ŷ������

“It’s so easy to get people to hate each other. That’s what makes love so impossible to understand. Hate is so simple that it always ought to win. It’s an uneven fight.��

I hadn’t read Beartown, so the beginning of this book threw me because I didn’t realize it was the second in a series. Once I got into the characters that make up the town and the hockey team that the town revolves around, it stood on its own just fine. For much of the last fifth of this novel, I had tears in my eyes.

Beartown is a small town, and their biggest rival is another small town, Hed. After Beartown is divided because an evil act of violence, many of the best of their hockey players leave to play for Hed. Beartown gets a new coach, who’s ready to rebuild the team.

We watch as families and towns fracture and repair. Individuals who are ostracized find a way to survive and thrive.

“The complicated thing about good and bad people alike is that most of us can be both at the same time.��

This is another wonderful read by Frekrik Backman (I’d previously read A Man Called Ove.) Highly recommend.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Simon and Shuster for the opportunity to review this book, which comes out this Tuesday, June 5.

For more reviews, please visit