Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Us Against You: A Novel (Beartown Series)

A MUST READ! Strong sequel following an amazing novel, Beartown

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018

I can’t get enough of the people from Beartown. Although I don’t think I could live in a place where winter was three-quarters of the year…brrr.

Us Against You is bestselling author Fredrick Backman’s sequel to his novel Beartown. Both are MUST reads. That is all my review really needs to say: just listen to me, they do not disappoint.

For those who need more convincing, well here goes:

Us Against You brings back all the characters we love, or love to hate: Benji (my fav!), Amat, Bobo, the Andersson’s, Ana, Sune, the Lyft’s, Ramona…I can keep going but will stop it there. We are also introduced to politician Richard Theo who is reminiscent of Tommy Carcetti from HBO’s The Wire, the Rinnius’ Brothers Teemu & Vidar, and new head coach Zackell.

This novel is about so much more than hockey, in fact there isn’t that much of it actually played. It focuses on the community’s handling of “the scandal” aftermath from Beartown: with politics muddling in and creating even more conflict between Beartown and Hed residents. You are either a Bear or a Bull and you hate the other for even existing. Families, friendships, secrets, the club…will never be the same. Trigger warning: there is a fair amount of fighting.

Backman’s writing consists of simple sentences packed with punch: so much meaning with the right amount of build up: his writing style is brilliant!

80 people found this helpful

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J. Bryan

The Best of Our Time

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2018

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Each and every time I read a Backman book, I am amazed by his grasp of humanity and his ability to express what makes us wonderful and what makes us horrible. His characters are deep and broad, his settings are just enough to make us feel at home, and his stories are intricately woven tapestries. I don’t often think that I’d like to sit and share a beer with an author, but this guy makes me want to fly half way across the world and buy him one. If you haven’t read Beartown, you don’t have to do so in order to enjoy this book, but do yourself a favor and do it. You’ll never regret the time you spend on a Backman novel.

53 people found this helpful

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JenP

Disappointment

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2019

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This is the follow up book to Backman's "Beartown". The town of Beartown is still realing for a young girl's rape. The town divided and picked their side leaving the Beartown hockey team in shambles. The hockey team might be disbanded because it was the coaches daughter who was raped. A lot of former Beartown players leave to play for the rival town of Hed. But a newcomer gives the town hope and soon a new Beartown hockey team is formed. The team forms around former players of the junior team - a gang of misfits who don't quite fit in anywhere. They have a new coach who is determined to make them a winning team regardless of how that has to be done.

Before the season ends, a resident of Beartown will be dead. Hed and Beartown will be left to decide if hockey is really what is most important. The towns will both be challenged and be given a choice.

This book was not very good. I was disappointed because Backman is one of my favorite authors. I love almost everything is writes, but this one was just not well written. First, it is extemely melencholy. There is never an upswing for any of the characters - which makes the story just drag. I mean - really? Nothing but sadness? One reviewing on Amazon said it best "It was like a swirling snowstorm that was brewing for too long". Nother ever really happened. Each chapter would leave you with cliff hangers and often he would say "they would remember this day". But then....what? Nothing of great importance. He did too much setting up and then things would work out fine. There was too much of that.

I don't recommend this book. And the rumor is that there will be a third. I honestly think he should have just left Beartown alone and not tried to continue the story. Because it really has no where else to go.

44 people found this helpful

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Dana Rojas

Character Development

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2022

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I recently fell in love with the writing style of Backman mid-COVID 2020. A Man Called Ove tugged at my heartstrings. The characters he creates are multi-dimensional. The reader learns more and more after each page and Backman brings you in the book so deep; you are connected to this town in the woods. Hockey is, in my opinion, the main character. The descriptions Backman brings on sportsmanship and competition and friendship and glory are described in such ways, the reader finds him/herself feeling the same emotions as the characters in the book. The under-toning theme is in the power of community and resilience and hard work; all of which are positive reflection of society. The books describe many lessons along many characters all connected in a web of togetherness. I especially connected with the storyline of Peter and Mia and her rape. So often the perpetrator, especially this one known as a sports hero, is painted as a saint while the accuser is painted in a negative light. As art imitates life, this is a common issue in today’s society (the #meetoo movement sparked discussion/debate and the residents of Beartown fell into the same rhetoric by turning their back on Mia and her family. Peter, however, never wavered in his belief and support of Mia’s rape and was willing to lose it all to do the right thing and demand justice for his daughter. Other male leads show complex and feminine characteristic traits that I would think Backman is a feminist (let’s hope so!). My heart belongs to Benji. I adore him. Love his fierce sisters and his even fiercer love towards them. He’s angsty and depressed and gentle and kind. Backman is amazing at describing his characters in layered, complex ways. I’m nearly done reading through all of Backman’s works and breeze through them with ease. His works are good for the soul, basking in the afternoon sun, with a glass of cold wine. Cheers!

