Us Against You

***Us Against You*** (Swedish: ***Vi mot er***) is the second novel in the *Beartown* trilogy by Fredrik Backman. Continuing the events from the previous novel, it describes the rivalry between Beartown and Hed.

## Official synopsis

A small community tucked deep in the forest, Beartown is home to tough, hardworking people who don't expect life to be easy or fair. But no matter how difficult times get, they've always been able to take pride in their local hockey team. So it's a cruel blow when they learn that Beartown Ice Hockey might soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in the neighboring town of Hed, take in that fact.

As the tension mounts between the two adversaries, a newcomer arrives who gives Beartown Hockey a surprising new coach and a chance at a comeback. Soon, a team starts to rake shape around Amat, the fastest player you'll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; always dutiful and eager-to-please Bobo; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing the team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the tension between the towns continues to simmer.

As the big game approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt intensifies. By the time the last goal is scored, a resident of Beartown will be dead, and the people of both towns are forced to wonder if, after everything, the game they love can ever return to something as simple as a sheet of ice, two nets, and two teams. Us against you.

## Plot

A lot of the town's residents have distanced themselves from Maya Andersson being raped by former star hockey player, Kevin Erdahl. Maya's younger brother, Leo Andersson, feels extreme guilt that he was unable to protect his sister, and turns to self-harm to cope. Meanwhile, the Beartown Ice Hockey team is suffering due to many of its players leaving for Hed, with only Benjamin Ovich, Amat, and Bobo remaining. Upon the threat of liquidating Peter Andersson's club, politician Richard Theo intervenes, interested in "saving" it. He hires Elizabeth Zackell as the new coach of Beartown Ice Hockey's A-team, and gets goalie Vidar Rinnius.

At the Beartown versus Hed game, the latter are in the lead 4-0. Beartown end up losing by one point. In the last events of the novel, Vidar dies from a car accident, Peter resigns as general manager, and Benji leaves town.

## Chapter list

1. It's Going to Be Someone's Fault
2. There Are Three Types of People
3. Like a Man
4. Women Are Always the Problem
5. Everyone Is a Hundred Different Things
6. If There Isn't a War, They Start One
7. Start by Eating Lunch
8. When a Relationship Breaks Down
9. He's Going to Need Someone to Fight Tonight
10. How Do You Tell Your Children?
11. One Last Chance to Be a Winner
12. I Am Prepared to Burn in Here
13. So They Gave Him an Army
14. A Stranger
15. Vidar Rinnius
16. Beartown Against the Rest
17. Smells Blood and Catches Fire
18. A Woman
19. The Same Blue Polo Shirt
20. Shaving Cream in Your Shoes
21. He's Lying on the Ground
22. Team Captain
23. "All It Takes for the Only Thing That Matters"
24. But the Bear Inside Her Has Just Woken Up
25. "Mother's Song"
26. Whose Town Will It Be?
27. Hatred and Chaos
28. "Goddamn Homo!"
29. She Kills Him There
30. They Aren't the Kind of People Who Get Happy Endings
31. Darkness
32. Then He Takes the Shotgun and Goes Out into the Forest
33. Not Waking Up
34. Violence Against a Horse on Official Service
35. But Only if You're the Best
36. "Don't Psychopaths Go for Walks, Then?"
37. What We're Capable Of
38. The Game
39. Violence
40. Always Fair. Always Unfair.
41. If You Stand Tall
42. They Take It by Storm
43. We're Everywhere
44. Storm and Longing
45. Cherry Tree
46. We'll Say It Was a Road Accident
47. A Love Story We Will Never Forget
48. "Oh God! Oh God! Oh God! My Baby!"
49. Everyone Gets a Stick. Two Goals. Two Teams.

## Characters

* Maya Andersson - The daughter of Kira and Peter.
* Ana - The best friend of Maya.
* Kevin Erdahl - The former star ice hockey player who raped Maya.
* Peter Andersson - The general manager of Beartown Ice Hockey team.
* Ramona - The owner of the Bearskin pub.
* Kira Andersson - The mother of Maya, and Peter's wife.
* Leo Andersson - The younger brother of Maya.
* Amat - A junior hockey player, who is the smallest, youngest, and the fastest.
* Bobo - A junior hockey player who defends Amat against his teammates, and stays in Beartown.
* Alicia - A 4-year-old girl who is foreshadowed to become a great hockey player.
* William Lyt - Kevin's former neighbor and best friend, who often resorts to bullying others. He switches to Hed Hockey.
* Maggan Lyt - The mother of William who is very opinionated.
* Benjamin Ovich - A junior hockey player who remains loyal to Beartown. Former best friend of Kevin.
* Sune - The former Beartown's A-team coach.
* Isak Andersson - The son of Kira and Peter, who died very young from sickness.
* Richard Theo - A politician who appears to align with the Beartown club, though stirs much controversy. Serves as the town's Councilor.
* Hog - The father of Bobo.
* Elizabeth Zackell - The new Beartown's A-Team coach, who takes over from Sune.
* Gaby Ovich - Benji's sister.
* Katia Ovich - Benji's second-older sister who is a bartender at the barn in Hed.
* Adri Ovich - Benji's eldest sister who works at the dog kennel. She helps start a girls' hockey team with Sune.
* Alan Ovich - The father of Benji who committed suicide when Benji was young.
* Fatima - Amat's mother.
* Ann-Katrin - Mother of Bobo and Hog's wife.
* Teemu Rinnius - Adri's friend and the leader of a gang called The Pack.
* Spider - Teemu's friend.
* Woody - Works as a carpenter. Is a friend of Teemu and Spider.
* Holger - Ramona's ex-husband.
* Zacharias - Amat's best friend.
* Lifa - Amat's friend.
* Tails - The supermarket owner, known as the best salesman of Beartown.
* Vidar Rinnius - Younger brother of Teemu, who plays on the Beartown Ice Hockey team. Often described as violent, he serves as the goalie. He shows interest in Ana. He was sent to a treatment center for possession of drugs.
* Jeannette - A young teacher at Beartown, and Adri's friend. Opens a martial arts club.
* Filip - One of Hed Hockey's players, who is the youngest on the team.
* "Man in the Polo Shirt" - The new teacher for philosophy, history, maths, science, and French. Left town once he was outed.
* "Mumble" - The new goalie, who wears the number 1 on his helmet.

## Trivia

* Unlike the previous book, this novel has chapter titles.
* The novel addresses a goalie, which readers have wondered about in the first book.
* Benji's father was "Alan" in the U.S English translated version, though was spelled as "Alain" in *Us Against You*.

## Editions

Bulgarian editionBulgarian editionChinese editionChinese editionCroatian editionCroatian editionDanish editionDutch editionHebrew editionHungarian editionItalian editionLithuanian editionSwedish editionSwedish editionPersianPersian editionPolish editionRussian editionSlovenian editionSlovak editionUkrainian editionRomanian editionUnited Kingdom editionUnited States edition