Beartown is the name of a small, sleepy suburb, next to the town of Hed. They're separated by a forest. It's a hockey community. And I live there, now. My town is a hockey town, my family is in that book. My husband played and coached. My son played and still does in his thirties. My two son-in-laws played and still do. One of them is a hockey coach. So my frame of reference lives in this book.
The story is about the kids in the game and everyone is in the game. Beartown's soul is the game. Emotions run high and so do the readers. The team's best player fails everyone. The General Manager's daughter and her friend center the action. They ice the game. Some of the old guard stand and lead opinions. It's tense.
Characters change; well, they're teenagers so of course they change and grow. But the adults struggle with their values, too. Everyone evolves. There are some good quotes:
“Religion is something between you and other people; it’s full of interpretations and theories and opinions. But faith . . . that’s just between you and God.” And hockey is a faith.
That's one of my favorites.
Here's another. There are no atheists in the last period of the game and your losing. But I already knew that one.
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