I did enjoy the book once I got into it, I found it quite slow to start off with but glad I persevered!

Haven't read anything by the author before and so wasn't sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised.

It's about a tragedy in a small town and the repercussions of it along with how it all builds up to that, how morals and people and how the smallest of decisions can make the biggest of life changing events.

A good read even though it was slow to start and kinda slow through out.

Think this was an advance copy and there were so many spelling mistakes and missing letters that i nearly gave up as it was so frustrating. Took me quite a while to get into this book. I am not sure if it's because i haven't a clue about ice hockey or not. However i persevered and after about half way through i started to enjoy it.

Beartown is a town with nothing going for it apart from hockey. They live and breath it, and the players in their junior team, about to reach the national final are treated like gods....and like gods to question them or their actions is blasphemy to this town.

That's about as much as I can say about the plot without giving major spoilers. This started out as a bit of a slog for me, there's very little dialogue and a long long build up to the events that lead to a teenager pulling a trigger as described in the publishers synopsis. But this is one of those books where the first half seems to take forever but then the second half whizzes by, you realise that first so half has been reeling you in, letting you learn about the characters slowly rather than having everything laid out. So had you asked me during the first half what I thought I'd would have probably shrugged and said "yeah it's ok". If you asked me at the end I would have grunted grumpily at you as I stayed up til one am finishing it - I just couldn't put it down. By the end I knew this would be a book I'd be thinking about for a long time.

I haven't got round to reading 'A Man Called Ove' yet but I saw this I though it sounded interesting.

First half was very slow going but the 'Scandal' kicked in & I couldn't put it down.

The characters were great, really connecting & you get the whole 'small community stands together' through anything.

I requested this for my mum who liked the look of it but sadly she DNF'd it after 100 or so pages as she couldn't get into it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a ARC digital copy of this book.

I was excited to read this book because the author has written many other books that have gotten high reviews. I listened to "My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry" and loved it. I was excited to read another book by this author. It has some really good reviews, but I wasn't able to get through it far enough to see if I agree with the good reviews.

The story is about a small rural town, Beartown, whose only claim to fame is its hockey team. Supposedly there would be a big scandal about the team, but I didn't get that far. I don't particularly like hockey and all the way to 20% of the book, it seems like the whole book is about hockey.

If someone likes or follows hockey, this book may be very interesting, but it wasn't for me.

An excellent account of the lives of the people in a small hockey town situated in the middle of large forest.

The town are hit by a huge moral scandal right before a major hockey game that could be the key to regenerating the declining town. The general manager’s teenage daughter is raped by the star player of the hockey team and the town are divided in deciding who is to blame.

I really got into this book initially and then felt it lag slightly in the middle before it picked up the pace again. The characters are all really strong and the moral dilemmas that they face during the story work really well. It was a book that certainly made me think.

One of my top books of the year. Will be raving about this on my YouTube channel.

As someone who grew up in a very small community, I feel this book presents an authentic atmosphere in relation to the pressures and expectations that come with this type of lifestyle. I can't fault the quality of the author's writing skills, but the story moves along far too slowly for my liking which meant that I stopped reading half way through.

5 stars and another 5 for excellent translation.
This book wasn't at all what I had expected and if I had known that it was about the hockey, I would have probably haven't chosen to read it. I am actually very pleased that I've read this as it is so much more than just a book about the hokey. It's well written, moving and full of wonderful, real and complex characters. I deeply felt every emotion of every character and they will stay with me for a long time. This is a book that I will recommend to everyone - a must read.

I absolutely loved this book. Beautifully written and just totally involving. I have already sought out previous books by this author. I cannot recommend this book enough!

I knew nothing about ice hockey and really have never wanted to know anything about it. If I had realised the book was about ice hockey I would probably not read read it... oh thank goodness I didn't make that mistake. Original and thrilling with such an amazing plot built on very solid research and fantastic characterisation it's one of the best books I've ever read.
I've already recommended it as a superb book group read to a number of people I know. I won't give any plot away but if I could shout from the rooftops I would READ THIS BOOK!!

I wouldn't have believed a book about a hockey town could have such depth of character and moral fiber. I am stunned and so very pleased to have read The Scandal. What a treat! This was my first Fredrik Backman novel but certainly not my last.

There's a lot of pressure brought to bear in a sports town when children are weighed down with great expectation, especially if said child exhibits any amount of skill. The greater the skill, the higher the expectation on the field but also, conversely, a lower standard of conduct is permissible as a bazaar entitlement. Meaning, good players can misbehave and get away with it whilst lesser players aren't as fortunate. Competition, both for the kids and parents, drives a great deal of politicking, infighting and angst. Everyone has an opinion on the right course of action and bad things are allowed (encouraged?) to happen. This novel hits the mark in its analysis of people and how they behave. Adults, mostly parents, and kids are under the microscope and the result is quite something to behold.

