The people we came to love, the town we adored, the passion that inspired us, and the sport we learnt to adore (with only a fraction of the amount that Beartown does), returns to once again wrench our guts and test our fortitude.

Once or twice earlier on in the book I did think to myself that Us Against You lacked the originality that Beartown provided, but those thoughts were quickly overshadowed as I was drawn once again into a world I didn’t want to leave. The writing it sensational and Backman’s ability to induce emotion and sentiment is incredible.

Nothing much else to say. Just do yourself a favour and get yourself a taster of Beartown.

“The complicated thing about good and bad people alike is that most of us can be both at the same time”

Thanks you NetGalley and Penguin UK for a review copy!

I would like to thank Penguin UK/Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Us Against You’ written by Fredrik Backman in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
This is the story of two ice hockey teams, Beartown and Hed, and the people of Beartown. Peter Andersson is General Manager of the Beartown ice hockey team and when it’s broadcast that the club is going into liquidation, politician Richard Theo steps up and arranges sponsorship from London with Elizabeth Zackell becoming the new trainer.
‘Us Against You’ follows on from Backman’s previous novel ‘The Scandal’. I enjoyed reading once again about the lives of Beartown’s residents and the lengths they’ll go to to keep the ice hockey team solvent. The story flowed nicely, was well-written and had an interesting plot, and although lacking in any great excitement was nevertheless an enjoyable read.

I loved Baretown and was beyond excited to read the sequel. From the first page I was under the spell of the the magic that is Fredrick Backman's writing and all my favourite characters were there, so I just can't give Us Against You anything less than 5 stars, even though I didn't enjoy it as much as Baretown. Comparing the two, the second book is definitely the weaker one. It is much slower, even repetitive in places, and the ending was a bit of an anticlimax after a very long buildup. I also thought that one of the strength of Baretown was that it was about ordinary people and their lives and the political undercurrents in the second book weren't necessary in my opinion. However, Us Agains You is still a great book, which I enjoyed a lot and I am hoping there will be a third book, as I am not ready to part with Benji, Amat, Maya, Kira and the other characters.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

My thanks to Netgalley & Michael Joseph for an ARC of ‘Us Against You’.

Us Against You is a story about Hockey.
It’s a story about second chances.
It’s a story about love.
It’s a story about secrets.
It’s a story about violence.
But for me it’s a story about survival.

How does a town & its people survive the scandal that hit Beartown.

The town is split in two. Beartown Ice Hockey is finished. A rivalry with the neighbouring town is starting to turn violent. The people of Beartown are lost but when a new sponsor comes in for the club they see it as a chance of redemption.

Fredrik Backman has a way with words. He makes you care about every single character your reading about, good & bad, all flawed in their own way but completely relatable. I felt every sadness, like a punch to stomach & a moment of happiness was shared a smile.

His story is about life. Topics we witness everyday. Bullying, gang violence, homophobia, poverty, sexual assault but there is also the joys of life, friendships, love, music, freedom & the power of sport to bring a town together.

Because it’s a simple game if you strip away all the crap surrounding it and just keep the things that made us love it in the first place.
Everyone gets a stick. Two nets. Two teams.
Us against you.

I loved this book. It was quite slow to start but before I knew it I once again became a Bear, if only for a short time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

"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. 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. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach.

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. 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.

As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. 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."

I've been thinking about Beartown ever since I read it back in February. I would even go as far as saying it has been my favourite read of the year so far. It was exceptional. I had found myself in my first reading slump of 2018 and before this book I had not read a single thing for 2 weeks but I devoured this book in one day.

Us Against You is a bit slow to begin with and at times felt a bit repetitive but again, I feel like this is necessary for you to really feel engrossed in the story. The author has this way of moving between characters and between chapters, that allows you to feel so connected to the characters. There is a huge cast of people but I feel involved and invested in every single one of them.

I have never known an author who can knock you down and build you up again so much in one novel. These books are such an emotional rollercoaster. I felt it all when reading this book: happy, sad, angry, worried, anxious, relieved. I hung onto every emotion.

I was so worried that this sequel would not live up to my incredibly high expectations but Backman struck gold again. I never usually take notes on books or highlight passages to remember, but my kindle is full and they have all come from Beartown and Us Against You.

I honestly cannot recommend these books enough. They are nothing short of incredible.

I love Fredrik Backmans writing. It flows easily and is lovely to read but I do prefer his earlier books. I still highly recommend him.

I adored the first Beartown book and found this equally moving and powerful.
Beartown is a town that is fractured, a town that must be reset before it can begin to heal. Whilst standing strong in the face of adversity, the residents have a vulnerability about them that makes them easy to take advantage of.
This book lays relationships bare, leaving them raw and exposed in all their beauty but also in their cruelty. It shows how people can be simultaneously the closest to you and yet so far away, it deals with both honour and dishonour, sacrifice, devotion and love. We see how as humankind, we can build people up but just as easily bring them down. The characters are fully formed, complex and so relatable; we see that each person is in no way 2 dimensional and that what we see on the surface may only scratch the surface of the person below.
This is a book about a town, about hockey, but it is so much more : It is about humankind, in all its guises and I loved it!

