The Winners

This "engrossing page-turner" (Woman's World) about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes will transport you back to the tight-knit, resilient community of Beartown. It is written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove.

Everything in Beartown will change in the next two weeks.

The unthinkable tragedies that occurred two years ago are behind us. Everyone has made an effort to move on, yet something about this area makes it impossible. A fierce storm in late summer has created havoc, rekindling the long-standing enmity between Beartown and Hed, the town next door. The rivalry has traditionally been waged via their ice hockey teams.

Two young individuals who departed in quest of a better life, Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, return home and happily reconnect with their closest childhood pals. The magnificent new ice rink that has been constructed near the lake represents the renewed hope and feeling of purpose in the community.

Amid an injury and an unsuccessful effort to get selected into the NHL, Amat—once the star of the Beartown team—has lost his path, and Maya's parents are entangled in an inquiry into the hockey team's questionable finances. A simmering conflict between the two communities escalates into threats and then violent outbursts. In the meanwhile, a fourteen-year-old kid becomes more and more estranged from this hockey-crazed neighborhood and is motivated to get vengeance on those he believes are to blame for his sister's death. He's armed with a handgun and a scheme that will almost destroy Beartown beyond repair.

This "hell of a conclusion to an outstanding series" (Booklist, starred review) will teach you the meaning of forgiveness.