Name: Maureen's review of Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Item: Us Against You
Rating: 5
Author: Maureen

Fredrik Backman

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people—about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes). 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. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman—“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)—reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.

A Novel

Us Against You

Instant New York Times Bestseller! The author of A Man Called Ove returns with “a lyrical look at how a community heals, how families recover, and how individuals grow” (The Washington Post). “Fans of Backman will not be disappointed. His work continues to amaze and captivate, enlighten and thrill.” —Shelf Awareness 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 their town’s ice hockey club 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. But the arrival of a newcomer gives Beartown hockey 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 huge challenge, especially as the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute as the big game approaches. 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. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.

Cara 🤍

‘I don’t want you to do things for my sake! I just want you to believe in me. I don’t want you to take me places, I want you to back me up so I can get there myself!’

‘Don’t you dare tell me how to punch you!’

I refuse to be a victim. I’m a survivor. 

Their steps are slow; perhaps it looks as though they’re moving slowly, but they don’t creep quietly into that corridor. They take it by storm. 

Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. 

Ana hates herself, perhaps more for what she has done to Maya than for what she did to Benji, so this is her final act of love. To make herself invisible. 

We’ll talk about hockey games that were played instead, so that we don’t have to talk about the funerals that took place between them

A lone fly can’t overturn a single teacup, but a fly buzzing in the ear of a bull until the bull panics and rushes into a china shop in a rage can accomplish any amount of devastation. 

Four letters can reveal the end of a marriage. ‘Your’. As if they didn’t belong to each other anymore. 

The best friends of our childhoods are the loves of our lives, and they break our hearts in worse ways. 

From Fredrik Backman, New York Times bestselling author of Beartown, comes a heart-wrenching story of the ways loyalty, friendship, and love carry a small community through its darkest days. After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local junior 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. As the tension between the two towns simmers, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to try to save the Beartown club. 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 heated. As the big game between Beartown and Hed approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up. 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. Us Against You is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that form and colour our communities. Compelling and heartbreaking, it’s a roller-coaster ride of emotions and a showcase for “Fredrik Backman’s pitch-perfect dialogue and unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness).

Stas

Men dra og spill kampen din nå, for mamma kommer til å se på, hvor hun nả er. For ikke engang Gud eller engler eller hva det nả er, vil kunne hindre henne i å se sin eldste sønns første kamp med Bjørnstad Hockeys A-lag!

Han har brødre nả. Ham rører dere aldri mer.

Jenta sover kanskje dypt i natt. Men bjørnen i henne har nettopp våknet.

Ramona rister pả hodet. - Konene deres. Innerst ihjørnet sitter fem damer, med grått hảr, hảndves- kene på bordet, rynkete hender og hver sin øl i et fast grep. De har bodd i Bjørnstad hele livet, det er deres by. Flere av dem har barn og barnebarn som jobber på fabrikken, noen jobbet der selv. Damene har gamle kropper, men går med nye T-skjorter. Like, alle sammen. Grønne med tre ord skre- vet som et rop:

Læreren har på seg den samme blå pikéskjorten som den natten.

Ingen elsker menn så mye som MENN, Mira! De kan ikke engang se på en sport hvis den ikke drives av MENN! Svette, pesende menn som slåss med andre menn med ti tusen menn på tribunen, det er det menn vil ha. Jeg kan banne på at det snart kommer en form for porno med bare menn, rettet mot heterofile menn som egentlig slett ikke tenner på menn. De bare stoler ikke på at kvinner har den kompetansen som kreves for å knulle!

Han hadde ikke noe lag. Så de ga ham en hær.

Emma Hak-Kovacs

There are so many things Bobo ought to have asked her. Death does that to us, it's like phone call, you always remember exactly what you should have said the moment yo hang up. Now there's just an answering machine full of memories at the other end fragments of a voice that are getting weaker and weaker.

It's the smallest of gestures, and all his teammates are still silent when he emerges, but when he gets back to his place, his shoes are full of shaving cream. Not just his.

Everyone's. Every pair of shoes under every bench. Because the men around him want him to know that he's no different from anyone else. Not in here.

