Bear Town

Score: 4.5/5 Bookmarks

I’d been hearing about Bear Town by Fredrick Backman for a while, but finally read it this month as part of a buddy read. It was a slow burn, but had me hooked by the 1/3 mark. It’s a moving story of humanity, family, trauma, community and yes…there’s a bit of ice hockey in there.

While the first part of the book did feel a little slow, once you sink down into the character development and go with it you start to really feel what their lives are like, their point of view, and appreciate their struggles.

It is a beautifully-written book that will make you ugly cry…even more so if you are a parent I think. It is also wonderfully narrated as an audiobook by Marin Ireland, which you can get here or get the physical book by clicking the link below.

Synopsis:

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Overeturns with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream—and the price required to make it come true.

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 working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, 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.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. 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 small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.