I so enjoyed this novel. The hockey is really a secondary character but brings a rich, tangible element to the story. The emotion swirling around the sport, and the characters chosen to play, creates a whirlwind of cause and effect feeding the individual and overarching dramas that unfold with great skill. A brilliant novel, not to be missed.

Full to the brim with emotion, a beautiful book. My first by Fredrik Backman but certainly not my last. This isn't my usual go-to genre but this just caught my eye. I am so pleased I gave it a chance! Sometimes after a lot of thrillers, you need something in between or even alongside just to change the subject completely and wipe the slate clean a little. This book achieved it superbly. I'm thoroughly chuffed I decided to read this novel and I hope others do too. I have heard that this is a departure from Backman's usual topics but I would still love to give his other books a go, an author like this doesn't come around every day. They are already on my TBR list. I know that i've heard of a Man Called Ove before I discovered this book and I understand that it received very good reviews from critics - this will be my next read of his.

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did - for one, it's a book that revolves around Hockey and sport is not something that gets my attention at the best of times. Unless it is Tennis, of course. I would also like to note that I have the ARC version of this book entitled - The Scandal - the name it is known under in Canada and the United Kingdom. It is most commonly known as Beartown.

Beartown is a snow-covered small-town in Sweden that emanstes with the kind of dark and cold that brings townsfolk together forming a tight knit rural community on the edge of civilisation. The isolation of the community means that they usually either come together - showing that anything is achievable when everyone supports one another or the polar opposite - where the people don't get closer but are pulled apart from one another instead. If they can all just pull together Beartown is on the edge of a revival, a bright new future is up ahead just for them.

All of this hope for the future is then put in jeopardy by one brutal act. It divides the town into those who want the act to be kept quiet and never mentioned again and those who feel that they just can't stand by and let that happen. There are those who will risk their future in order to see justice done. It then falls to one young man to speak the truth that no one else wants to hear and find the courage to not just stay silent along with most of the rest. It's time for people to pick a side - you are either or one side or the other. Which side would you be on?

You will be surprised how well a book about a Hockeytown actually makes you think about lifes big questions. Right vs wrong, morality, issues of individual loyalty. There are so many ideas in this book that lead you to think about everything in your own life. The characters are admirable and the storytelling masterful. Backman very cleverly lulls you into a false sense of security - you think you are reading something lighthearted or a pretty standard novel but quite soon you establish that his writing gift has made you think a lot more than you had realised! It takes a great author to pull this off.

I would like to thank Fredrik Backman, Penguin (UK) - Michael Joseph & NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
This was a very enjoyable read but it did take me a couple of attempts to really get into the book. I found it a bit slow to begin with and there were so many characters, I had to start the book again and actually write down who was who! Once the book got past about 20% though and the story really started to unravel, this was an excellent read.
It features a boys Ice Hockey team and their families. The team is what keeps the small town of Beartown afloat, its only thing of value and source of pride. As a consequence, the star players are treated like royalty. There is an incident about half way through the book and the consequences reverberate throughout the town pitting friends and families against each other.
This was quite an uncomfortable, but very realistic read, at times. The dynamics of family relationships were extremely well explored and every human emotion is laid bare at times.
Although all the strands of the story were tied up satisfactorily by the end, the way the conclusion is written would indicate to me that there might be another book in the offing - I certainly hope so!
I would definitely recommend this book, even if you struggle at first to really connect with it, don't give up because the storyline and writing is quite stunning in places.

I loved this book. The context of a hockey town was totally new to me but such a vivid picture was created that I - someone not really interested in reading about sports - felt totally immersed in it and barely noticed the sporty overtones.

The drama took a little too long to get going for me - I almost gave up reading about 60% of the way through because I felt like nothing had actually happened. This is why I only gave it three stars. I only continued reading because I was committed by this point. The ending did disappoint me but I'm glad I read it. I felt a little duped by the synopsis of this book.

I have been reading fiction for more than 60 years and have many good books and a few that are, in my opinion, exceptional. This is one of them. At its heart its a deeply thoughtful examination of relationships, between friends, within families and within teams. The story is set in a small town deep in the forests of Sweden. The town itself is declining as its industrial base reduces. All the hopes and dreams of the towns people are invested in its ice hockey club and teams. The junior team are having a particularly successful season thanks to a few key players, until an event happens which throws the team, the club and the town into turmoil.

Knowing absolutely nothing about ice hockey, it was with some trepidation that I embarked upon this book. I needn't have. It was the most fascinating, well-written book I've read in a long time. Frederik Backman paints a truly realistic picture of Beartown and all its inhabitants. I loved this book and look forward to reading more of Backman's works.