What makes us shout out loud with joy? What makes us cry? What are our happiest memories, our worst days, our deepest disappointments? Who did we stand alongside? What's a family? What's a team?

How many times in life are we completely happy? How many chances do we get to love something that's almost pointless entirely unconditionally?

At some point almost everyone makes a choice. Some of us don't even notice it happening, most don't get to plan it in advance, but there's always a moment when we take one path instead of another that has consequences for the rest of our lives. It determines the people we will become, in other people's eyes as well as our own.

Elisabeth Zackell may have been right when she said that anyone who feels responsibility isn't free. Because responsibility is a burden.

Ramona lets go of him. Sighs. Pours more whisky. "I know, boy. It is what it is. We're just going to have to find a new normal, that's all. There are two types of people now. Some of them need more time, and some need more sense. There's no hope for the second group, but we might have to wait to see how many there are in the first group before we start beating it into their heads."

Benji is avoiding eye contact. "Are you disappointed in me, too?"

Ramona starts to laugh, coughing up smoke. "Me? Because you want to sleep with men? You sweet boy, l've always been very fond of you. I wish you a happy life. So I can only lament the fact that you want to sleep with men, because one thing I can tell you here and now is that it's impossible to be happy with men. They're nothing but a load of damn trouble!"

We always speak of secrets as if they're personal possessions. "My" secret. But they're that only for as long as they remain out of other people's reach. We can't almost lose them — just altogether or not at all.

There's no real autumn in Beartown, just a quick blink before winter. The snow doesn't even have the manners to let the leaves decompose in peace. The darkness comes fast, but at least these months have been full of a lot of light: a club that fought and survived.

She's four and a half years old, and tomorrow she will knock on Sune's door again. The old man will teach her to fire hockey pucks harder and harder at the wall of his house.

The marks on the wall will be like the grandchildren's drawings other old men pin up on their fridges: tiny etchings in time to prove that someone we love grew up here.

It's impossible to measure love, but that doesn't stop us coming up with new ways to try. One of the simplest is space: How much space am I prepared to give the person that you are so that you can become the person you want to become?

Maureen

I absolutely loved Beartown soo much that I didn't wanna read bo0k 2 and 3. Just in case the writing and plot get messy and ruins the trilogy for me. But boy oh boy was I young and naive. Backman continues to amaze me. Because how is this one 

Tali ⋆.˚🦋༘⋆

I absolutely loved Beartown soo much that I didn't wanna read bo0k 2 and 3. Just in case the writing and plot get messy and ruins the trilogy for me. But boy oh boy was I young and naive. Backman continues to amaze me. Because how is this one way better than it's predecessor??   

Us Against you is Beartown's stunning sequal that literally tore my heart up and stamped on it again and again. Fredrik Backman is a literary genius. He teaches stories and morals; hate verus love. I'm convinced this book was all just a metaphor for our world of hate. I cried so so much in this book, not to mention the pain it caused me every single chapter. 

He writes exceptionally well. He forshadows so well, he gives such greatly timed, necessary updates that flashforward of our favourite characters; Maya grows to be a singer, Amat grows to be in the NHL. It makes me so happy to see an author genuinely give their reader what they want to know. 

He teaches us the importance of love within a society that thrives and feeds off of ruining and hating and being prejudicial. A society of Richard Theo's.

I love Vidar and Ana. I think I couldn't breathe for a few seconds when he was hit by the car. 

devestating to finish this book. would recommend. 

surtified™

Us Against you is Beartown's stunning sequal that literally tore my heart up and stamped on it again and again. Fredrik Backman is a literary genius. He teaches stories and morals; hate verus love. I'm convinced this book was all just a metaphor for our world of hate. I cried so so much in this book, not to mention the pain it caused me every single chapter. 

He writes exceptionally well. He forshadows so well, he gives such greatly timed, necessary updates that flashforward of our favourite characters; Maya grows to be a singer, Amat grows to be in the NHL. It makes me so happy to see an author genuinely give their reader what they want to know. 

He teaches us the importance of love within a society that thrives and feeds off of ruining and hating and being prejudicial. A society of Richard Theo's.

