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.

The center of the team is the 17-year-old star, Kevin, coached by David and managed by Peter. Peter is married to Kira (a lawyer), and they have two children, Maya and Leo. Maya is a teen whose best friend is Ana. Amat, whose mother Fatima is a cleaner, is added to the team for his speed. Benji is Kevin’s best friend, and Ramona runs the local pub. These, and even more characters, round out the complex cast. The rape case against Kevin is dropped due to insufficient evidence. Maya continues to suffer distress and decides she must either kill herself or kill Kevin to be relieved of the pain. Late at night, Maya surprises Kevin with a shotgun and forces him to kneel in front of her. Maya thrusts the gun to a whimpering Kevin's forehead and pulls the trigger, but he doesn't die as she intentionally didn't load the gun. Maya reasons that the fear Kevin felt at the moment she pulled the trigger will continue to haunt him for the rest of his life, just as the rape will haunt her. I’m trying to be really careful while reviewing this book. I don’t want to scare off someone who’s trying to avoid deep, sad, heartbreaking tales. I’m also usually trying to avoid books that can make me cry. But I’ve loved this one so much, it would be a real shame if I’d skipped it.

Media Reviews

I usually prefer books written from a single perspective, but in this case many, many POVs were much needed to fully paint the story. Everyone handles the situation differently. Everyone has to decide for themselves what is truly important to them. Each new perspective changes your own opinion a little bit. Now, I knew before reading it what the book was all about. And ever since I started reading it, all I could think was – I really, really don’t want it to happen. I’ve grown attached to the characters faster that I could imagine. Knowing what was coming almost made me put down the book. Mr. Erdahl talks to Amat and tells him that he didn’t see what he thought he saw at Kevin’s party. He also offers Amat’s mom a better job and money for expensive new skates in exchange for Amat’s silence. Amat drops the money on the ground. A kind of problem play that moves extremely skilfully near the melodramatic without derailing. Its originality is substantial and the book credibly conveys the dual faces of everyday life. An impressive novel, like no other BTJ, Sweden

He also uses it very diversely. Sometimes it is just a simple bang bang bang bang bang that sets the atmosphere and means different things to different people. Other times he will say something that sounds quite simple and innocent, then remind you of it later on when certain events give those words a much different meaning. Sadly, not everyone survives in this novel of high-stakes competition, and others fall in less deadly, yet still consequential, ways. The game is no less significant in this sequel, and those who remain at the end must solider on as they’ve always done.Beartown became one of my favorite books of all time. So I knew writing this review is going to be challenging for me – though I wouldn’t mind gushing about it all day long, there are only so many ways you can say “It was amazing.” On the night of the semi-final victory, Kevin's parents are out of town. This gives Kevin the opportunity to host a big party for his team and many other teenagers from the community. At the party, many of the teenagers are drinking and indulging in marijuana use and the team members boast about having sex with the supportive female fans. Maya and Kevin sneak off to an upstairs bedroom to make out. Maya resists Kevin's advances, and he proceeds to rape her. Amat, himself drunk and harboring feelings for Maya, stumbles in to witness the rape. Maya takes advantage of Amat's intrusion to free herself from Kevin. As the news spread of Maya's accusation and the team's loss in the final, many people in the town turn against Maya's family. Kevin's father believes that Maya's accusation is a lie and that Peter, out of jealousy, intentionally reported it the day of the final to cause the team to lose. Kevin's father pushes the sponsors and the council board to fire Peter. He also attempts to bribe Amat into silence by giving his mother a better job, but his mother refuses, telling him to be honest. Beartown is one of those books that seem pretty easy to describe, yet I feel whatever I say, I won’t be able to draw you a full picture of why you really, really need to read this book.