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.” With the town's future at stake, no one can stand by or stay silent. Everyone is on one side or the other. These new circumstances ignite a spark that burns slowly throughout the novel and builds to an utterly explosive climax, while also weaving in intimate character portraits of the strengths and weaknesses of the townspeople. Everything and everyone in Beartown is tightly-knit in a web of circumstances that will unfold as the plot ensues. In this little town where barely anything happens, things will surface that will threaten the peace and stability that has existed for a long time. Maya Andersson has a crush on Kevin, and Amat has a crush on Maya. While Maya and her best friend, Ana, are goofing around at the rink before the game, Amat approaches them and shyly attempts to ask Maya out, but Kevin smoothly preempts him, inviting Maya to the party at his house that evening. The Bears go on to win the semifinal in spectacular fashion, sending the town into raucous celebration.

As the team is preparing for a match, Amat is scouted and added to the team to give them a better chance of winning. The team wins the match based on Amat's newly indoctrinated skills. That night, Kevin hosts a party in celebration of the win at his parent's home. Many teenagers from Beartown are in attendance, and most of them are indulging in underage drinking and smoking. Kevin meets Maya, and they start kissing, which eventually leads to Kevin raping Maya. 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, SwedenIn my opinion, Us Against You totally lives up to the hype and expectations of the biggest Beartown fans. While I thought no story could be as compelling, it truly was just as momentous, and in a league of its own from a literary perspective. I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown and felt ripped apart by the events in the book' JOJO MOYES One evening in late March, a teenager walks into the forest, puts a shotgun to another teenager’s forehead, and pulls the trigger. Beartown is as close to perfect as a book gets (if you ask me). The characters are fully developed and their actions have motivations and consequences that fully immerse the reader in their lives. Furthermore, the writing style is intriguing and darkly poetic — the kind of eerily woven sentences that leave a lasting impact. 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.

Beartown has its heartbreaking moments, but it is so much more than a sad book. It is filled with so many amazing things, like love, family, loyalty, devotion, warmth, small acts of kindness and so much hope – it can make you laugh and cry at the same time. 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. 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. 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.I also loved how the characters were presented in relation to one another. So you often get two very different people coming to the same conclusion, or two very similar people end up being very different in their essences. It also made me think – thank God there’s a sequel. I am not ready to say goodbye to some of these characters just yet…