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adorablyandie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexism, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Xenophobia
bookishinnj's review against another edition
- 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
Beartown is a dying town with only one thing going for them, their hockey club and this year is going to be the year their junior ice hockey team puts them back on the map. It's just what the community needs, but this bright light soon has a dark shadow cast over it. The already struggling townsfolk will be come more divided than ever and the one thing that brings them together is about to tear them apart.
This is such a difficult book to review without giving too much away, there's really no middle ground. The first time I tried to read this I struggled and stopped but I know so many who loved it that I knew I had to give it another try and I'm so happy I did. The story tackles some complex and deep rooted issues that many are faced with every day by telling the story through the lives of a group characters who are very different from each other. Backman also does this by using what I found to be a really unique writing style. It's impossible not to immerse yourself in the thoughts, feelings and actions of the characters because they feel like they are people you know. While going in blind was perfect for me, I suggest checking trigger warnings for anyone who may want to steer clear of some heavy topics.
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexism
clairebartholomew549's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
taracloudclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The first half of this book is a lot of exposition, setting the stage for the driving action. But it’s done well, creatively, interestingly. In other words, “nothing happens,” and I was *almost* bored with it, but I only had to push through a little. It kind of reminds me of Spoon River Anthology with the intertwining of lives and stories of a small town where everyone knows everyone and always have (except the newbies, but that’s not portrayed as harshly as many of this trope).
While it’s a sports town, the sport itself doesn’t take a front seat. It truly is the background while still sating any love for it.
This definitely borders on literary fiction bc the structure is done in a very precise and lovely way, using almost poetic mechanisms such as repeated phrases and parallelism. The narrative style also has a starkness that reflects the setting and the situation, and vice versa. Tension and foreshadowing are done in an obvious but not ridiculous manner. The *way* it was written is as well done as the story itself.
This is definitely a book for consideration. The story is laid out, and while there’s no ambiguity as to “what happened,” there is much speculation to be made as to why and how and what the underlying issues are and how else they affect society. There are no stark answers given. Bad behavior is mentioned, implicated, but not condemned outright. That’s for the reader to determine, negotiate in some cases. Anyone who feels this is moralizing is probably on the more brutal side of the issue.
The narrator Marin Ireland does very well in complimenting the narrative style as well. It’s 3rd person, and the author is male, but I’m pleased they chose a female to tell this story. Such topics through the male perspective can be troublesome, but I feel like the author did well and the narrator helped convince me of it.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
samlo28's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
const_elle_ations's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
i have so much to say about this book!! it did what it set out to do so well - i'm just not sure if what it set out to do was 100% my thing. the focus on community and the intersection of lives was fantastic and reminded me of this is us in the way it was constantly switching between both characters, slowly adding more and more, and times. the way the interpersonal relationships were portrayed felt very complex and cool - there's a review on the back of the book that says that "in this small town, backman shows the world", and i think that's pretty true. it can be applied to a lot of tightly-knit communities (i saw my robotics team in some parts of this book). i like how there's no clear main character - though if i had to pick, i'd say it's peter and kira.
i think what fell flat for me was the characters - while the relationships between them were fleshed out beautifully, the characters themselves felt semi-cliched and vague (at least some of them. i'd say a couple felt like they could be real people - peter, kira, ana, and david at times). i wanted less of an overarching, faraway look at what was happening and more of the zoomed-in, real-time emotional reactions of the characters to the rape accusations - especially the reactions of maya, kevin, and benji. i do think there was more of a focus on the adults, which makes sense because it's an adult book, but that made a lot of it feel detached to me. i think if some of the characters felt more personable, it'd be SO much more agonizing to read about their actions - especially the more "gray" characters.
i like the truth-telling writing style - it reminded me of my favorite parts of the raven boys. it felt a little heavy-handed and pretentious sometimes, but i like that sort of thing. i haven't read the reviews yet, but i suspect that's probably most people's gripe with this book if they have any. that, and the pacing, which was admittedly pretty slow for like...the whole book (i was expecting the party to happen a lot earlier in the book, not halfway, and...thought there's be more action/plot?)
that being said, i really loved how much the book tackled and how well it did it. the way it talked about rape culture felt so real and ugly and i wanted to reach into the book and punch pretty much everyone but ana, benji, ramona, and the anderssons. i loved the climax -
i could talk about the symbolism in that scene for days.
i'll definitely finish the series if only to find out which of the boys dies, becomes a father, and plays professional. that was so out of pocket. selfishly, i'm hoping the next two books have more of a focus on the teenagers.
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Gun violence, and Classism
Minor: Self harm
julessssss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I cannot say that it is badly written, which is part of why I gave it two stars as opposed to one, but I also have no idea what the point of this book was. Backman's ability to bounce between characters while also making them real in some ways should be recognized at the very least.
With that said though, I could not care about most of the characters, and even though they felt like they could be real people, everything they gave to me felt like it was being filtered through Backman as the author, to the point of it feeling ingenuine. I also really hated the Facebook-status-like altruisms that seemed to follow every emotional or important scene. Honestly, in some ways, it felt like I was being talked down to, as if I couldn't just take what was being given to me and understand it.
Overall though, it seemed like a lot of nothing and too much of a rape story I have heard too often, and one that seemed to have no discourse in the text about it other than the same feminist notions I hear all the time. The book is fine, read it if you'd like, but I would not recommend it.
If you are going to make me read a detailed rape scene, make it worth it.
Graphic: Rape and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Self harm, and Grief
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
lucygibbons22's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Classism
stepnic's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Murder