and his publisher, Atria, contacted me to see if I was interested.

Once I learned he had written a second book in the Beartown series (they are all translated from Swedish) recently, I had to read this next one. After I survived a book daze last year with the series debut, I read another of his works which catapulted Backman into my top 5 of favorite authors. Where does one begin when it comes to describing an author whose books constantly amaze you to the point you cannot easily put them down for any reason other than an emergency? Fredrik Backman has struck gold with the second book in the Beartown series, Us Against You.

By the time the last game is finally played, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through, the game they love can ever return to something simple and innocent. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.Īs the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see Benji, the intense lone wolf and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. It's about how people come together - sometimes in anger, often in sorrow, but also through love.Īnd how, when we stand together, we can bring a town back to life.After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. Us Against You is the story of two towns, two teams and what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself. 'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown, and felt ripped apart by the events in the book' Jojo Moyes on BeartownĬan a broken town survive a second tragedy?īy the time the last goal is scored, someone in Beartown will be dead. The captivating and moving follow-up to the international bestseller Beartown, from the 18 million copy bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove

Us against you paperback