The Winners

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Backman, Fredrik, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 04-27-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	In transit
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Backman, Fredrik	4-week checkout	Due 05-17-2024

Originally published in Sweden in 2021 by Forum as Vinnarna.
"Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a life far from the forest town, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake. Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there's something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams. Maya's parents, Peter and Kira, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club's murky finances, and Amat--once the star of the Beartown team--has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister's death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Backman Does it Again submitted by JJM.Deucher on June 14, 2023, 1:46pm As a lover of all things Backman and a special fan of this series The Winners was long awaited! Like some of his other books it got a bit of a slow start, especially as he added so many new characters, but by the end they all had your heart! Not his greatest of all time, but still a great book that fit the series well.

Excellent End to Excellent Beartown Trilogy submitted by pjaynes on June 30, 2023, 1:42pm Backman does a great job balancing the light and the dark in his writing, and this third book to the Beartown series is no exception. His stories are a perfect example of bittersweet. He doesn't just foreshadow tragedy; he will explicitly remind the reader that some characters (and one beloved one specifically) will be dead by the end of the story. I was annoyed by this at first, but I think this was necessary, because I became very invested in the well-being of the residents of the two towns in these books and needed that time to prepare. It also kept up a sense of suspense throughout these three books. Still, even with the preparation, the tragedies were emotional knockouts. And yet, even then Backman is able to balance the heartbreak with tenderness.

Slog submitted by jayzwack on August 26, 2023, 1:11pm I love Backman books, but this one is slow, SUPER repetitive, and felt like a chore to finish.