3 people found this helpful

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SueS

Us Against You

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022

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This book is the sequel to Beartown. It continues the stories of the Beartown Ice Hockey Club, the players & families involved. I thoroughly enjoyed Beartown & liked this book even more. This is a great book for anyone who likes sports in general; though the book is about hockey it's not about rules of hockey. The book focuses on relationships: friendships, marriages, colleagues & citizens of Beartown & its fierce rival, Hed, and all the complexities that accompany living with other people. Backman uses a lot of foretelling in his writing, but there are still surprises. There's a sweetness to Backman's books even though they can deal with some tough subjects. I haven't yet decided if Backman loves his characters, people, or both.

2 people found this helpful

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RachaelBooks (Friggin' Poppins)

So good, reward yourself.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2021

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This book and its prequel Beartown are absolutely amazing. Wonderfully written, great characters, multi layered and really good stories. They are covering some heavy material, though. Rape, coming out as gay, abuse, the complex lives of teenagers, and death, to name a few. But even though I had to set it aside a few times because of the heavy situations really getting to me, I was forced to pick it back up and keep reading it because I just had to know what was going to happen.
You won't regret reading these books, and you'll probably find yourself tearing up and blowing your nose like I did a few times.
Amazing books.

3 people found this helpful

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Bookish Rhetor

Had me bawling!

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2020

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For some reason, it’s hard for books to make me cry. Sure I’ve welled up a bit or got a lump in my throat but have not really ever cried (from what I can remember). But let me tell y’all! 𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 had me all up in my feelings and crying like a baby for the last part of the book. It was very cathartic.

𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 is the sequel to Backman’s 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 and is a novel about a hockey club’s comeback, consequences, familial and community dynamics, acceptance, and prejudices. 𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 forces readers to take stock of and self reflect on their personal views and preconceived notions of athletes and people. It shows us how communal actions and heated rivalries can divide and tear apart communities.

However, like 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 is repetitive, which is a slight drawback. The same things are said over and over, just in different ways. But! In my opinion, that does not detract from the phenomenal story telling. 𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖 is a beautifully bleak, pull at your heartstrings novel that addresses many societal standards and norms we, for the most part, choose to ignore. If you’re looking for a novel that will suck you in and make you invest in characters, pick up 𝑼𝒔 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒀𝒐𝒖.

3 people found this helpful

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Maria V.

Absolute Perfection ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2021

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Hey Amazon, can you make an exception just this once so I can give this book 10 stars?

I’ve just finished reading Us Against You and I’m sitting here trying to find the words to do justice to this book and I’m having a hard time. I mean, it’s not every day you read a book that ends up on your top 5 favorite books of ALL TIME list. Yet, this is where I’m at. I don’t think I’ve ever loved a sequel more than its predecessor (and I LOVED Beartown) so that’s saying a lot.

Mr. Backman, I am in awe of your talent. You created this story set in a sport that I don’t even watch and you bring me to tears: happy tears, sad tears, tears from witnessing such beauty of words. This book has such an extensive cast of characters and yet I care so deeply about each and every one of them. None of these characters are one-dimensional. They are all both good and bad. They are human. This is story about humanity, about the things that keep two towns and their residents at each other’s throats and by each other’s sides.

I heard that there will be a third book in this series. THANK YOU!!! I hope it centers around Benji, a character that I wish I could wrap my arms around and whisper “you’re going to be alright” to.

If you haven’t already read this book, go and read it now. You will not regret it.

One person found this helpful

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Highly recommend - but read BEARTOWN first!

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2019

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It seems extraordinarily difficult to write reviews of Backman's books because he creates stories that need to unfold in their own due time. This book picks up where Beartown left off, and although you could read them separately, doing so will upset the build up from the first book.

As in Beartown, the story revolves around hockey, which almost stopped me from reading the first volume. However the story could be anywhere, and in any small town, and never mention sports. This volume takes the main characters from the first book, addresses the continuing efforts of the victim, the families, the team, and the town to recover from the horrible event of the first book.

In Us Against You, topics concern sexual identity, intense rivalry between several pairs of individuals as well as the dangerous level of competition of the two towns, Hed and Beartown, both on and off the ice, local politics, family dynamics, friendships, and feuds.

New characters are introduced and minor characters from Beartown are brought forward. The book is captivating and the author has stunned me once again.

Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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S.W. Capps, Author of Runaway Train

Back to Beartown

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2022

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Most sequels fall well short of the original, but Us Against You by Fredrik Backman is a clear exception. The follow-up to Beartown ‘hits the ground running’—or in this case, ‘hits the ice skating’. Nearly all the characters we came to know/love/hate in the first novel are back, and Backman does a masterful job introducing new ones and weaving them into the action. In the process, he creates not only an extension of the story, but a new and original one, exploring human behavior, conflict resolution, and raw emotion on the most elemental levels. I’ll not soon forget the village of Beartown. Nor will I forget the people. Flawed as they are, “theirs was a love we will always remember”.

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5 star		74%
4 star		18%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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