Under that heavy burden, the match becomes the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Named a Best Book of the Year by LibraryReads, BookBrowse, and Goodreadsįrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People, a dazzling and profound novel about a small town with a big dream-and the price required to make it come true.īy the lake in Beartown is an old ice rink, and in that ice rink Kevin, Amat, Benji, and the rest of the town’s junior ice hockey team are about to compete in the national semi-finals-and they actually have a shot at winning. “You’ll love this engrossing novel.” - People Carol Schneck Varner, Schuler Books (Okemos), Okemos, MI If you like John Irving, if you love Richard Russo, if you want a novel that is just plain wonderful, read Beartown!” When that future is threatened, Beartown’s residents are forced to show what they really stand for.

Beartown, on the edge of nowhere, is in an economic decline, with only the town’s hockey team giving its residents hope for the future and a sense of belonging. He is a master craftsman, weaving subtle details into a beautifully told, captivating masterpiece. Backman writes stories that are full of heart yet gritty and real enough that they don’t veer into cloying sentimentality. “I loved this book so much that I truly didn’t want it to end. Julia Turner, Itinerant Literate Books, Charleston, SC Summer 2018 Reading Group Indie Next List When the worst happens, who do you stand by - your team, your community, your family? In Beartown, Backman shows us, once again, that human beings are anything but predictable.” On the cusp of that victory, news breaks of a crime that shakes the community to its core. Beartown is on its way back up, riding the heels of its most successful junior team in years. “After a family tragedy, former NHL player Peter Andersson moves his family back to Beartown, where he's gotten a job as general manager for the local hockey club.

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