Thanks to Atria Books for the copy of this ARC.

"This hurts too much to touch with words."

The Winners is an absolutely beautiful finale to the Beartown series. I read the first two chapters, cried, and put the book down for months. I wasn't ready. I finally picked this back up and savored it slowly, drinking in all the emotions and laughing at all the moments with the characters I've grown to love so much, while anxiety sat in the back of my mind with the ominous foreshadowing of events to come. Backman is such a careful crafter of words - even in this almost-700-page book, I highlighted so many moments about motherhood, marriage, parenting, love, loss and friendship. It's a book about hockey, but it's so much more than hockey. The interconnectedness of all the characters and events was pure beauty, and I cried in the end as the story culminated and Backman ended our time in Beartown. This will remain one of my favorite series, and I highly recommend it if you haven't had the chance to visit.