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sad
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Antisemitism
Child death: It's a teenager (a senior in highschool)
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicide
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Drug use
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Addiction, Drug use
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief
Minor: Homophobia
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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 :))))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt
Minor: Death, Drug use
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
“That’s what happens when people leave, I think. When they’re gone, you don’t have to be reminded of all the bad things. They can just stay the way you want them forever. Perfect.”
This book was everything I expected and more. As someone who was a complete nobody in high school I related so much to both Evan and Connor. I understood why Evan did what he did. Because already being at the bottom of the food chain you don’t really want to feed more fuel for the bullies to use against you. I knew from seeing the trailer to the movie I needed to read the book and I knew I was going to cry and be slightly trigger from my rough high school days. I can’t wait to see how well the movie does at remaking this amazing book!
TW: Bullying. Suicide. Attempt Suicide. Drugs. Alcohol.
This book was everything I expected and more. As someone who was a complete nobody in high school I related so much to both Evan and Connor. I understood why Evan did what he did. Because already being at the bottom of the food chain you don’t really want to feed more fuel for the bullies to use against you. I knew from seeing the trailer to the movie I needed to read the book and I knew I was going to cry and be slightly trigger from my rough high school days. I can’t wait to see how well the movie does at remaking this amazing book!
TW: Bullying. Suicide. Attempt Suicide. Drugs. Alcohol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail