Beartown by Fredrik Backman

 

Beartown is a hockey town.  It's the first thing anyone would tell someone.  The entire town is consumed with the play of the junior league and the adult A-team.  The stars of the junior league, who have made it to the semi-finals so far this year, are Kevin, the main scorer and Benji, his best friend and defender on the ice.  Their coach is David and most of the team has played for him for years.  They regard him as a father and would do anything for him.

Peter Andersson is the general manager of the teams.  He played here growing up, made it out to the NHL and when his career was over, returned to his hometown.  He and his wife have two children, Maya, fifteen, and Leo, twelve.  

On the night of the semifinal victory, the team meets at Kevin's place for a party.  Things get out of hand and a crime occurs there, a crime that would put Kevin, the star, in jeopardy of not being able to play anymore.  The town immediately takes sides, most on Kevin's side as he carries their hopes and dreams on his back.  Will goodness triumph over self interest?

This book is immensely popular and it is well deserved.  Backman gets the intensity of team sports exactly right, the way the athletes devote their lives to it, the loyalty of the team to its members, the love for teammates and coaches.  Backman is a Swedish author and his novel outlines the controversy between evil and team sport loyalty as well as talking about the secrets various members of the team keep to themselves to fit in.  This book is recommended to readers of literary fiction.