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Having read other Fredrik Backman's book this was not what I was expecting at all. The Scandal tells the story of a hockey town, Beartown, who struggle to differentiate between people and products in the attempt to raise the profile of the town. At the centre of the story are the people, young and old, who have been so beautifully captured by Backman. This story is about faith, trust and courage, but most importantly doing the right thing.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters. And even reading it in the tropics I got such a sense of cold from the descriptions it was uncanny. I'll be intrerested to see what else Backman comes up with having heard this is to be a trilogy. I loved the unanswered questions, but like everyone else I'm sure am curious enough to want to know more about these fabulous characters.

Pretty strong story but contains quite a few cliches. That put me off a bit.

I'm not a sports fan really but this book does not require the reader to know about hockey or like hockey. This is a story about the passion of townspeople and that passion happens to be hockey. As with all things related to passion we are guaranteed something will crash and burn and someone will be hurt. But who?

Ending was a bit weak but I guess that is par for the course lately with most fiction.

3.5 stars

I was unable to finish reading this book as the missing letters throughout became far too annoying to continue!.

Gripping read from start to end! Kept me guessing throughout. Highly recommended!

Apologies but there is no mobi file available to download and I can not access the protected .acsm file that is available.

I have been a fan of Fredeik Bachman's writing since I first was introduced to Ove whom I loved at first sight. So was delighted to be given a copy of Scandal to review.

Unfortunately I started out really disliking it as I have no interest in hockey or sport in general and it appeared all that this novel was about, so much so that I was at the point of giving up. However I decided to persevere even though I was not enjoying it then bang everything fell in to place and I couldn't put the book down. I was by that time enthralled by the writing and the story, which was so strong and powerful. The characters were eteched in to the tiniest detail that I could see each in my mind's eye good and bad, strong and weak.

I loved Ove but I feel that Scandal is up there challenging his position in my heart.

PS. I still don't like hockey

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This is a book with a difference. Ok, it’s set in a Swedish town which is obsessed in many ways with the great game of hockey. But even if you don’t like hockey, hate it even, this is still a book which will speak to you on some level.

Beartown is a fictional setting with some degree of truth – the Swedish town of Ornskoldsvik which is located in 600-km north of Stockholm

is known as the holy town of hockey and so the sport does have a unique place in this country and the village communities. That made me smile

What also made me smile were the people of Beartown. Each one of them clearly and cleverly described – there are so many personalties and hidden secrets, inner thoughts and suspicions of all kinds. This is where the novel sings – for Beartown is clearly a microcosm deep in the woods where the world’s problems and goings on are magnified, the cries hidden by the hockey cheers.

It’s different from his other books I think in that it’s darker and sad in many places and it deals with some serious issues and consequences of them. It does have some very positive and uplifting messages throughout though about the human spirit:

“If you are honest, people may deceive you. Be honest anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness. Be kind anyway.

All the good you do today will be forgotten by others tomorrow.

Do good anyway.”

I would like to thank Michael Joseph and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Scandal’ by Fredrik Backman, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
At the end of March a teenager walks into the forest, puts a gun to someone’s forehead and pulls the trigger. This is the culmination of a brutal and thoughtless act towards a fifteen-year-old girl in Beartown, a small isolated town in Sweden where the residents live and breathe ice hockey, and which causes the residents to take sides.
Although this novel was slow to get to the main point of the story I found myself enjoying it and empathising with the main character of Maya and her parents, Peter and Kira. When the novel came to a conclusion it was gripping and full of suspense.

I'm a huge fan of Fredrik Backman and his wonderful quirky tales of curmudgeons such as Ove and Britt-Marie. The Scandal marks something of a departure for him, as it focuses on a far younger group of characters - the teenage players of the Beartown junior ice hockey team and their friends, families and coaches.
In a rundown town in the middle of a forest that seems to constantly be threatening to subsume it the minute the last business closes down, life isn't easy for the locals. Their one beacon of joy is ice hockey, for which it has a glittering track record, and which turns local boys into golden gods. When one of the teams' halos slips and he commits a horrendous crime, who will the town side with - the criminal or the victim? One thing is for sure, life will never be the same in Beartown.
Backman takes a heartbreaking tale and presents it beautifully. This is a book that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. The characters are wonderfully drawn and take him far from the grumpy pensioners of his earlier works. He handles a hard-hitting subject with a remarkably delicate touch, as he takes you on a hugely enjoyable emotional rollercoaster. This book will have you reaching for the tissues, developing a sudden interest in ice hockey and wishing this was the first in a whole series of stories about the inhabitants of Beartown.
I can't recommend this book enough. Such a fantastic read.

I seriously can't get enough of Fredrik's book he always manages to wisk u off to some amazing fairytale like state. Just amazing