I started reading this book and got about 20% through it. It I just wasn't enjoying it. I felt that not really much happened and the book was too slow going for my liking.

The Scandal
By Fredrick Backman
The Scandal
Blurb
Beartown is a hockey town in the nestled in the forests of Sweden.
The inhabitants of Beartown are preparing for the game of the season, The Beartown Ice Hockey Club’s junior team is in the semi-final of the biggest youth tournament in the country. To the people of Beartown the love of hockey is as natural as breathing.
When news of a violent and sickening act breaks shortly before the final of the hockey match the citizen of Beartown will be divided. Whose word do they believe and what will it mean for the hopes of the town and several of the key friendships within it when people fall on different sides of the debate.
Our Review
WARNING this review contains some spoilers.

I nearly didn’t request The Scandal by Fredrik Backman because I am the opposite of a sports fan and as much as anything else this a book about the love of Hockey. Having read it, I am so pleased I decided to ignore my doubts.
Beartown is a small place nestled away in the forests of Sweden, a place where a wrong decision can lead to a grown man freezing to death in the night.
The Scandal is primarily a story about a small town and the people in it, a sense of community. If it had been a hockey story pure and simple then I know I would not have enjoyed it but as it was I wanted to read and reread it.
From the opening lines of the book I was drawn in to the story without even realising it, the opening lines were gripping.
“Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barrelled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.
This is the story of how we got there.”
The inhabitants of Beartown are preparing for the game of the season, The Beartown Ice Hockey Club’s junior team is in the semi-final of the biggest youth tournament in the country. To the people of Beartown the love of hockey is as natural as breathing.
Maya’s father, Peter, is the general manager of the hockey club but Maya is not overly interested in hockey. She prefers to play her guitar or to hang around with her best friend Ana. She and Ana met when Ana saved her from drowning when they were both children. After previously losing a son, Maya’s parents have always been incredibly protective of her so Ana provided a welcome antidote to that. Now Anna has smoothed her ages in order to fit in and Maya mourns the loss of her wilderness friend but they remain close nevertheless.
Beartown is the definition of a town on the edge of a wilderness. The Scandal has some very vivid and raw descriptions of it.
“Beartown isn’t close to anything. Even on a map the place looks unnatural. ‘As if a drunk giant tried to piss his name in the snow,’ some might say. ‘As if nature and man were fighting a tug-of-war for space,’ more high-minded souls might suggest. Either way, the town is losing.”
The town is struggling to stop it’s small businesses from closing and to stop the young people moving away as soon as they are able. Winning the hockey match would likely bring investors and money into the town and because of this the people of Beartown have a lot riding on the outcome. The welcoming sign as you enter once said ‘Beartown leaves you wanting more’ but the more has faded over time.
Amat is a young player dreaming of being a star of the hockey team. His mother is a cleaner at the rink and every morning he has a deal with the caretaker to be allowed to use the rink to practice for an hour before everyone else gets there. Amat is one of the smallest on the rink but also one of the fastest but the coaches and his fellow hockey players have yet to notice.
He has been in love with Maya for years but although they are on speaking terms nothing has come of his interest in her. When Maya and another hockey player begin to develop an interest in each other Amat is sorely disappointed but hides it for the good of the team. Hockey is never satisfied with being part of your life, it wants to be it all.
Kevin is the star of the hockey team and the holder of all the towns hopes and dreams. He is dedicated and natural at the sport and a source of great pride for the town. His parents though show little interest in their son’s talents. They make sure he has the best and the right equipment, the right food from the catering company and his dad analyses his stats for every game but neither parent has attended more than two or three of his games.
Benji is Kevin’s best friend. A boy from the wrong side of the town with a reputation for being a violent trouble maker. Benji’s dad died when he was younger and he lives with his mother and sisters in a house that would fit in Kevin’s several times over.
The only one that believes in Benji is his couch David. He feels that the elements that make his a cause for concern off the pitch are what makes him an essential player on the pitch. He will do anything to protect Kevin.
When news of a violent and sickening act breaks shortly before the final of the hockey match the citizen of Beartown will be divided. Whose word do they believe and what will it mean for the hopes of the town and several of the key friendships within it when people fall on different sides of the debate.
There are few words that are harder to explain than ‘loyalty'. It’s always regarded as a positive characteristic, because a lot of people would say that many of the best things people do for each other occur precisely because of loyalty. The only problem is that many of the very worst things we do to each other occur because of the same thing.
The arguments put forward on the dominant side were sadly things I have heard said in real life. Some of the things that were said about the victim disgusted me. I felt angry with a lot of the characters for much of the later part of the novel and that is the sign of a great book.
“it’s only a game. It can only change people’s lives.’