Sequel to 2017’s Beartown (link to my review), two ice hockey-obsessed neighboring communities continue to compete for limited resources. This second book is primarily about that which that divides people such as politics, economic competition, sports rivalries, stereotypes, turf, and marital issues. Conflict abounds in this story. And violence. Lots of violence. I was surprised to discover a sequel to Beartown. I don’t normally read sequels, and felt the original story stood on its own. “Us Against You” takes us into the next hockey season and introduces new characters. The author catches the reader up in terms of what had previously happened, so it is not a requirement to read the first book, but I would recommend it, since in my opinion it is the much better book of the two.

Backman’s writing is quotable and poetic, and the primary characters are vividly drawn. The plot was my main issue with it. There are lots of characters, too many to keep the story focused. I felt the politician “puppet-master” and “the Pack” (gang of bullies) detracted from the storyline. Foreshadowing was used throughout, but the event being foreshadowed sometimes didn’t happen, or happened in a much different way, so I guess the reader will judge whether this works or not. My assessment: great writing, good characterization, uneven plot, uneven pacing. Content warnings include violence, references to rape, shaming, homophobia, and profanity. Recommended to Backman fan, those that enjoy sequels, and anyone that appreciates sports-related fiction. 3.5 stars

Powerful! Radiant!

I finish reading Backman's latest novel about Beartown and am both exhausted and rewarded. I'm somewhat ravaged by the emotions that run through this story of a community that is at once damning of the mob like human condition and uplifted by various individual's actions and dives into communal core values. The rape of Maya has far reaching consequences for Maya, her family and the town that continue to unfold. Familiar protagonists are encountered in the aftermath. New charcters bring new challenges.
I try to slow my reading but I can't. I am driven by the pace of unfolding events to consume the story at an ever increasing rate of knots. The personalities I encounter are awesome.
I stand tall with the Black Jackets , flinch with Maya, am appalled at the exposure of Benji, am confounded by Ana's actions in a moment of rejection--a new moment that changes lives, am caught up by Vida, and feel the silent rage of Leo. I could go on. Everywhere are ordinary people who are extraordinary in their every day lives, their love of their town, all held together by their insane dedication to hockey. There's a wide spectrum of people and emotions, a community that's ugly at times, sensitive and forgiving at others.
And bubbling beneath flows a wisdom thst speaks loudly to our times. Another 'no punches pulled' gift from Backman!

A NetGalley ARC

During training for my line of work, I had a supervisor who was notorious for leaning back in his chair, with an air of nonchalance, as we took turns sharing cases we'd struggled with; suddenly, and without warning, he would casually impart a few words, maybe a complete sentence, of the type of wisdom I'll likely never possess. We named these moments "zingers." Fredrik Backman knows how to lay down a zinger.

"Everything has a breaking point and even though people always say that 'a joy shared is a joy doubled,' we seem to insist on believing that the opposite is true of sorrow. Perhaps that isn’t actually the case. Two drowning people with lead weights around their ankles may not be each other’s salvation if they hold hands, they’d just sink twice as fast."

If you haven't read Beartown, you could read Us Against You without it; however, I wouldn't recommend this approach. Thankfully, for those of us with limited book memory, Backman weaves the narrative from Beartown into this second installment but, without that foundation, you'll miss out on so many of the details that create such a powerful backdrop.

"People driving through say that Beartown doesn’t live for anything but hockey, and some days they may be right. Sometimes perhaps people have to be allowed to have something to live for in order to survive everything else."

Backman picks up where he left off; I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who have not yet experienced the events that occurred in Beartown but, suffice it to say, those of you who thought the story wrapped up nicely are in for a treat. There's always more to the story, right? Always.

"They used to be so in love that they hungered for each other, her dad’s fingertips brushing her mom’s bangs, her mom who could raise the hairs on her dad’s arms with a single glance. Children have a purely biological reaction against their parents’ love for each other, but when it disappears they hate themselves."

The writing will hit you unexpectedly, like a wayward puck, just as it did in Beartown; once again, I've highlighted numerous passages and found myself pausing to reread sentences and sections over and over to allow them to fully sink in. Even though you'll want to fly through it, I'll hope you'll savor every word. As I have stated on so many occasions about its predecessor, Us Against You is not a story about hockey; it's about all of us.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman is a very highly recommended novel about a town, its citizens, and a game. This is an excellent novel - absolutely outstanding. It will be on my list of top ten novels of the year.

