69 pages • 2-hour read
Fredrik BackmanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.
Benji is a former Beartown hockey player who left town after facing discrimination for his sexual orientation. He spends his time traveling and partying to cope with past emotional pain. Despite his hardened exterior and large bear tattoo, he demonstrates sensitivity and a deep need for connection. Returning to his hometown forces him to confront the community he left behind.
Sister of Adri Ovich
Friend of Maya Andersson
Friend of Ana
Ally of Teemu
Mentor to Alicia Ovich
Protected by Sune
Former friend of Kevin Erdahl
Maya is an eighteen-year-old music university student trying to build a new life in the city. She carries the emotional weight of surviving a sexual assault committed by a former hockey star two years earlier. She bears tattoos of a gun and a guitar, representing her survival and her passions. Music provides her with an essential outlet for processing her history.
Daughter of Kira Andersson
Daughter of Peter Andersson
Sister of Leo Andersson
Best friend of Ana
Friend of Benji Ovich
Victim of Kevin Erdahl
Matteo is an isolated teenage boy mourning the loss of his sister. He comes from a strict, religious household that leaves him feeling alienated and unsupported in his grief. He spends much of his time playing online first-person-shooter games on a computer he built himself. His profound loneliness fuels a growing, quiet anger toward the hockey-obsessed town.
Brother of Ruth
Online gaming opponent of Leo Andersson
Resentful observer of Mumble
Harbors anger toward Rodri
Amat is a talented Beartown hockey player struggling with the fallout of an unselected NHL draft and a lingering wrist injury. He self-medicates with alcohol and isolates himself from his former friends and teammates. The heavy expectations of his community weigh on him, complicating his desire to return to the sport. He lives with his mother in the Hollow.
Son of Fatima
Friend of Bobo
Teammate of Mumble
Client of Lev
Subordinate to Zackell
Former protégé of Peter Andersson
Kira is a successful lawyer who struggles to balance her demanding career with her family life. She secretly attends therapy for panic attacks, hiding her anxiety from her husband and children. Her professional success inadvertently draws her into the murky financial dealings of the local hockey clubs. She fiercely defends her family but struggles with emotional communication.
Wife of Peter Andersson
Mother of Maya Andersson
Mother of Leo Andersson
Pressured by Tails
Acquaintance of Hannah
Peter is the former general manager of the Beartown hockey club. Without his position in the sport, he feels lost and disconnected from his community, turning to hobbies like baking bread to fill his time. His marriage is strained by mutual miscommunication and secrets. He longs to feel needed by the athletic organization he once led.
Husband of Kira Andersson
Father of Maya Andersson
Father of Leo Andersson
Former mentor to Amat
Scout for Zackell
Unlikely ally of Teemu
Protected by Ramona
Alicia is a seven-year-old girl from the Hollow, an impoverished neighborhood in Beartown. She possesses exceptional, prodigious talent on the ice, often outplaying older boys. She frequently seeks refuge from her difficult home life by spending time at the homes of local mentors. Hockey serves as her primary escape and source of stability.
Ward of Sune
Cared for by Adri Ovich
Inspired by Benji Ovich
Leo is the teenage son of Peter and Kira, growing increasingly independent from his parents. He copes with family tension and past traumas by immersing himself in online first-person-shooter games. He observes the growing distance between his parents and quietly anticipates their separation.
Son of Kira Andersson
Son of Peter Andersson
Brother of Maya Andersson
Online gaming opponent of Matteo
Ana is Maya's fiercely loyal best friend and an experienced woodswoman. She relies on the survival instincts taught by her father to assist with emergency situations in the community. Her blunt honesty and dependability make her a central support figure for her friends during crises.
Hannah is a dedicated midwife living in Hed. She balances her demanding emergency medical work with raising four children alongside her firefighter husband. Her straightforward, sometimes abrasive nature masks a deep anxiety about her family's safety.
Wife of Johnny
Mother of Tess
Mother of Tobias
Mother of Ted
Mother of Ture
Colleague of Ana
Acquaintance of Kira Andersson
Johnny is a first responder and firefighter based in Hed. He frequently risks his life to clear debris and assist citizens, a heroic tendency that causes friction in his marriage. He is a devoted father who tries to manage the intense town rivalry impacting his children's sports.
Husband of Hannah
Father of Tess
Father of Tobias
Father of Ted
Father of Ture
Acquaintance of Bobo
Tess is the highly intelligent eldest child and only daughter in her family. She frequently assumes caretaking responsibilities for her three younger brothers. She feels somewhat out of place in her sports-obsessed family and develops a quiet connection with someone from the rival town.