I love Vidar and Ana. I think I couldn't breathe for a few seconds when he was hit by the car. 

And I love Benji the most. 

devestating to finish this book. would recommend. 

Emma Freeman

🥔

“Everyone is a hundred different things, but in other people’s eyes we usually get the chance to be only one of them.”

***

After two years, I finally read the second installment. I might even argue the second book is better than the first. Beartown has always been a character-driven story, but just when you think your heart has no space left to entertain new characters with the overwhelming cast Backman’s already introduced in the first book, Us Against You catches you completely off guard. I cried seven times (on separate accounts) reading this. This is a small town about a hockey club. But it’s so much more than that. 

It’s a heart-wrenching tale about politics, loyalty, friendship, family, gender inequality, and lots of love that flows from both ways. There are about 20+ characters in this book, but you’ll never feel lost with their unique stories. The world Backman constructs is such a vibrant one that everyone becomes intertwined someway and somehow. 

One thing I really love about the series is its portrayal of relationships—especially those between the parents. Too often love stories center around teenagers— and that’s okay, because who wouldn’t want to be reminded of their first love? Of what it feels like to have butterflies in your stomach for the first time? But this trilogy proves that older relationships are just as interesting too, because they’ve stood the test of time. And that the butterflies have never gone away. 

I hope to read the third book soon, so I can properly say goodbye to one of the best series I’ve ever come across. It’s been quite some time since a book has last left me feeling hollow after reading it.

What a beautiful novel. 😭 Backman’s writing has a direct line to my heart. The way his characters worm their way into your heart. The bits of rumination or even scenery descriptions mixed in. The way little things come back in different contexts, the repetition of lines that seem innocuous at first but will soon after rip your heart out. I can’t even count how many times this book made me cry, but I absolutely could not put it down. On to the next in the series! 

chelsea

karo

these books are a masterpieces and they’re completely breaking my heart and soul

aleksandra

4/5

The next book, the next problems, the next characters and my next mental breakdowns caused by this series. I still don't know if I love this small, flawed town or if I hate it, but I definitely know that this series will always have a place in my heart.

I think I have to accept that I will never fully express my feelings about Fredrik's books in my reviews, as it's hard for me to find the right words to say how much they mean to me. I could write essays about each book and its characters, and I still think it would not be enough. I just adore everything about this series. Or, almost everything. Not to mention the way these books are written, Fredrik's writing, despite its simplicity, always moves something in me.


The second book is a continuation of the threads that started in the first. However, this is not all, because there are new problems and new characters behind them. One of them is Richard Theo, the new politician in town. I wasn't the biggest fan of this guy, his chapters were quite hard to read because I simply wasn't interested in him. I know he was important to the story, but I just wasn’t. Luckily, the book only focused on him in the beginning and then his povs basically ended, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me. The second new character that caught my attention, although for a different reason, was coach Zackell. This woman made me laugh at least ten times. I’m basically obsessed with her. Zackell, Benji, Kira, Romona and Amat are officially my favorite characters. I love each of them for different reasons and I can't wait to see them again in the final book. I mean, I'm excited and terrified at the same time. From the beginning of the series, Fredrik drops quite obvious hints about how each character's life will unfold. Hints that I choose to ignore for the sake of my mental stability, even though I know they will eventually happen. But let me be delusional. At least for now, as I haven't started the last book yet.


  
    "Benji hears himself crack as he asks, “How did you bear it? Back in the spring, after . . . everything . . . how did you cope?” The look in her eyes is hard, her voice brittle. “I refuse to be a victim. I’m a survivor.”

"Maya tilts her head and asks, “Have you forgiven Ana?” 
“Yes.” 
“Why?” 
“Because people make mistakes, Maya.”
  


I already said it in my first review, but I'll say it again. The relationships, the friendships, the way Fredrik portrayed small community is just beautiful. It's real, it's raw, it's heartbreaking to the point where it’s hard for me to understand how these characters can be fictional and not real.


  
    "Fatima replies firmly, “Do you know what I learned when I came to Beartown? That if we don’t look after each other, no one else will.”
  


