The Winners

The Beartown series is one of the best written series of books of this current times. In this final installment of the series, Frederik Backman beautifully closes the story of this small, snowy town.

As expected from the experience of the first two books in the series, this story is full of conflict between towns and groups of people. Mia and Benji both return to Beartown to attend the funeral of a Beartown icon. A terrible storm results in rising tensions between Beartown and Hedd, and these tensions fuel the plot of this book. Things do not end well for all our favorite characters, a fact which is foreshadowed in the first pages of the book.

This book is just as well-constructed as the first two in the series. Backman carries motifs established in book one through to the end of the series, making the entire reading experience cohesive and satisfying. The story could have been a bit shorter and still achieved it's goals, but the writing is so good that the reader can overlook some of the superfluous content.

Overall, this book concludes the series in a satisfying manner. I would have preferred a happier ending for some characters, but I accept that the choices made by the author fulfill his design. I highly recommend this book and the entire Beartown series to anyone who loves an engaging plot with beautiful prose.

“You get success by having extremely high integrity but absolutely zero prestige. Because integrity is about who you are, whereas prestige is only about what other people think of you.”

Backman does it again! Fantastic book with great character journeys. Nobody writes people so well IMO. It's sad and funny but most important it's real!

Entire Beartown series is a gem!

 “This hurts too much to touch with words.” This quote from the book sums up this entire series. If you've read the first two then you already know what the series is and this is a fitting conclusion to it.

The only other thing I could really say is that I thought this book was the most flawed of the three, but simultaneously the best among them. This was easily my book and series of 2022. 

I just finished The Winners by Fredrik Backman and here are my thoughts.

Maya and Benji both feel the pull to leave beartown in their rearview mirrors. Beartown is back on top and the town feels optimistic. The ice rink has been rebuilt into something amazing and the town is finally back to normal.

It's 2 years since us against you and the rivalry between Hed and Beartown comes back in full force after a devastating storm destroys Hed's ice rink.

Peter, having quit as GM to beartown 2 years previously, is still somehow caught up in an investigation into the hockey club's finances. Amat riding low after the debacle at the NHL draft is barely hanging in there.

A 14 year old with nothing to lose after his sister passes, has a plan and that plan includes a gun and revenge.

The one thing that always stands out for me in this series is the friendships that are forged and how much they impact the lives of the people around them.

Benji and Maya both return after the death of someone the town loves, to attend the funeral. Seeing how they have changed and grown is quite inspiring. They still have heavy burdens that weigh on them but it's hard not to adore both of them.

I found the pace of this book was pretty even for the most part but did lull in places but it actually worked for the book. I usually don't like books that pick up on a different character during a chapter but the author weaves such a clever tale that it feels like it flows perfectly.

I also really enjoyed the depths of some of the more unsavory characters and the idea of the pack in hockey was marvelous. You can see why the pack acted the way it did and it wasn't for barbaric reasons even though it looks like that on the surface. It was a very interesting way to write and I loved every single second of it.

This series will teach you how to love without boundaries and how to rise up from rock bottom. No one gives up, no one is the victim and that is a powerful message.

Beartown is so much more than a hockey team, it's a family. This book is more than just hockey, its life lessons through the eyes of teenagers. Beartown has been carved into my heart and I am so glad I got to go through the journey with them all.

5 stars. If you love general fiction that will draw you into a world you won't want to leave, then this series has to be on your list.

Thank you #netgalley and #simon&schustercanada for my review copy

”This hurts too much to touch with words”I've read this as slowly as I could because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters. Especially Benji, who I fell in love to the point I decided I wanted to give his name to a future son.This was a very emotional book and I now feel empty. We hoped for a different ending, however, it was still a brilliant finale to the series.”all our stories have really only been about one thing: ever since the very first, about a boy who made it all the way from here to the NHL and came back with his family, about his daughter who found the best friend in the world, about a terrible crime and love that was like organ donation. About tears and struggle, about hugs and laughter, about a stage and a guitar and thousands of people in the audience. About a boy who was born in a place that had never seen ice but who one day could move faster on skates than anyone else, about other children who became the best in other ways, about the boy who became a coach and the ones who became parents and the girl who flies a helicopter to save the whole world. About a young man who could never see himself as a hero but who died like one, who ran toward fire to save a child. About families and friends. About climbing trees and adventures. About a vast forest and two small towns and all the people here who are just trying to live their lives. Sit in a boat. Tell lies. Catch zero fish.”Thank you [a:Fredrik Backman 6485178 Fredrik Backman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1493098924p2/6485178.jpg] for giving us this story.

What can I say? I've read one of two books by him and I think his choices, especially the narrative voice, are just brilliant. Involving and sweet and with just the right amount of tease to make us want to keep going. I have the two first Beartown books, but I figured that if I enjoyed this one, I'd go through the others, no harm done.
Honestly, I might, but don't even know. there's SO much sadness in two little tiny towns! It might be a tad too much. He does try to balance it with a bit of romance and hope, but I'm not sure I can overcome the sheer amount of death. Also, if, like me, you know zilch about hockey, it takes a while to understand the obsession - which is described as a life in a waiting room, too calm for the inhabitants of these two places. Unless you make the swap to your own whatever - soccer teams, for instance, here in Brazil. Still.
Yes, I'm aware I'm not helping that much. Maybe it's one of those books you just need to read and see how it makes you feel. If you do, say hi to Bobo to me: by far, my favorite character.