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I have read all of Fredrik Backman’s books and Beartown was probably my favorite. I know I’m in the minority here but “Us Against You�� just didn’t elicit the same emotions for me, it was a bit of a disappointment. After I read Beartown I felt as though it was complete story and so I was a little surprised that the author chose to revisit the town again.

The first 30% of the book dealt pretty much with getting the reader caught up with the characters from Beartown and what had happened the previous year. This part for me was a skip through because I already was knowledgeable about what had transpired. That said, Mr. Bachman’s writing was again outstanding as he summed up all characters and what they had gone through emotionally and physically the past Fall and Winter.

Now it’s summer and the kids are free to try to heal as are the parents. A new character, Richard Theo, a politician, is introduced and adds his twisted, manipulative narrative to this new season for the hockey team. A lot of time is spent on what he is doing, but not so much on why he is doing it? We are left with wondering if he is just incredibly selfish and wants notoriety for himself or if there is something else that is going on? I really couldn’t understand how someone could care so little about the people he was about to hurt.

A lot of time is spent on “The Pack�� and it’s influence in the town. I felt myself growing tired of Teemu, Woody and Spider and the rest of the group. I have a hard time believing that such a small group of men could hold so much sway in the feelings of the townspeople. Not not only did they seem to control the hockey team’s endorsement but also the town’s feelings about the rape, the homosexual issues, the woman coach and how much violence was used to get what they wanted. I had had enough of them by the end of the book!

Benji and his sisters play a large part in this book and those moments with them are definitely some of my favorites. His sisters are committed to their brother and want so much to protect him from some of the things he is about to do, but he is almost a grown man and they are left with just loving and supporting him, which was a wonderful thing to see.

Hog is an amazing character and a great father. He is so supportive of Bobo and understands his son’s strengths and weaknesses. He wrestles with the loss of his wife but the family is a strong unit and seem to be able to survive this great tragedy.

I was disappointed that nothing was included about David and the boys who left to play for Hed, they are still residents of Beartown to my understanding and I would have liked to know what their thoughts were now that they decided to play for the opposing team. I’m sure it was not an easy decision for many of them.

As if there haven’t been enough changes in Beartown, a woman coach is hired to resurrect the Beartown hockey club. She is tough, skilled and treats all of her players equally. This is a woman I was glad to see introduced into the story. I also loved how the ending was pulled together with her and one of the other players.

In the end I was glad to have read this book but I don’t think it “measured up�� to Beartown or “Britt Marie Was Here��, two of my very favorite Backman books. I’m sure many, many people will be glad to revisit the town but for me it was bittersweet and the ending still left with me with lots of unanswered questions. I will of course be on the lookout for the next Fredrik Backman novel as he has been added to my list of favorite authors.

ADDENDUM: Since I published this review yesterday it has come to my attention that there is to be a Beartown #3 and that the author always intended a trilogy. I thought it was interesting but I don't know that I need a third book, I'm not a series kind of person (with the exception of Harry Potter)

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.