Us Against You - Fredrik Backman

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

The third book in this series just came out, so I decided to reread this, the second book, before I got to that one, since it has been four years and I love it. This book continues to follow many of the same characters as the last book, with a couple more thrown in. They are all residents of Beartown, which is still reeling in the aftermath of the trial of their beloved hockey star. The city council has decided to close down Beartown Hockey Club and give all their funding to the nearby city Hed, which sparks outrage and tension, and eventually violence.

Backman continues to blow me away with how he can create so many disparate characters with backstories and complex inner lives, and you can't help but care about them all. Many of the characters are violent or selfish, but there is humanity in all of them, even if it's clear the narrator doesn't condone their behaviour. I was moved to tears over and over, and that doesn't happen to me a lot. It's especially surprising since this is a book mostly about a town trying to save its hockey club, but it's also about family, loyalty, friendship, identity, and so much more. This book does tread a lot of the same ground as Beartown, but the focus is more on the recovery process, the danger of the "us vs. you" mentality, and power and leadership, as everyone is trying to gain power and influence to get what they want. There is so much wisdom in this book, and I found something poignant to underline on almost every page. After some time to recover, I'm excited to read the next book.