100 pages 3 hours read

Fredrik Backman

Beartown

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016

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Character Analysis

Kevin Erdahl

Kevin is 17 years old and is widely celebrated as the best player on the Beartown junior team. The following year, he will either be on the A-team or will be drafted into the NHL. Kevin is not happy, however. His parents are detached and never attend his games. They value success and perfection, rarely showing affection for their son. Kevin develops a crush on Maya and invites her to a party at his house after they win the semifinal. At the party, he becomes intoxicated and takes the also-intoxicated Maya up to his room. When she refuses to have sex, Kevin rapes her. Afterward, she tells the police, and Kevin is taken off the bus before the trip to play the final in another town. However, the town rallies around Kevin, and he is exonerated of the crime because he is the prize commodity on the hockey team; his father’s influence helps to bring the investigation to a premature end. Kevin’s release brings him little relief, as his best friend, Benji, no longer wants anything to do with him because he knows that Kevin is guilty. Ten years after the rape, Kevin will see Maya in a parking lot, but she will not tell his wife what happened.