Daughter of Hannah
Daughter of Johnny
Sister of Tobias
Sister of Ted
Sister of Ture
Romantic interest of Bobo
Bobo is a large, physically imposing Beartown resident with a surprisingly gentle and supportive demeanor. He drives an old campervan and loyally attempts to reconnect with isolated friends. He crosses town lines to build a relationship with a girl from Hed, demonstrating his willingness to ignore the local feud.
Tails is an opportunistic supermarket owner and a major financial sponsor for Beartown hockey. He manipulates local politics and businesses to serve his vision for the sports club. Despite his questionable ethics and self-serving behavior, he genuinely views his actions as beneficial to the town's survival.
Zackell is the demanding, pragmatic head coach of the Beartown A-team. She approaches hockey with intense discipline, focusing strictly on identifying and utilizing the right talent rather than offering emotional support to players. She commands respect through her uncompromising standards.
Mumble is a quiet, exceptionally talented goalie who transferred from Hed to play for Beartown. He earned the respect of the Beartown players and fans despite his origins in the rival town. He carries unspoken guilt regarding past events in Hed, keeping his head down to focus entirely on the sport.
Lev is the shrewd owner of the Hed scrapyard, rumored to deal in illicit goods and black-market operations. He acts as an unofficial agent for athletes from impoverished backgrounds, leveraging his resources to gain influence. He operates outside the traditional rules of the town councils.
Teemu is the imposing leader of the Pack, a notoriously aggressive Beartown gang connected to the hockey club. He runs security and intimidation operations but is intensely loyal to those he considers family. An unexpected crisis forces him into an alliance with individuals he formally opposed.
Unlikely ally of Peter Andersson
Adoptive son of Ramona
Protector of Benji Ovich
Ramona is the aging, gruff matriarch of Beartown and the owner of the Bearskin pub. She serves as the community's emotional anchor, providing a safe haven for marginalized individuals and enforcing unwritten rules among the town's rougher elements. She holds immense sway over local politics and gang activity.
Adoptive mother of Teemu
Mentor to Peter Andersson
Fatima is Amat's mother, a hardworking cleaning woman who suffers from chronic back pain. She avoids interacting with townspeople to dodge questions about her son's recent professional failures. She taught her son gratitude but worries the community has exploited him.
Mother of Amat
Supported by Lev
Aleksandr is an incredibly skilled but reputedly uncoachable young hockey player from the city. He struggles with the physical toll of repeated concussions and pushes back against traditional athletic discipline. He provides an outsider's perspective on the intense, insular culture of Beartown.
Subordinate to Zackell
Scouted by Peter Andersson
Friend of Benji Ovich
Sune is a former Beartown hockey coach who acts as a quiet guardian for the town's vulnerable youth. He lives with a beloved dog and offers his property as a safe haven for those escaping difficult home environments.
Guardian of Alicia Ovich
Mentor to Benji Ovich
Adri is Benji's older sister who lives outside of town, preferring the company of the dogs she raises over people. She is tough, independent, and highly protective of her younger brother and the children who visit her property.
Sister of Benji Ovich
Caretaker of Alicia Ovich
Friend of Sune
Richard is a calculating local politician who capitalizes on the rivalry between the two towns to advance his career. He expertly trades favors and orchestrates public events to position himself as a necessary leader, manipulating information to maintain his authority.
Political ally of Tails
Ruth is Matteo's deceased sister, a young woman who rebelled against her strict religious upbringing. Her struggles with judgment and lack of support from her community led her to flee the town before her untimely death. She is remembered fiercely by her brother.
Rodri is a former Hed hockey player who was expelled from the club for aggressive behavior. He uses manipulation and intimidation to control others, leaving a lasting, destructive impact on the young women he encounters.
Persecutor of Ruth
Kevin is the former star of the Beartown junior team whose criminal actions shattered the town's harmony two years prior. Though largely absent from the current events, the psychological aftermath of his violence continues to dictate the actions of his survivors.
Attacker of Maya Andersson
Former friend of Benji Ovich
Tobias is one of Hannah and Johnny's sons, an active boy who feels the pressure of growing up with local heroes for parents. He fiercely defends his younger siblings during community disputes.
Son of Hannah
Son of Johnny
Brother of Tess
Brother of Ted
Brother of Ture
Ted is one of Hannah and Johnny's younger sons, a highly enthusiastic and naturally talented young hockey player. He remains somewhat insulated from the intense town politics by his pure love for the game.
Son of Hannah
Son of Johnny
Brother of Tess
Brother of Tobias
Brother of Ture
Ture is the youngest child in the Hed first-responder family. His older siblings carefully protect him from the vulgarities and violence of the bitter sports rivalry.
Son of Hannah
Son of Johnny
Brother of Tess
Brother of Tobias
Brother of Ted