Us Against You

By: Fredrik Backman

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown returns with an unforgettable novel “about people—about strength and tribal loyalty and what we unwittingly do when trying to show our boys how to be men” (Jojo Moyes).

Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did.
Have you ever seen a town rise? Ours did that, too.

A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don’t expect life to be easy or fair. No matter how difficult times get, they’ve always been able to take pride in their local ice hockey team. So it’s a cruel blow when they hear that Beartown ice hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact. As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback.

Soon a team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the town’s enmity with Hed grows more and more acute.

As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns will be forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple and innocent as a field of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.

Here is a declaration of love for all the big and small, bright and dark stories that give form and color to our communities. With immense compassion and insight, Fredrik Backman—“the Dickens of our age” (Green Valley News)—reveals how loyalty, friendship, and kindness can carry a town through its most challenging days.

Best of the best

Expect to laugh and to cry.

One of the best books I have read lately.

Fantastic continuation of Beartown!

Loved everything about this part 2 audiobook! The voice actor was wonderful as well. I downloaded this book right after finishing Beartown and I’m glad I did!

nice

a bit dramatic and way too repetitive first half. But i still loved it and it still makes me cry!

A fabulous book.

I spent hours with these characters. A sequel to Bear Town. Or your first introduction to the characters, it doesn't matter, you will learn to love and be confused by them because that's the type of story it is. It is a reflection of life. Not everyone gets a happy ending.

Didn’t want it to end

Been a long time since a book made me cry out loud. I rushed through it but wanted to slow down so it wouldn’t end. Great book - with characters you love. Now let’s make this into a TV series so I can re live it all again.