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Us Against You

by Fredrik Backman

As two rival hockey towns spiral toward tragedy, loyalty, friendship, and community are tested to the breaking point.

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About Us Against You

Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too. A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback. Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute. As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you. Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities.

Reading signals

Spice
None
Darkness
Dark
Pacing
Balanced

Series

Beartown · Book 2 of 3

Content warnings
  • sexual assault
  • rape
  • homophobia
  • bullying
  • violence
  • death
  • grief
  • drug use
  • suicide
  • self-harm
  • underage drinking
  • alcoholism
  • car accident
  • child death
  • death of a parent
  • outing
  • suicidal thoughts
  • gun violence
  • sexual harassment
  • adult/minor relationship
  • sexual content
  • fire

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