Us Against You is a sequel to Beartown, but it can be appreciated on its own. Personally, I would read Beartown first because it is an exceptional novel. "Try to make it sound like it’s just a sports club collapsing, even though sports clubs never really do that. They just cease to exist. It’s the people who collapse." This isn't just a novel about hockey, although the game plays a large role in the narrative. Even if you don't know anything about hockey, keep reading because there are insights into much larger truths.

"[P]eople will always choose a simple lie over a complicated truth, because the lie has one unbeatable advantage: the truth always has to stick to what actually happened, whereas the lie just has to be easy to believe... [M]any of our worst deeds are the result of us never wanting to admit that we’re wrong. The greater the mistake and the worse the consequences, the more pride we stand to lose if we back down. So no one does."

Beartown is a small down-on-its-luck Swedish town home to hardworking people who are obsessed with hockey and have always taken great pride in their team. Now it looks like their team might be eliminated. It's bad enough that many of their senior players are now play for Hed, their rival. Feelings are still raw across the town after the crisis from last year. A surprising new coach has come to Beartown who plans to build a winning team, and the team is going to be built on the talents of four untested teenagers. A despicable politician is manipulating people behind the scenes. The situation is complicated. All of the people involved are imperfect. "It's just a game, two teams, sticks and pucks. Us against you, doesn't that say it all?"

Backman's writing style always makes me think of a fable, a folk story. I've said it before and it still stands. The writing is rich, masterful, and admirable. There are moments of great failure and overwhelming compassion, scenes of desperate cruelty and sly humor, and people with a malicious bent and others with a quiet wisdom. The empathetic narrative explores love, personal sacrifice, and the vital importance of family and friendships. This exceptional novel is part character study, part morality tale, part coming-of-age story, part family drama, part redemptive tale and totally wonderful. All of Backman's novels would be wonderful for book club discussions.

"Our spontaneous reactions are rarely our proudest moments. It’s sad that a person’s first thought is the most honest, but that often isn’t true. It’s often just the most stupid. Why else would we have afterthoughts?"

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books via Netgalley.
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I can’t get enough of the people from Beartown. Although I don’t think I could live in a place where winter was three-quarters of the year…brrr.

Us Against You is bestselling author Fredrick Backman’s sequel to his novel Beartown. Both are MUST reads. That is all my review really needs to say: just listen to me, they do not disappoint.

For those who need more convincing, well here goes:

Us Against You brings back all the characters we love, or love to hate: Benji (my fav!), Amat, Bobo, the Andersson’s, Ana, Sune, the Lyft’s, Ramona…I can keep going but will stop it there. We are also introduced to politician Richard Theo who is reminiscent of Tommy Carcetti from HBO’s The Wire, the Rinnius’ Brothers Teemu & Vidar, and new head coach Zackell.

This novel is about so much more than hockey, in fact there isn’t that much of it actually played. It focuses on the community’s handling of “the scandal” aftermath from Beartown: with politics muddling in and creating even more conflict between Beartown and Hed residents. You are either a Bear or a Bull and you hate the other for even existing. Families, friendships, secrets, the club…will never be the same. Trigger warning: there is a fair amount of fighting.

Backman’s writing consists of simple sentences packed with punch: so much meaning with the right amount of build up: his writing style is brilliant!

Back to Beartown as author Fredrick Backman continues his previous story of the little town that could. US AGAINST YOU is his second in the series that plays with teams, fidelity, truth, rumor and the inspiration derived from communal activities. He is once again using strong narration as his vehicle for explaining everything that’s going on in his cold northern location; at times this feels a bit heavy-handed. If you’ve enjoyed his other work, this one will continue to please. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I rarely like the second book in a series as much as the first; Us Against You is a rare exception. Frederik Backman is truly one of the most gifted writers of our time. His gift for storytelling and his utterly unique style transform the reader. Us Against You, the continuing story of Beartown, is magical.

At times sad and depressing, and at other times filled with love, loyalty and friendship, Us Against You is destined to be another beloved book by Fredrik Backman. The pre-amble at beginning of Us Against You kept me on edge and turning pages. The story tension starts high and remains as taut as an over-tightened guitar string that is ready to break on the next hard strum.

The cast of characters is very broad, and Mr. Backman skillfully shows the breadth of the ripple effect from the traumatic events in his prior novel, Beartown. The Andersson family and Beartown are torn apart from the prior spring’s scandal. Us Against You is told in a third person narrative. The transitions between scenes within chapters are choppy. In some cases it felt like I was concurrently watching security footage from different cameras on multiple screens. However, those scenes are how we readers are able to see into the souls of many of the Beartown inhabitants.