This is a tale of love, loss and loyalty. I can't remember ever reading a book that moved me so much. The writing is incredibly powerful. The characters develop slowly until we know them so well. The tension builds so the reader is tense, waiting for the next disaster to happen: then there are some unpredictable twists. I think it is important to have read Beartown (also published as The Scandal) first. I can not recommend this book highly enough; it is absolutely brilliant.

Gave up on this book but then I did make the mistake of reading it before Beartown. I will go back and read them in order. I hope to revisit it again in the near future

I absolutely loved Beartown and was both delighted and surprised to hear that there was going to be a follow up novel. I didn't really see how the story of the Beartown inhabitants could be furthered or improved on, so it was with slight trepidation that I started reading Us Against You. I shouldn't have worried! Backman examines the fallout of the events of the first novel and the ongoing repercussions to the community fantastically well with well -placed hints and indicators of further turmoil to come. I read most of the book with my heart in my mouth and I couldn't put it down. We revisit original characters as well as getting to know some brilliantly drawn new ones. If you've read Beartown read this now, if you haven't - read them both!

I could not get into this at all. I did not understand the small town setting where everything depends on an ice hockey team - really? It was full of testosterone; fighting, the Pack, rape. There were no sympathetic characters. The style of writing was annoying; present tense throughout; action implied and hinted at rather than told directly. To be honest, after the beginning I just skimmed it to see how it would turn out.

As always with Backman, there is some wonderful writing here. He has a huge talent for putting a deep, complex concept into a deceptively-simple phrase. But for me, his lightness of writing crossed into almost-mawkish territory on occasion in this book. There is a continuous intensity, with fewer light moments and I think this, along with a lack of focus on a small group of characters, meant that this failed to emotionally capture me in the way that his previous books have. I got a definite "middle book in a trilogy" feeling - the first book reels you in, the second book fills things out but doesn't quite live up to the same standard, and then - you hope - the final book makes the whole thing worthwhile. Having read everything else by Backman that has been published in English (with one exception - The Deal of a Lifetime, which appears to have a xmas-y theme so I'm keeping it for a more seasonal moment), and having given every other book at least 4 stars, I'll definitely be reading the third in this trilogy as soon as I can get my hands on it, and I'm remaining optimistic that it will leave me satisfied!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for an advance copy of Us Against You, the second novel set in Beartown.

With the loss of their main sponsors and best players to the rival ice hockey team in the neighbouring town of Hed the Beartown team is facing bankruptcy and closure. Fortunately a solution is found, but at what cost?

I thoroughly enjoyed Us Against You which tells the story of a dying town over the course of one winter season. I would recommend that readers read the preceding novel, Beartown (or The Scandal, its original title in the UK) before embarking on this one, because, while all the salient events of Beartown are recapped, it will have more impact if the reader is familiar with the characters and events which cast long shadows in Us Against Them.

This is a very unusual novel for a "mystery and thriller" as it is billed because although there is some crime it is a character driven novel with the collective psyche of the Beartown residents as the protagonist and other residents demonstrating it in different ways. The narrator is an unidentified Beartown resident who relates events as they happen and can't help editorialising as he/she goes along so the reader gets their interpretation and alternatives and snippets of what the future will hold for some of the characters. It gives the book an intimate, folksy feel but, at the same time, a distance from the events. It is a compulsive read which I just had to keep reading until the end. It made, laugh, cry and tear my hair out in turns.

The small town setting is perfect because it is so unimportant in the wider scheme of globalisation but the emotions and reactions depicted are universal. Mr Backman has an incisive eye for human strength and weakness and uses it to excellent effect in this small corner of the world. His characters are well drawn, not always likeable but very human.

Us Against You is an excellent read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Another totally absorbing story by Fredrik Backman about Beartown and the hockey team. All of human strengths and frailties laid bare. Very sad in some parts and happy in others but throughout the belief of Beartown shines through. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

Couldn’t wait to start reading this sequel to Beartown and straight away I it was like meeting up with an old friend again. I loved it as much as Beartown despite the subject matter being of no interest to me whatsoever...Ice Hockey! The story is so much more than that and is told in so many layers. The characterisation is wonderful and the messages come across clearly but with no lecturing. If I have to give one criticism it would have to be that you couldn’t enjoy Us against you nearly so much without reading Beartown first. That is a recommendation though rather than a criticism.

I always find it difficult to review books by Fredrik Backman because I love them so much I'm basically just a babbling mess. Us Against You is the follow up to [book:Beartown|33413128], which, in itself, was a bit of a departure from Backman's other work. Instead of clear central character, the town is the protagonist, with an ensemble of compelling, torturously human characters.

This sequel picks up a couple of months after the close of Beartown, giving Backman ample opportunity to dig deep into the toxic masculinity themes he began exploring in the first book. The town is still in turmoil, with the threat of the hockey team being closed down and increasing tensions with the neighbouring town.

