Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich

35 reviews

slightlylostwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide

Moderate: Drug use

emmaward55's review against another edition

sad

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Oof. Those trigger warnings are no joke.

Some quick thoughts: 

Evan was a character that I loved to hate - right until *that* twist in the end. He's inappropriate, makes poor and harmful choices, and prioritizes his own need for comfort over others (even when his narration is insisting the opposite is true). In essence, he's a realistic teenage boy. 

I got such strong secondhand embarrassment from his words and deeds, that reading this book often felt like a minor anxiety attack.

Until like the final 90% or so of the book, I genuinely thought it had been mis-shelved as LGBTQ+. The straight "romance" is excruciating thanks to a certain dramatic irony. 

I dreaded every scene between Evan and Zoe and that KISS? Gross. 

Evan just kept crossing lines so blatant that a person with their eyes closed could have seen them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing and Abandonment

Minor: Antisemitism and Drug use

Child death: It's a teenager (a senior in highschool)

allieos's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use

allieslay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i strongly dislike evan hansen. i just can't get behind him and his actions. given the context and his mental health, yes he has issues but i still believe that he knew what he was doing.  

especially getting with zoe. it just feels icky. i am glad he gets what he deserves at the end. he loses everything.

but, i can't help but sympathize, i can't act like i would do any better in his situation. we are only human. musical is decent tho.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Suicide, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness

connor murphy did drugs and he also took his own life. evan hansen attempted to end his own life and he also goes through a hard mental state during the course of the book.

yk_cadence1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Cursing

Minor: Drug use

readwithkel's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This does differ a lot from the musical, but I think the additional character development added a lot of depth. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction and Drug use

sierrabowers's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I found this book good, but definitely not as good as I had imagined it to be. From the hype surrounding it, I thought it would be this amazingly profound story with tons of reflection on life. It did, and maybe I have just read too many books for this one to stand out. I did rate it a 4 because at the end, Evan’s mom said something that stuck with me and I connected to personally. She said, “do you remember the day your dad drove by to get his things? … it was a few weeks after he moved out … your father and I were both nervous about how you’d handle it, watching all his stuff get taken from the house. But you were so excited when you saw that big moving truck in the driveway you barely seemed to notice … and then a few hours later your father was gone, and the truck was gone, and it finally set in. It was just you and me, all alone in that big house.” That stuck with me personally because it was a mirror image of the night my own father moved out. I do appreciate the story about Connor and developing his personality and finding more about him as the story goes on. I also like how they did not demonize him at all in this book for taking his own life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

brekker_by_brekker's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

especially for someone looking to read books to do with themes of mental illness - it has such a raw & relatable depiction on anxiety and depression (especially within teens) very very very good book i haven’t stopped thinking about it since i read it for the first time :))))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death and Drug use

thattheatrekid's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I adore this musical above all others and this book did not disappoint! Heavy swearing but there were some extra scenes not seen in the musical that really added to the story. It’s told in a conversational manner and you don’t even realize how fast you’re turning the pages until it’s done. This plot and these characters will always have my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Suicide, and Child death

Minor: Drug use