Hockey and the feud with the neighboring town of Hed infuse almost every life, conversation, and relationship in Beartown. Hockey is the oxygen the townsfolk breathe; therefore it is easy to manipulate multiple groups with political promises and threats by intertwining sports, medical care and employment. In addition to a delivering a healthy cautionary regarding politicians, Backman passes along lessons on rivalry, surviving, perseverance, loss, loneliness, compromise, and responsibility.

Backman is a good storyteller. However, I did not feel that the level of emotional intimacy matched that of book one, Beartown. While I was invested in this sequel from the first page, it wasn’t until the story was building up to crescendo that I decided I liked this book. Us Against You was not one of my favorites from Backman, but the power and worthiness of the story continue to grow on me.

In my review of Fredrik Backman's last tome "Beartown" I wrote that I found myself wishing that it was the first in a series of stories about the inhabitants of the titular town, and lo and behold, here is his next offering "Us Against You" which sees him returning to the rundown town in the middle of the forest, picking up soon after 'Beartown' ended. Ice hockey still dominates everyone's lives, but with the town divided and all the money going to their arch rivals in Hed, will the Beartown team be able to survive - either financially or from the fanatical warring fans who threaten to rip their small town apart.
In a similar vein to its excellent predecessor, 'Us Against You' revisits the beloved characters of the first novel (Bobo, Benji, Amat, Ana & Maya), with the worthy addition of Vidar, the bad-boy-trying-to-be-good. On these young shoulders lies the heavy burden of the future of the town. Without ice hockey, what else do they have?
This is another engrossing unputdownable piece of writing from Backman, filled with moments of elation, scary moments of suspense, threats of violence and way too many moments of heartbreak for my poor heart to bear. He hauls you willingly along on an emotional rollercoaster that never fails to leave you shocked and breathless one minute, and joyous and laughing the next. Hugely recommended.

"All sports are silly. All games are ridiculous. Two teams, one ball, sweat and grunting, and for what? So that for a few baffling moments we can pretend that it's the only thing that matters." That's how I feel about sports--I mean, if a game like the Super Bowl is so important, why do they do it all again the next year?

But the people of Beartown feel that hockey does really matter, not for a few 'baffling moments,' but above almost all else. When a young girl is raped, they are more concerned that their best player is removed from an important game and causes them to lose! And the girl must either be a liar or a whore!

Now, in the sequel to Beartown, Mr Backman explores what happens as a consequence of this unspeakable act, how everyone involved tries to pick up the pieces of their lives: the boy, the girl, her family and the town.

And can there be a hockey team in the town without a sponsor? If not, it might kill their impossible dream for their sons, that they might make it big someday and be picked by the NHL, like the general manager, Peter Andersson. What is Peter willing to do or who will he betray to see that doesn't happen?

As always, I enjoyed Mr Backman's endearing characterizations, his witticisms about life and human nature, but truthfully, I was a little bored through most of this book and the total immersion in hockey.

I was also a bit shocked by the lengths the townspeople of both Beartown and Hed were willing to go for their team. How did everything go so wrong? I do admit to shedding a few tears in the last 15%.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for offering me the chance to read an arc of this new book.

I loved Beartown, and this sequel was just as good - maybe even better. While it stands alone, readers of Beartown will welcome the residents of this hockey town back into their lives, if just for a little while.

I marvel at how Backman can create characters who on the surface are nothing like me, but each one embodies certain truths about being human to which anyone can relate. The residents of Beartown are flawed, damaged, survivors, haters, lovers, manipulators, mothers and fathers. There is a bit of us in each one of them.

On the surface, this is a story about a small hockey town struggling to go on after a scandal and a tragedy. Below the surface, it is a story about what unites and divides us, and the choices we have in forging our own paths.

Make no mistake, this man can tell a story like no other! With the first in the series (Beartown) taking the top spot of the more than 200 books I read last year, this was probably my most anticipated book this year. I liked it, but not anywhere near as much as Beartown. It certainly was not because of the writing, which remains just as beautiful and sharp as all of Backman's previous works. It was not the well written characters, especially not my favorite Benji, who has a big storyline in this one. This is going to sound strange coming from someone who doesn't gravitate toward sports books, but I missed the hockey in this one! The first game doesn't happen until 3/4 of the way through, and I found myself just waiting for the excitement of the game. Instead of the hockey, there was more violence and politics in this one. There are still many of the same characters who we grew to love in Beartown, and some story lines throughout kept my interest, but I just didn't have quite the overall love for the entire book. Having said all that, it's still a very good book, and second books in a series are known to be way too hyped. I'm still going to be excited to pick up the last in series, whenever that may be.

Although in my opinion not as good as its predecessor, this is still a well written book with lots of characters you will root for. Just know going in that the hockey takes a back seat in this one to more of a political plot within the neighboring towns.