I really liked the opportunity to explore 'The Pack' a bit more, as well as spending more time focusing on Benji, who was my favourite character from the first book. Richard Theo made me want to vomit, because he was so frighteningly believable. Backman always manages to get his themes spot on - whether it's the ways in which populist politicians lurk in the background exploiting local tensions, or the ways in which the faulty perceptions of how to be a 'real man' damages individuals and communities.

All that plus all the feels. Hits me in the gut, makes me weep, HOW DOES HE DO THIS EVERY TIME?!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

What a brilliant book!! As with most of the books I love, I laughed at the start and cried at the finish. I haven't read this in its original Swedish but the amazing thing is that the humour and pathos have survived the translation.

I hadn't read Beartown when I sat down to read this, so was concerned I wouldn't understand what was happening. This is so good that you can read it as a stand-alone novel and then of course read Beartown afterwards.

It is laugh-out-loud funny in its poignant descriptions of parenthood and of, frankly, the mundanity of the everyday thoughts and experiences of the inhabitants of Beartown. There are so many characters because we are, in essence, meeting what feels like the whole town but Backman writes in such a way that the reader never finds it confusing. The characters are so well-drawn and we get sucked into the motivations and worries of each individual. Yes, there is a lot about the game of ice hockey, which people may at first be put off by, but it is used as a device that is able to cleverly convey complex psychological issues from a multitude of perspectives, all within the "world" of hockey. We are constantly reminded that hockey is "only a game", after all. But of course it's not.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph, Fredrik Backman and translator Neil Smith for a copy of this wonderfully moving ARC in exchange for an honest review.

<i>”The complicated thing about good and bad people alike is that most of us can be both at the same time”</i>

Fir the first 1/3 of the book I was not convinced that there was a story to tell. It felt as if the author wrote this because the fans demanded to know more. It felt like the book was just stating the obvious aftermath of how Beartown ended. I was worried that either this book is going to be a huge disappointment.

Yet now that I have finished I have to admit that there was indeed another story to tell. And one that was definitely worth the read.

Like with the first book I loved and hated this community in equal measure, I cared for and wanted to thump the characters on the head at the same time.

New characters like Zackell, Vidal and The Pack (what Pack?) breathed life in to the story and old favourites like Benji, Bobo and Amat made my heart constrict a bit.

I am not going to unpack the plot because if you have read Beartown and loved it I am sure you are going to want to read this too.

I loved Beartown and I loved Us Against You. I loved returning to that town and those characters. I loved being part of their lives again - the tragedies, the triumphs, the joys and woes, the love and the hate. And the hockey.
Fredrik Backman is an amazing storyteller. The way he can summon emotion is frightening. Just a turn of phrase and I'm floored. He had me falling in love, tearing my hair out, sobbing with grief, yelling in frustration so easily ... and so enjoyably ... that I can forgive him playing fast and loose with my emotions. And those characters - I love every flawed/perfect one of them. Yes, he's good at inducing the most exquisite ambivalence as well, feelings see-sawing and swinging all over the place. One minute you're disgusted with someone - you hate them like Hed hate Beartown - then the next you're overwhelmed with sympathy and empathy for them. Just like Hed and Beartown. In general, Backman's style is just so effective. The way he peppers the story with teasers, sometimes full-on spoilers, that actually increase the tension and suspense rather than deflate it is something I really enjoy. The little flash forwards, snapshots of future successes and joys (or in a certain case tragedy - sob!) serve as bright spots in what ostensibly seems like quite a grim story. Yes, there's violence but there's also love, loyalty, hope, redemption, renewal and joy. And hockey.
Because it's all about hockey.

Beartown is a small, forest town,already broken by a tragedy in its community. The only way out of this place has always been its hockey club. To others it is just a sport. To Beartown, it is its salvation. But when tragedy has already almost torn the hockey club apart, and people have started turning against each other, is there really any hope left for this community?

A broken community tries to pick its pieces, while at the same time fear, anger and shame reign in the town. Violence is bound to arise when judgment and bitterness turns to hatred, and the situation inevitably escalates. The people of Beartown used to be a community, a single unit. But, among politics, a hideous crime and the danger of the hockey club being disbanded, people will start forgetting the things that make them a unit. And, sometimes, it takes a second tragedy to fix the broken aftermath of a first one.

Us Against You is the sequel of the international bestseller Beartown. It follows along the psyche of a small society, and all the invisible threads that move underneath the surface, making it a complex organism. And, when this organism is on the verge of being torn apart, Fredrik Backman has already succeeded in making the reader understand how a whole town can be led to that situation.

It takes a lot of effort and skills to lay out the heart of a whole community. The story is full of family bonds, both frail and strong, friendships that endure the worst of hardships, relationships that are or could have been the ideal human situation. There is hatred, fear and judgment, bitterness and competition. But there is also sacrifice, forgiveness and hope. Backman has created a dark and gloomy tunnel, but he hasn't forgotten to still put a light at the end of it for us all to see.

This book will shed light to a lot of dark corners of the human soul. However, you will see that every story has, indeed, some happiness inside. And, reading Us Against You, you can't help but feel a little bit more of an optimist as you finish the last page.