I know that this book probably deserves a higher rating, but I didn't feel exactly the same emotions and the same attachment to the story as in the first part. At least at the beginning, which was quite slow. It took me three days to get fully into the story, but once the book reached a certain point I couldn't stop reading. This is one of two reasons why my rating is only four stars and not five. 


Honestly, I don't know what Fredrik Backman put in these books, but they remind me why I love reading. Some people just know how to write good stories. I already can see myself finishing all of his books, it will definitely take me some time, but it will be worth it.

I am not someone who is extremely sports-stories-brained but some of them really worm up their way into my heart - like this one. The second book of the trilogy expands on the town and its personages with an incredible ability to make us care about the wellbeing of each one of them (well, almost). I am starting to form the opinion that Backman is just an empathetic type of author - he does not pass judgement but seeks to show where these characters are coming from, how their social environment has formed them and informed or forced their actions. I feel like this is where the heart of the story lies and what makes it resonate with so many people.

I was sucked in to the first book and this was no different. I really enjoy the writing POV style this series has. I became sooo connected with the characters in the first book that I just had to see what else would happen. 

Bobo really had some great character development in this book and it was great to see. 

This is book is for small town people and I’m excited to read what’s next. 

🌞Laur🌞

I was sucked in to the first book and this was no different. I really enjoy the writing POV style this series has. I became sooo connected with the characters in the first book that I just had to see what else would happen. 

Bobo really had some great character development in this book and it was great to see. 

This is book is for small town people and I’m excited to read what’s next. 

I hope we get too see more of Benji!!

Lamia Hajani

Honestly was just trying to get through this at a point. I think I’ve read all of Backman’s work at this point now and this one just didn’t do it for me.

Rita Santos

Backman really knows how to write people.

Lynn

Just another great book by Backman. As a sequel to Bear Town, I didn't have many expectations - but this book was so different from what I had expected. Yet, surprisingly so good and had a number of elements I didn't know I needed. This book is an incredibly emotional ride diving deep into the aftermath of the events in book #1 but bringing so much more to the table. I would advise reading the trigger warnings beforehand as this book tackles a variety of topics. Grief, success, politics, love, mental illness, sacrifice, and rivalry are the ones that jump out at me now. If you're looking for a deep dive into small-town life and the resilience of its people - this is the book for you.

brianna

”i wish you courage
i wish you rushing blood
a heart that beats too hard
feelings that make everything too hard
love that gets out of control
the most intense adventures
i hope you find your way out
i hope you’re the kind of person
who gets a happy ending.” 
 

3.5 stars

Liz B

Really great, and I loved re-connecting with characters I loved in Beartown. Didn't *quite* capture the magic of Beartown, but I still highly recommend it.

Siya S

This book. THIS BOOK. 

If I could rate this book 100 stars, I would. This book is like a balm to my wounded soul. A remedy to the unmended cracks in my heart. It cuts me open and teaches me how to feel the emotions I deny to feel. It makes me laugh and cry and cry and, well, cry. My eyeballs are tired from all the tears. 



I love all the characters - they are so gray, so real, so incredibly human. My heart aches so much. The supporting characters are everything (but who's the real protagonist? Beartown, perhaps). I adore Zackell, Amat, and Ana (despite THAT horrible thing that she did). I love Bobo to bits. I even end up liking William a lot - he reminds me so much of...the loneliness in me when I was little. Ok, I even like Theo as well, because he's everything that I cannot be. 

With so many characters, there are perhaps 5,000 ways that things could have gone wrong. Especially if it was handled by any other writer besides Backman ever. Only Backman could handle a group of characters when such sympathy and grace. He made each character feel like a note with its own distinct sound - together they create a wonderful song to my heart. It's art. 



Thank you for teaching me how to feel, Fredrik Backman. Please keep on writing books, you are a gift to this world.

Us Against You follows on seamlessly from Beartown! when I found out there was a sequel to Beartown I was eager to get into it straight away, but this was much slower and didn’t quite have the same emotion behind it.

the first 350 pages were tedious and almost became a dnf if Emily and I weren’t both eager to see how this would end 😂  very glad we buddy read these two together! the last 50-100 pages is what saved this one for me and i’m glad I finished it!

