Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, Val Emmich

154 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

mishaalalala's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

It wasn’t objectively a bad  book, it’s just that myself personally, I found it to be pretty boring. Bland repetitive writing mixed with unlikeable characters. The message was poignant enough, but not enough to save this book. I think it would’ve been better if it stayed as just the musical. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

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)

bookish_manatee's review against another edition

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

crows_in_a_trenchcoat's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

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

prachidayal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.5

• Medium read (8 hours)
• Zoe's character fell flat and the ending felt too easy.
• Very creative plot with an excellent portrayal of anxiety. The fabricated emails part was so funny.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide

littlecharming's review against another edition

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

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.