my take: This book has it all: Man vs man; Man vs nature; Man vs himself; Sport; Team; Parenting; Neighboring; Secrets; Immigrant integration.

In a small Swedish town that reveres hockey and needs junior hockey to save its economy, boys are being boys and men and women are looking the other way. Until they are forced not to.

This is beautifully written, deeply engrossing, and a bit unsettling. It begins “Late one evening toward the end of March, a teenager picked up a double-barreled shotgun, walked into the forest, put the gun to someone else’s forehead, and pulled the trigger. This is the story of how we got there.”  Foreshadowing throughout the re-telling creates tension and the edginess of discovering who shoots and who gets shot.

my source: Hubby received for Father’s Day. Really, a treat for both parents.

my verdict: One of my best reads for 2017. Great book club book.