Library book: Beartown #2 Us Against You Fredrik Backman , Neil Smith (Translator)
Publisher: Atrai Books
Published: 6/5/2018
Pages: 443
Genre: Sports
Review: Library book
After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach.
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent.
Us against you, what would you expect to happen with this title? It's hockey, and if you had read book one, then you already know just how much these two towns bump heads. In the end, we say it is about the kids, but in reality, it is the adults who are living their dream through them and the games.
We are in the part of our towns where people are protecting those affected by the horrible actions that took place in the first book. Benji is put on the spot in this one, and your heart breaks for him. So much to unpack within these chapters because there isn't just one thing going on; there are multiple things.
I have fallen in love with this series, and I can't wait to read book three. I am invested in the characters and their lives. You feel so much with these characters that it makes you believe this could be real.
My favorite quote: "Grief is the price we pay for love, Ramona. A broken heart in exchange for a whole one."
Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (soon to be a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks), My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, as well as two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime. Things My Son Needs to Know About the World, his first work of non-fiction, will be released in the US in May 2019. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.
Connect with him on Twitter @BackmanLand or on Instagram @backmansk.
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