12 Sep / Us Against You by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith [Beartown 2] [in Library Journal]
*STARRED REVIEW
Everything that happens in this resonating sequel to Beartown is revealed in the first two pages. But listeners will want to hear every word to discover how the events play out – better yet, they’ll want to absorb every echoing nuance brilliantly embodied by Marin Ireland, who returns to this remote town as it desperately attempts to mend from a vicious rape that destroyed the hockey team. “When we found out the truth, we fell apart, taking the town with us… This is the story of what happened afterward.”
A new coach takes charge, a team is reassembled. Fighting for ultimate control is a Svengali-like politician whose rise and fall both prove inevitable. Through the muck of corruption, greed, rivalry, blame, and so much hate, Beartown will need to remember that hockey “is a simple game, if you strip away all the crap surrounding it… Everyone gets a stick. Two nets. Two teams. Us against you.”
With Beartown’s previous success, similar victory is all but guaranteed for Us; Ireland’s unfaltering enhancement will have audiences clamoring for the audio option.
Review: “Audio,” Library Journal, September 1, 2018
Readers: Adult
Published: 2018