Beartown (Beartown, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Mar 24, 2017 Christa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook-arc

Almost three and a half years after reading this book, I listened to it in preparation for reading the two other Beartown books. Maybe it was knowing what to expect, or maybe it was just my mood, but this time around I found it so much more engrossing. When I finished, I was teary and thinking what a powerful ending the book has. I wasn't sad at the end, it was just that powerful that it brought out lots of emotion. It was definitely very moving for me this time. I liked it enough time that I'm ...more

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May 03, 2017 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, family, sports, rape, friendship, hockey, small-town, moral-dilemmas

Beartown is a small town that is slowly disappearing back into the forest. The town has pinned it's hopes on the junior hockey team who has made it to the semifinals. During the day of the semifinal match a horrible event occurs. This book is very different from a Man Called Ove. There is very little in this book that will make a reader happy. Mostly, especially in the second half of the book, I was angry at most of the characters. There are still moments of humor and plenty of moments that made ...more

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Aug 08, 2018 Jenn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-cover-to-cover

I procrastinated starting this book. I’m not a sports fan, but at least understand all the rules and regulations of hockey. As a general rule, sports bore me. However, this book was solid. It made me cry even though I knew what would happen to Maya. It was fascinating to watch a town pull together, pull apart and the try and rebuild. I should never question this authors ability to drag me into his stories and keep me there.

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Jan 06, 2025 Joanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, 2024-read, rws-2024-winter

This author has a way of sneaking up on me. I always go into the book thinking that it's going to be cute, but not expecting much more. This book was so much more. The structure of the book was clever. The characters were interesting and varied and had interesting thoughts. There were a lot of people doing the right thing here--what I wish were true, though I'm often not as optimistic as this author about human nature and willingness to do the right thing.

Still, this was a great book to end 2024 ...more

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Aug 14, 2019 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-literary

Beartown--I won't soon be forgetting this town and this story and the community of ice hockey players. This book is about way more than sports. It's a coming-of-age tale and shows that an identity based on belonging to a group can have both positive and negative effects. ...more

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Jun 30, 2019 Sunflower rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-books, fiction-read-2019

I had no expectations. I had forgotten what this author had written previously, and probably wouldn't have read it if I'd remembered. Not for me the heartwarming story with a bumbling but lovable person at the heart of it. Also, I know nothing much about ice hockey. So it was a surprise to find that this was one of those books I didn't want to put down. There's a lot about ice hockey and a small town on the decline, but mostly this story is about people and what happens to them when the pressure ...more

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