Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman's Beartown focuses on a small hockey town in the middle of a Swedish forest. Outsiders believe the town is finished, but the town believes in the promise of their young hockey stars. These stars are children, teenagers still in high school. As the team gets closer to the national finals, they begin to unravel. They seem to believe they are gods and they love the adulation of the town, especially the teenage girls. When the team captain makes a mistake that can't be undone, the town begins to unravel. Violence and accusations rage across the small town in the middle of a forest until someone finally snaps and someone else does the right thing.

 This novel hooks you from the first sentence and does not disappoint in keeping you on the edge, always uncertain what's going to happen next. Backman's style is short, concise scenes that fit together in a way that each chapter seems to have its own theme. I felt the whole range of emotions while reading this, from sadness, anger, and rage to happiness and incredulity. All of the characters were fully formed, even those who didn't warrant actual names (Kira's colleague, Kevin's father and mother). Both the best and the worst aspects of human nature are explored in a way that shows communities can come together with a common goal, but that goal might be misguided and downright harmful.