REVIEW: Beartown (Fredrik Backman)
Author: Fredrik Backman
My rating: 4/5
Premise: For most of the year, Beartown is under a thick blanket of snow, experiencing the kind of cold and dark that brings people closer together - or pulls them apart. Now the town is on the verge of an astonishing revival. A bright new future is just around the corner. Until the day it is all put in jeopardy by a single, brutal act. It divides the town into those who think it should be hushed up, and those who'll risk the future to see justice done. With the towns future at stake, no one can stand by or stay silent. Everyone is on one side or the other.
[⚠️CW: rape]
This book is rich in character development, but not at the expense of the plot. Every character is different and complex. I felt for so many of the characters, even ones I wasn't expecting to empathise with! The book throws up a lot of questions about lad culture and the sexism that's ingrained in society - my inner feminist was raging at the characters and loving the author for raising the issue! A thought-provoking read that challenges how society views certain actions. Loved it!