0
RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)
This novel is different than [b:A Man Called Ove|18774964|A Man Called Ove|Fredrik Backman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405259930s/18774964.jpg|21619954], but has the same emotional rollercoaster of a read. The novel takes us through the town of Beartown and its beloved hockey team. The characters were well-written and captures the realism of any small town with big issues that divide friends and neighbours. I wasn't sure how this book would end, but it left me more satisfied than I thought. I highly recommend this book, but this book does involve violence against young people by other young people.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
(Review Not on Blog)
This novel is different than [b:A Man Called Ove|18774964|A Man Called Ove|Fredrik Backman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405259930s/18774964.jpg|21619954], but has the same emotional rollercoaster of a read. The novel takes us through the town of Beartown and its beloved hockey team. The characters were well-written and captures the realism of any small town with big issues that divide friends and neighbours. I wasn't sure how this book would end, but it left me more satisfied than I thought. I highly recommend this book, but this book does involve violence against young people by other young people.
***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
5.0
I've grown to love Backman's work while slowly making my way through his oeuvre and come to expect certain elements when starting something by him: strongly drawn characters, a setting that plays a vital role in the story, humor, occasional satire and a whiff of sadness. This book incorporates all of these elements while taking on a more serious tone and subject, and while I previously regarded [b:A Man Called Ove|18774964|A Man Called Ove|Fredrik Backman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405259930s/18774964.jpg|21619954] as a high water mark, this may be even better. I admit to feeling a bit of impatience during the first third, as the stage is painstakingly set with a wide cast of characters and there is much foreshadowing, some of it heavy-handed. However, once everything is established and a major event occurs, my interest was fully ignited and I was loath to put the book down. Backman makes it obvious what he thinks is right and wrong with regard to all that happens, but does a wonderful job showing the ripple effect of a complex situation on a tightly-knit community and how it can make people react in a myriad of different ways. Only the best stories can provoke strong feelings out of me, and I often felt angry, frustrated and heartbroken about the acts of these individuals and how others are impacted. While this ends on a hopeful note and could have easily functioned as a stand-alone novel, I am very curious to see where the story goes from here since Backman puts the pieces in place so perfectly for a new chapter and if it measures up to this one.
kmmiller28's review against another edition
challenging
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
beesarenotflies's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Xenophobia
emilyheltzel's review against another edition
5.0
I bought Beartown and its sequel without even reading the descriptions, because that’s how highly I think of Fredrik Backman. The tone is a departure from A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, but my faith in him was not misplaced. Backman’s writing makes me want to learn Swedish so that I can read his books in their original language. His understanding of people and his ability to pour this understanding into messy, complicated, human characters is unmatched.
kittmonkey's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rari70's review against another edition
5.0
The best book I’ve read all year. The best book I’ve read in a long damn time. Absolutely perfect.
jhansell's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
nika_nix's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know how I feel about this. Did I like it? Did I not? I have no clue.
Overall, it's a good book but there were a couple things that really bothered me. Firstly, I was so annoyed by the overly dramatic writing and the author's constant effort to try to trick the reader. Usually I like those fun little clues and twists but it is so overdone in this book and mostly has no purpose other than author feeling like he's smarter than the reader. Also, I feel like Backman is trying way too hard to be quotable. Like yeah, sure, he's a good writer but it's just too much sometimes.
There were so many characters in this book and some of them really didn't have any purpose (Ramona, Frak and some other random people) and I feel like were here just so the story feels fuller and more complex but instead it just made it more boring.
Also, the hockey. I found hockey interesting before reading this book. Now I have the same feelings toward it as I have for soccer. And I fucking hate soccer because everyone talks about it so much and it's annoying.
The ending is some underwhelming bullshit. Throughout the story I was led to believe that so many big things might happen and all I get in the end is some stupid fast forward and zero consequences. Bullshit.
The topic of the book is very important and I even got teary-eyed at certain parts that were very hard to read because unfortunately, it was way too realistic. This book made me angry made me sad but overall made me very frustrated and helpless. I understand why the author decided to take this route and I don't mind the hard parts of the book but I don't apreciate the overall message that if you're popular enough or rich enough you can do whatever and people are going to stand by you.
Oh also, the first 200 pages of this book were just plain boring and I was thinking of DNF-ing but I'm glad I didn't because ai flew through the rest of the book once the plot actually started.
And lastly, another thing that didn't sit well with me. Mild homophobia. Some might argue that the homophobic comments weren't a message of the book and were there just to portray a certain character but the tone and the way author writes those sentences with double meaning made me feel uncomfortable and disgusted.
Overall, it's a good book but there were a couple things that really bothered me. Firstly, I was so annoyed by the overly dramatic writing and the author's constant effort to try to trick the reader. Usually I like those fun little clues and twists but it is so overdone in this book and mostly has no purpose other than author feeling like he's smarter than the reader. Also, I feel like Backman is trying way too hard to be quotable. Like yeah, sure, he's a good writer but it's just too much sometimes.
There were so many characters in this book and some of them really didn't have any purpose (Ramona, Frak and some other random people) and I feel like were here just so the story feels fuller and more complex but instead it just made it more boring.
Also, the hockey. I found hockey interesting before reading this book. Now I have the same feelings toward it as I have for soccer. And I fucking hate soccer because everyone talks about it so much and it's annoying.
The ending is some underwhelming bullshit. Throughout the story I was led to believe that so many big things might happen and all I get in the end is some stupid fast forward and zero consequences. Bullshit.
The topic of the book is very important and I even got teary-eyed at certain parts that were very hard to read because unfortunately, it was way too realistic. This book made me angry made me sad but overall made me very frustrated and helpless. I understand why the author decided to take this route and I don't mind the hard parts of the book but I don't apreciate the overall message that if you're popular enough or rich enough you can do whatever and people are going to stand by you.
Oh also, the first 200 pages of this book were just plain boring and I was thinking of DNF-ing but I'm glad I didn't because ai flew through the rest of the book once the plot actually started.
And lastly, another thing that didn't sit well with me. Mild homophobia. Some might argue that the homophobic comments weren't a message of the book and were there just to portray a certain character but the tone and the way author writes those sentences with double meaning made me feel uncomfortable and disgusted.