Most of us understand being in a sports town. Whether it’s football, soccer, hockey, curling or any other sort, we understand it. Beartown looks like Pittsburgh on steroids when it comes to hockey. And that’s saying something.

Book Read: Us Against You
Author: Fredrik Backman
Number of Books Read: 33

Spoilers ahead: stop here, go borrow Beartown from your local library, then come back to finish reading this post. Us Against You is a sequel, and while you could probably read one without the other, I highly suggest you go in order.

Beartown is a hockey town. Because for a broken down community, hockey is at times, all anyone has to look forward to. Months before, a single, horrible action, pitted neighbors and friends against each other. Scandal is never good for a hockey club (or any organization for that matter). For Beartown hockey, it could be the end.

Enter a politician who has no issues playing dirty. He finds a sponsor, finds a coach, and manages to keep the club alive, no matter who he needs to deceive along the way. The new coach doesn’t care that she’s a woman. A hockey coach is a hockey coach. Her techniques are different but she has a hell of a team to work with.

Peter, the general manager, still puts hockey ahead of his family, and is tricked along the way. But Beartown hockey has a team and to some, that’s all that matters. To others, not so much. Peter may just finally discover that there is more to life than hockey.

Backman’s cast of characters are vast, and each unique to their own, intermingling stories. Two best friends wonder if their friendship can withstand anything, like they always hoped it would. Benji, after being caught being who he truly is, wonders who he is without hockey and may eventually find out. Amat is still the fastest with a career ahead of him. Bobo learns that talent isn’t just always with who’s skating on the ice. And a four and a half year old girl escapes preschool daily because her love of hockey is overwhelming.

By the end of the books, lines will be crossed, there will be a lot of smoke, black eyes and bruises, and one, if not more, Beartown residents will be dead.

But in a town where hard work rules, it’s two teams, two nets, and Us Against You.

Backman can write. This is the 4th (ore maybe even 5th) book I’ve read of his. Each book, I can’t put down. He did that again with this read. While readers may not have a history like Beartown, Backman makes you feel like you’re part of the town, standing in the crowd, cheering on the bears.

I’ve officially read 32 books this year. That’s a lot of you think about it. I’ve had my ups and I’ve had my downs. Us Against You was definitely an up. It ranks pretty high on my list of reads thus far. Pretty impressive if you think about it.

Next Read: The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand