BEARTOWN

It feels like a broken record now, but this book becomes my best read of 2026 and it isn’t even close anymore. Fredrick Backman was my favourite writer before I started this book, I had huge expectations from this book and it still surpassed it, quite easily. I still remember giving up on this book during the initial stages because it seemed long, but I’m glad I stayed, because the story is fantastic, the world building even better! The writing style always touches you in places, always surprises you when you least expect to, always gives you tears when you aren’t ready for it, and I love Fredrick Backman for this. I feel part of this hockey town. I was screaming “We are the bears, bears of beartown!” With the rest of the team, I became fan of hockey even tho I didn’t even know 1% of the sports before this book, this book has that effect on you. I can’t even wait to read the sequels, but had to force myself to be patient and try different genres first before going on back to the bear town, going back to that world, because this book is heavy, but the ending’s totally worth it. You’ll never forget this book, the characters living in it and the world where they live in. This is easily one of my easiest recommendations, even if you’re not into hockey or heck not into any sports, because this book isn’t a sports book, this book is about people in a hockey town, and boy do I guarantee you that you’ll fall in love with this fictional town more than your local one!