I found Peter’s character to be lacking in both books and he irritated me even more in book 2. he’s insufferable and selfish and I had no interest in him at all. I felt bad for Kira, she’s always put Peter and his job & dreams before her own - but damn she is an incredible mother and woman!

Benji was one of my favourite characters from book 1 and this just solidified him being my favourite even more. for someone being known in beartown as tough and always ready to get into trouble, he simultaneously has the biggest heart and cares so much for those he loves. his storyline actually made me cry happy tears and had the biggest impact on me 🥺

Benji, Bobo and Vidar’s story’s were the ones that interested me most and that I found had the most growth! I love the sense of family that the pack provides, although considered to be hooligans, they will always fight for what is right and stand up for their family.

Larissa Kirchberger

BOOK REVIEW

Us Against You / Fredrik Backman

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Us Against You follows on seamlessly from Beartown! when I found out there was a sequel to Beartown I was eager to get into it straight away, but this was much slower and didn’t quite have the same emotion behind it.

the first 350 pages were tedious and almost became a dnf if Emily and I weren’t both eager to see how this would end 😂  very glad we buddy read these two together! the last 50-100 pages is what saved this one for me and i’m glad I finished it!

I found Peter’s character to be lacking in both books and he irritated me even more in book 2. he’s insufferable and selfish and I had no interest in him at all. I felt bad for Kira, she’s always put Peter and his job & dreams before her own - but damn she is an incredible mother and woman!

Benji was one of my favourite characters from book 1 and this just solidified him being my favourite even more. for someone being known in beartown as tough and always ready to get into trouble, he simultaneously has the biggest heart and cares so much for those he loves. his storyline actually made me cry happy tears and had the biggest impact on me 🥺

Benji, Bobo and Vidar’s story’s were the ones that interested me most and that I found had the most growth! I love the sense of family that the pack provides, although considered to be hooligans, they will always fight for what is right and stand up for their family.

Can a broken town survive a second tragedy? The follow-up to the international bestseller Beartown, from #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Fredrik Backman. After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local junior 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. As the tension between the two towns simmers, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to try to save the Beartown club. 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 heated. As the big game between Beartown and Hed 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. Us Against You is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that form and color our communities. Compelling and heartbreaking, it’s a roller-coaster ride of emotions and a showcase for “Fredrik Backman’s pitch-perfect dialogue and unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness).

fredrik backman, pay for my therapy, thank you

Ethan Hill

Fredrick woke up and chose violence today huh?

Tucked in a forest in the frozen north, Beartown is full of tough and hardworking residents. They don't expect life to be easy, but they do expect it to be fair. Which is why the sudden loss of their hockey players to the rival town of Hed hurts. Everyone needs something to cheer for in the long winter nights. Now they have nothing. So when a new star player arrives, Coach Peter sees an opportunity to rebuild the team - to take on Hed and restore Beartown's fortunes. But not everyone in town sees it his way. As the big game between both towns approaches, the rivalry turns bitter and all too real. Once the stands rumbled with threats to 'kill' and 'ruin' each other, but the residents didn't mean it. Now they do. By the time the last goal is scored, someone in Beartown will be dead . . . Us Against Youis the story of two towns, two teams and what it means to believe in something bigger than yourself.

Asvini Koneswaran

I can’t count how many times I’ve teared up. defo recommend reading the second book if you loved the first one :’))

Just another great book. As a sequel to Bear Town, I didn't have many expectations - but this book was so different from what I had expected. Yet, surprisingly so good and had a number of elements I didn't know I needed. This book is an incredibly emotional ride diving deep into the aftermath of the events in book #1 but bringing so much more to the table. I would advise reading the trigger warnings beforehand as this book tackles a variety of topics. Grief, success, politics, love, mental illness, sacrifice and rivalry are the ones that jump out at me now. If you're looking for a deep dive into small-town life and the resilience of its people - this is the book for you.

Maureen &
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

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Maureen &
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman