Us Against You: A Novel (Beartown Series)
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people—about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes).
Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did.
Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too.
A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might 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 the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.
Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; 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 town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.
Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman—“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)—reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.
Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did.
Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too.
A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might 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 the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.
Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; 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 town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.
As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.
Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman—“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)—reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.
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Community Reviews
I absolutely loved Beartown so I was excited to read the second in the trilogy. For some reason this fell a bit flat to me. The new characters were not as well developed and the plot dragged at points. That being said I overall enjoyed this installment and would definitely read the third when it comes out. If nothing else I want to know what happens to Benji.
2nd book in the trilogy does not disappoint. The characters are amazing and you learn to love them all. I don’t want to finish the series but I want to devour it.
Solid 4.5
This is another emotional ride from Fredrik Backman about hockey and so much more. It is the sequel to Beartown, which I read over a year ago. I wasn't sure a sequel could be as good as the 1st (just like movies) but this story actually got better as it went along. All the same characters that I loved from Beartown are back, along with a few new voices. The story does a nice job of recapping what happened in Beartown without feeling overdone. It started off a little slow for me and I didn't care for all the political stuff (politics and hockey don't mix!) but oh my, what a story about the fall of a town and the rise of a town. The emotional roller coaster is a real thing! There are a lot of characters and I love how they are all connected to each other or the town. It is like 3 degrees of separation. I love how all actions have a consequence, good or bad and we get to see that played out in Beartown. I had many favorite characters again (Benji, Amat, Leo) but I think Benji is the real star of this book.
"Life is a weird thing. We spend all our time trying to manage different aspects of it, yet we are still largely shaped by things that happen beyond our control."
This is another emotional ride from Fredrik Backman about hockey and so much more. It is the sequel to Beartown, which I read over a year ago. I wasn't sure a sequel could be as good as the 1st (just like movies) but this story actually got better as it went along. All the same characters that I loved from Beartown are back, along with a few new voices. The story does a nice job of recapping what happened in Beartown without feeling overdone. It started off a little slow for me and I didn't care for all the political stuff (politics and hockey don't mix!) but oh my, what a story about the fall of a town and the rise of a town. The emotional roller coaster is a real thing! There are a lot of characters and I love how they are all connected to each other or the town. It is like 3 degrees of separation. I love how all actions have a consequence, good or bad and we get to see that played out in Beartown. I had many favorite characters again (Benji, Amat, Leo) but I think Benji is the real star of this book.
"Life is a weird thing. We spend all our time trying to manage different aspects of it, yet we are still largely shaped by things that happen beyond our control."
The follow-up to Beartown was almost just as good as the first. Surprisingly, I wouldn't have minded more actual hockey scenes. I just didn't want it to end. I was immediately looking to see if there was a third. Love the characters. Love the writing style. I can't wait to read more from Backman.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #23)
#popsugarreadingchallenge2019 (prompt #23)
Tough and gritty--and definitely doesn't shy away from the darker sides of storytelling. While often violent and emotionally intense, Backman masterfully builds anticipation—and fear—with every page, making it impossible to look away. Loaded with tension, heartbreak, and hope, this is a raw, powerful novel that grips you from start to finish. A real page-turner. On to book #3 (to finish the series).
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