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Apr 28, 2018gogo12127 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees, but down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the workingmen who founded this town, and that ice rink is the reason people believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior hockey team is about to compete in the national semifinals, 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. A victory would send star player Kevin on to a brilliant future in the NHL. It would mean everything to Amat, a scrawny fifteen-year-old treated like an outcast everywhere but on the ice. It would justify the choice that Peter, the team's general manager, and his wife, Kira, made to return to his hometown and raise their children in this beautiful but isolated place. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semifinal match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Hers is a story no one wants to believe, since doing so would mean the end of the dream. Accusations are made, and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. (Description slightly edited from the hardcover book flap.) Is it heresy to say that Beartown is just as good as A Man Called Ove? Well, then call me a heretic, because Beartown is that good. Actually, Beartown and A Man Called Ove are two entirely different kinds of stories. The one constant is the author. Fredrick Backman is a heck of a writer. Mr. Backman has a sequel to Beartown coming out in June, Us Against You. I’ll be looking for it.