Look inside

Novels

The Winners

4.6(51)
Hardcover€31.84Paperback€19.50E-Book
Not availableFree shipping
Buy Now

About the book

Return to the close-knit, resilient community of Beartown with this “engrossing page-turner” (Woman’s World) about first loves, second chances, and last goodbyes—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anxious People and A Man Called Ove.

Over the course of two weeks, everything in Beartown will change.

Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The destruction caused by a ferocious late-summer storm reignites the old rivalry between Beartown and the neighboring town of Hed, a rivalry which has always been fought through their ice hockey teams.

Maya Andersson and Benji Ovich, two young people who left in search of a better life, come home and joyfully reunite with their closest childhood friends. There is a new sense of optimism and purpose in the town, embodied in the impressive new ice rink that has been built down by the lake.

Maya’s parents, meanwhile, are caught up in an investigation of the hockey club’s murky finances, and Amat—once the star of the Beartown team—has lost his way after an injury and a failed attempt to get drafted into the NHL. Simmering tensions between the two towns turn into acts of intimidation and then violence. All the while, a fourteen-year-old boy grows increasingly alienated from this hockey-obsessed community and is determined to take revenge on the people he holds responsible for his beloved sister’s death. He has a pistol and a plan that will leave Beartown with a loss that is almost more that it can stand.

Discover what it means to forgive with this “hell of a conclusion to an outstanding series” (Booklist, starred review). A poignant and moving read perfect for fans of Friday Night Lights.

Editions (8)

ISBN9781982112806
PublisherAtria Books
Publication Date09/12/23
Pages688

Reviews & Ratings

51 ratings

9 reviews

4.6

Tap to filter

  • man_dy
    man_dy

    45 Followers

    5.0

    Herzzerreißender Abschluss 🥹💔

    Mit schwerem Herzen lasse ich die Trilogie hinter mir... Backmans Worte lassen sich für mich nicht zusammenfassen. Wer noch nie eins seiner Bücher gelesen hat, sollte das dringend nachholen. "At first we run around street corners giggling and explore every inch of each other´s skin, over the years we get to know every cobblestone and strand of hair and snore, and the waters of time soften our passion into unfailing love, and in the end the eyes we wake up next to and the horizon outside our window are the same thing: home." "At a party a few months ago one guy asked Maya why she never drank more than two glasses of wine, and what could she say? Because of guys like you. Because you´re everywhere." "That now every day is like any other, the job is just a job, but hockey was an obsession for him, and a life without obsessions feels like sitting in a waiting room without any doors. No one´s going to call your name. You´re waiting for nothing." "I don´t know anything about marriage. But I don´t think you´re supposed to have sides." "The end of a life is as unstoppable as its beginning, we can´t stop the first and last breaths we take any more than we can stop the wind." "She´s thought so much about him. The wildest, loneliest person she knows." "Time is unreliable when it comes to those we love. When they leave us it feels like a lifetime, as if they´ve become strangers, but the first morning after they come back it feels like they´ve never been gone." "The forest and the lake, the wilderness and snow, it´s unbeatable." "She has wine in her coffee cup, he has whiskey in a glass that she can´t bring herself to tell him is actually a tea light holder." "You´re love was like organ donation. You and dad and Leo gave me parts of your hearts and lungs and skeletons so I could put myself together again. And now you hardly have the strength to stand up and keep breathing yourselves." "He always thought he was the bad guy in all stories, the real heroes always do, that´s why stories about boys like him never end with them growing old."

    Herzzerreißender Abschluss 🥹💔

    Mar 16, 2026

  • nicole.305
    nicole.305

    41 Followers

    5.0

    I don't even have the words to explain how deeply this book touched me. The entire series is forever engraved into my soul and takes up a little space of my heart. No one can write just like Fredrik Backman does. No one can capture so many perspectives on life, hatred, love, sorrow, despair, anger, grief, motherhood, purpose, parenthood, violence, friendship, peace, standing against each other and united as one. You understand every single one of his characters, you will hate them and love them at the same time. Ana, Maya, Benji, Amat, Bobo, Peter, Kira, Teemu, Ruth, Matteo, Tess, Hannah, Johnny, The Ovich sisters, Mumble, Lev, Ramona, Alicia, Sune, Zackell, Aleksandr and so many more will stay with me and their stories will touch me over and over again. I will for sure comeback to this series because as much as it hurt me and broke me and took my breath away - I also found comfort and joy and love in it

    Sep 6, 2025

  • keep.turningpages
    keep.turningpages

    78 Followers

    5.0

    5⭐️

    Die Beartown-Reihe hat mich über alle drei Bücher hinweg komplett überzeugt. Die Geschichte und die Charaktere werde ich nicht so schnell vergessen. Für mich ist die ganze Reihe ein Fünf-Sterne-Read. Der letzte Band war besonders gegen Ende sehr emotional, auch wenn man ahnt, was passieren wird ❤️‍🩹.

    Dec 30, 2025

3 of 9 reviews

Reading is better with the READO app.

Discover books, track progress, read together.

Library

Keep track