Fredrik Backman Hip-checks Society in "Beartown"

Warning: novel discusses sexual assault.

What do you do when you're forced to choose? Community over individual? Justice over silence? In Fredrik Backman's novel "Beartown", we follow the story of a struggling town in Sweden where you grow up with the understanding that all actions are done with the hockey club's best interest in mind; nobody goes against the club. The Beartown junior hockey team is carrying the hopes and dreams of a town revival on their shoulders, and each player knows that all that matters is winning. But when the star of the team is accused of a horrible crime the town is ripped apart.

Told in quick, alternating perspectives, "Beartown" resonates deeply in an era where we're quick to judge without all the facts; where we take sides without consideration, where we tune out certain voices and only listen to the one who tells the story we want to hear. Raw and deeply heart-wrenching, "Beartown" pulls us into the ripple effects of individual actions on the community, and the consequences we face when we decide between action and inaction, belief versus fact.

Backman continues to impress with the way he's able to delve into some of the most harrowing topics plaguing our society and allows the beauty of humanity shine through the darkness.