I enjoyed reading more about the characters from Beartown, including the town and it's culture as a character. This time around, though, I feel like you need to be passionate about hockey to truly immerse yourself in this story. Worth the read but if you're a fan of Ove, you wont find the same heart. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Beartown has suffered from a tragic incident that is tearing the town apart at the seems. Driven to succeed by their shared passion for Beartown Hockey, the star team player was accused of raping a girl in town. Everyone helped to cover up the incident to make their own lives simpler.

As they put together the pieces, the town had also decided to disband Beartown Hockey and focus their attention on another hockey team. A stranger arrives in town to help rebuild their lost hockey team and that's when everything gets interesting.

This town has been teetering on the brink of breaking apart and now they truly have. They're losing themselves in the desolation of lies and loss that surround their residents. Without finding some balance in their own lives, they will all be torn apart by sadness and hatred. Elegantly written from multiple perspectives, it starts out slow and focuses on the turmoil that each character is suffering from.
Atrocities have befallen the city of Beartown and the residents care more about protecting their precious hockey team than admitting what their children are capable of. When reading this story I found that it helps to have some hockey understanding of terminology. I've been a hockey fan for 12 years, and knowing hockey lingo such as power plays, etc was very helpful to keep up with the flow of the story, although it's not necessary.

This is a well written story about the darkness that lies within all of us and the lengths we will go to see success. As a town is torn apart, people are facing their darkest demons, how does one small town find the strength to overcome it and succeed.

Read it today to find out!

Advanced copy provided to me by Atria Books through NetGalley.

****ARC received for an honest review****

So I’m having this argument with myself - about comparing this book with Beartown. Bc I know that’s not fair. Owen Meany was the book that spoke to me in my 20s. Encapsulated all those feelings rushing through me like a river gone over its banks. And Beartown did that for me in my 30s - it felt like every word came from my heart.

Which means I loved and hated Us Against You for not being Beartown. UAY didn’t have the same magic. The same cadence. The same pull. But...it did have a different magic, a different cadence, a different pull.

I thought characters became fully flushed out - they got the story they deserved. But some characters got things they didn’t deserve - the story felt harder than it had to be in parts. Too much wringing of emotions. Too much always shooting for the fences.

In Bull Durham Crash tells us “Throw some ground balls - it’s more democratic.”

I don’t generally highlight much while I read. But with Backman it’s a compulsion. 19 highlights when truly I could have highlighted the entire book. This one felt a little jerkier. Too much foreshadowing. A little heavy on the promise of the story to come rather than the story in front of us. But even then it was brilliant. Backman can write a damn book.

Oh yeah - and the ending? Crushed it.

<b>Perhaps because there are both good and bad people living here, and that makes us complicated, because it isn’t always so damn easy to see the difference. Sometimes we’re both at the same time.</b>

"Us Against You" by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith, Atria Books, June 5, 2018, 448 pages.

This is the sequel to "Beartown.," and the books should be read in order. While both books appear to be about hockey, they are really about small towns, with people seeking glory through hockey.

"People driving through say that Beartown doesn't live for anything but hockey, and they may be right."

After the crime that occurred in "Beartown," residents of the town learn that their beloved hockey team is being disbanded. The former hockey team players are now playing for their worst enemy, Hed.

Maya and Ana are 15 and are best friends. They are in the forest. One is holding a guitar and the other a rifle. Maya's dad is general manager of the Beartown hockey team.

A stranger comes to town and is silently observing young men. Soon there are plans to build a new team around Amat, the fastest player the town has ever seen. Is Beartown going to make a comeback?

I am not a sports fan, but "Beartown" was one of my favorite books of 2017. While the books are set in rural Sweden, they could as easily been set in the U.S. The only problem with "Us Against You" is the vast number of characters that make it harder to keep track of who is who.

But the stories are excellent, the characters are rich with strong bonds of family and friendship. If you haven't read any books by Fredrik Bachman, you are in for a treat.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the Advanced Readers Copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Beartown, the dark yet wonderfully character driven story with some great action thrown in. The writing was fantastic and sucked me in immediately. I think Us Against You is a pretty good follow up to Beartown but was even darker and for me, maybe too dark. I still really love the characters as we get to know them even more here, with some new ones thrown in the mix adding a new dimension to our old friends and the events that transpire. Yet, it was really too dark and left me feeling almost hopeless. Reading the ending, I was hoping that this would be the end of the series, and it seemed that it might be with how the author gives us glimpses into the future but I hear it there will be a third to close out the series. I know I will try it but I hope the next one pushes us a bit out of the dark. I know life is not always fun and lovely but I don't want to read more stuff to bring me down. It was a bit too depressing.

I loved the writing in Beartown but something about this one felt a bit gimmicky and distancing but I have to admit that it still grabbed my attention.

“The first time Peter realized that the tiny person was sleeping soundly in his arms. What are we prepared to do for our children at that moment? What aren’t we prepared to do?”

Us Against You is the second in book in the Beartown trilogy. My thanks go to Net Galley and Atria for the invitation to read and review. This book will be available to the public tomorrow.

Beartown is in crisis. The hockey team has been undone by the arrest of their star player for rape, and Maya, his victim, has been harassed endlessly as if she were the perpetrator. Resentments simmer. There are anonymous callers. A new coach is hired, not only a woman—but a lesbian. Chins wag. New owners roll into town, friendly and treacherous, generous and oily. Violence hums beneath the surface as the town polarizes between the hometown hockey team and that in the neighboring town, to which some Beartown citizens have decamped.

Fredrik Backman, who is possibly the finest male feminist novelist in the world, is on a roll here. It’s interesting to note that although the hockey players in this story are men and boys, the best developed, most complex characters are the women. I like reading about Peter, Leo, Amat, Benji, and Teemu, but the characters that keep me coming back are Kira and Maya, Ana and Ramona. More than anything I want Kira to pack her bags and seize the opportunities presented to her, with or without Peter. Just go, woman, go. But it’s always easy to suggest that someone else should leave a troubled marriage behind, and the way that she deals with this problem—and the role that her daughter plays in the decision—is thought-provoking.

Meanwhile there are about a dozen other small threads here, and again, Backman is among the best writers when it comes to developing a large cast of town members without dropping anyone’s story or letting the pace flag. His use of repetition as figurative language is brilliant, and he is unquestionably the king of the literary head fake. If I taught creative writing to adults, I would assign my students to read his work.

I have some relatively minor quibbles here, although I know so little of Swedish culture that they may or may not be valid within that framework. I would dial the sentimentality and drama down twenty to twenty-five percent; clearly most readers love this aspect of these novels, but I would argue for a smidge more subtlety. There are occasional exaggerations that remind me that the characters are fictional. When the entire town is economically depressed, and yet everyone shows support for something by showing up in matching jackets, and when a preposterous amount of spare change goes begging in the kitty at the local bar, I wince. But then I am quickly drawn back in by the complex, compelling characterizations.

If you’re a fan of Backman’s, you won’t be disappointed. If you have never read his work before, don’t start here. Read one of his excellent stand-alone novels, or begin with Beartown, the first in this series. Recommended to those that love fiction that features excellent, complex characters, particularly female characters.

I was thrilled to get this book as an advanced copy from Atria Books through NetGalley. Fredrik Backman is one of my favorite authors.
First off, Backman's writing is able to capture human emotion and human interaction like no one else. His passages about parenting and family are deeply moving and beautiful. You really feel what his characters feel.
Like most of his books, this book does not disappoint in that area.
This book is a sequel to Beartown, and picks up nearly immediately after the last story ends. The idea of this book is to show the aftermath of the difficult event on the town and the teams. However, Backman also introduces a new cast of characters, who are now involved in the story. The result is A LOT of characters. There are a million "little" things going on, and the story jumps from thing to thing (which can be good, sometimes). However, I didn't really feel like there was one BIG thing that stuck out, or any great resolution.
I would have enjoyed this story more if it had stuck with the original cast of characters from Beartown, and really got into the aftermath. I felt some of the most important characters from the original book just got glazed over, and I didn't really get to see the resolution of their stories.

"...it’s a simple game, if you strip away all the c**p surrounding it and just keep the things that made us love it in the first place."

I loved BEARTOWN, the book this is a sequel to, and I wondered if this book would hold its own against it. It absolutely did.

What an extraordinary author Backman is! I would marry this man, have his children (well, maybe 30 years ago) just so I could read his grocery lists. He creates characters that live on in your imagination, that have deep feelings that leak off the pages, that makes the world a smaller place to live because you see that Sweden isn't much different to where you live than you might have thought.

Again this sequel is written around hockey but mostly around ordinary people that live their lives in ways that touch emotions on all levels.

I'm not usually one that enjoys politics in the books I read but in this case it's integral to the story being told.

The story starts right after the events in BEARTOWN and continues through the short summer and another hockey season.

I highly recommend this book and BEARTOWN. Even though I have a long list. of books to read, I'm off to read A MAN CALLED OVE and probably a couple more of Backman's books. He has become one of my favorite authors.

I received this book from Atria Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.