Us Against You: A Novel

Get ready to cry ugly. This isn't an easy breezy book to read.

4.5 stars! “Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. We'll end up saying that violence came to Beartown this summer, but that will be a lie; the violence was already here. Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do anything else.” I don’t know whether to be happy or sad, whether to cry or smile. Every word written by him is like a wave of feeling, crashing over me and leaving me breathless with its intensity. I feel my heart breaking and mending all at once, and I am unable to shake off the impact of his words. And that is a Backman for you - an extraordinary writer whose each and every word drips with emotions. This second book is about the aftermath of the devastation that rocked Beartown in the first book. It is how the people of Beartown react to the tragedy that occurred. We feel all the deep emotions that swirl within the town's residents - anger that boils, frustration that gnaws, guilt that consumes, and despair that threatens to swallow them whole. This is not merely a tale of hockey. It really really is not. It is about family, friendship, love, envy, unity, and.. loss. Who or what impacted me the most you may ask? I would say Beartown - the residents of Beartown - each and every sad, quirky, mad, emotional, scary, funny, loveable, angry character of Beartown. Be it Benji, Maya, Kira, Amat, Bobo, Peter, Elisabeth, Ana, Teemu, Ramona, Vidar. Ah, my heart.. Just like the first book, this story exposes the raw and flawed nature of human beings. No one is perfect, and it is this imperfection that makes each character relatable. You will hate someone only to empathize with them in the next. You will love someone, yet understand when they make mistakes. I took my time reading this book because I wanted to savour each and every word. Those little nuggets of wisdom - on the unconditional love of parenting, dynamics of marriage, profound friendship, community, on hope, love, and loss. Every page teaches you something and forces you to introspect. There were times when I closed the book and just absorbed the brilliance of his writing, his thoughts, and his understanding of human emotions. A moving and thought-provoking story that affirms Fredriks's prominence as one of the greatest authors. Absolutely recommend.

Una novela increíble!! Y más para los seguidores de Hockey

5 ⭐️ - it was perfect! 🎶 Happiness - Taylor Swift “When you strip away all the nonsense surrounding it, the game is simple: everyone gets a stick; there are two teams, two nets. Us against you.” Us Against You was a stunning, heartbreaking, consuming continuation of the Beartown series. This one started a little slow in the beginning since it has a decent amount of recap from book 1, but I was happy to be back with these characters and immediately feeling an array of emotions as their new rivalry unfolded. Backman has a way of writing such complex characters that makes it difficult for me to hate even the very worst of them. I feel like I know this town and these people, so when they face difficulty or challenges or grief I feel it right alongside them. Despite being a hockey-centric series, it’s more so just an achingly realistic depiction of the human experience. Happy endings aren’t always reality, and there’s something tragically beautiful about being able to escape into a series like this. I’ve met some of my most favorite fictional people in Beartown, and while I’m scared for my mental state to read book 3, I’m excited to continue to see these characters grow. What you can expect: 📚 contemporary fiction 🏒 small hockey town 👫 character driven novel 😭 emotional story 🌪️ consuming, atmospheric writing 🧠 mental health representation ⌛️ coming of age

One can not get enough of Fredrik Backman books. Loved Beartown and loved this follow up novel. Tough and heartwarming.

This is the second in a trilogy. The first is Beartown. If you have not yet read Fredrik Backman’s books you are missing out on something special. This trilogy is not about ice hockey. It is about the people, warts and all. It is about love, hate, good, bad, all the traits of human beings. It takes place in a small town which lives and dies on the success and failure of their team. So beautifully written that I could cry just thinking about it. In my opinion, Fredrik Backman is one of the best authors of our times.