This story is about Beartown, a small, isolated Swedish town in the forests. The town is slowly dying. Every year, people are moving away from there, and every year, there are fewer jobs. The people of Beartown have one thing to look forward to every year, and that is ice hockey. The community’s hope lies there. It is everything to the people of Beartown. It is the only thing that has a chance of creating more opportunities for Beartown.

The high school ice hockey semi-final match is ahead, and this time they have a chance at winning. A lot of expectations hang on the 17-year-old players. But before that, a heinous act of violence rips apart the town. It leaves a girl traumatized for the rest of her life. Accusations start, and everyone is affected by the events that ensue. 
This story deals with dark and heavy subject matter. The story follows a large cast of characters, and the characters are extremely well fleshed out. There are diverse characters too. The author has portrayed humans’ moral compass in the most realistic way. This book deals with societal issues like rape, homophobia, and patriarchy and how society and communities shape people. This book does an amazing job at characterization, and the plot is intense too. The author’s writing style is unique, and the author is able to make every single line hard-hitting. This story is extremely important.

-Ariana