Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich

12 reviews

caitlyn_drago_1226's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Death, Suicide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing

emmaward55's review

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)

bookish_manatee's review

challenging emotional 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

4.0

I love the soundtrack of the Dear Evan Hansen musical, and it’s gotten me through some rough times. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the story, however, and the book didn’t help that. The writing style was engaging and overall I enjoyed it, but I didn’t like how Evan was written. I found him to be very unlikeable, even if that was meant to make him more realistic. I also didn’t like how the themes of mental illness and suicide weren’t addressed as well as they could’ve been. I did love reading the chapters from Connor’s POV though, and I wish we could see more from him.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, and Suicide

Minor: Fatphobia

littlecharming's review

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Cursing, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Grief, and Death

Minor: Medical content and Toxic relationship

yk_cadence1's review

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

sierrabowers's review

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

thattheatrekid's review

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

kaylasbookgram's review

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

5.0

“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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

emilyrose23's review

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Toxic relationship and Stalking

unreadbass's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship