What I'm Reading | January

Beartown | Fredrik Backman

Never did I think I would obsessively read a book about hockey, but here I am. I suppose I should say that Beartown isn't about hockey, but about the people who play and live their lives around hockey. I loved the setting of this story: a small town community deep within a forest where everything around it seems to not exist. When I finished this book, it took me awhile to process. I love Backman's writing as it poetically flows from page to page, chapter to chapter, where you're reading and you suddenly realize it's been two hours and you've lost track of time. This novel takes on deep and controversial topics and plays them out in a way that grips the reader and makes you think about what you would do in these situations. I can definitely say this wasn't a predictable novel, and it's one you should for sure pick up on cold day when you feel like escaping. 

From GoodReads:

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.

5/5 stars