Reviews

Dear Evan Hansen (Script) by Steven Levenson, Justin Paul, Benj Pasek

marsm0th's review against another edition

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

schrammanda's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

jdonfire's review against another edition

5.0

I love the musical so much and had the privilege to see it in la last November and I could hear the voices of the actors in my head and every time I read a song it was like I was listening to the soundtrack but also with so much more

carryonamelia's review against another edition

3.0

I'm a very fast reader so I read this in about 2 hours as it was short and the formatting was easy to read (although I didn't enjoy reading in this format too much). Maybe that's partially why it didn't have the effect on me that the musical does, or maybe it was because sometimes with the songs it was more reading the lyrics than actually hearing the song and I think it's very powerful to actually hear the music. I feel like I'm in the minority with being "meh" and I'm surprised I didn't like this more because I love the musical, but it just didn't grab me like the musical has when I listen to the soundtrack. I really didn't like reading in the formatting it was in for some reason. This was my first "musical" book and I've decided the formatting is not for me. However, I really liked the way the characters were done because they were all very very flawed and none of them were entirely loveable. I also enjoyed the themes and the whole message. But I felt the ending was very abrupt (I have so many questions) and I, personally, thought the pacing was poorly done. During a musical, I think it would be better because that's how musicals go, but I thought there were a lot of important scenes that happened very quickly. I'm sad because I really wanted to love this as much as I love the musical. However, I did like that this gave me the context I was looking for because there were so many things I couldn't get just from listening to the soundtrack so now I can listen to the soundtrack with more context which will hopefully make the soundtrack more enjoyable. Overall, I didn't hate this one, I just wish I'd loved it a lot more. I feel like it's much more impactful live and in the soundtrack.

fernanddas's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

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

3.75

prairierosereads's review against another edition

4.0

I'm not crying; you're crying.

wylanslcve's review against another edition

3.0

I took away .5 stars because it was the script, thus it felt rushed at times. Apart from that, I’m a MESS.

sydnee_elle_17's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

daftplum's review against another edition

5.0

I thought listening to the cast recording made me cry a lot but reading the actual script just ripped my heart apart in so many different ways. A must read for any Dear Evan Hansen fan, or anyone looking for a good book where mental illness is an integral part.

To expand on how it's different from the cast recording, you really get the characters' intentions more than just listening to the recording. It's a reminder that no one in this story is really bad, they're just all going through their own stuff.

bmpicc's review against another edition

4.0

This gave me all the Mom feels! I had no clue what this story was about, but I already knew some of the songs from the Broadway show. I read the screenplay and it included all the lyrics which I loved. To see them within the actual story was amazing. This deals with family issues, depression, drugs and suicide. It is very well done, but does include some language.

"I don't want another year of you sitting at home on your computer every Friday night, telling me you have no friends."

My new Mom anthem from Anybody Have a Map?
"Does anybody have a map?
Anybody maybe happen to know how the hell to do this?
I dunno if you can tell
But this is me just pretending to know

So where's the map?
I need a clue
'Cause the scary truth is
I'm flyin' blind
And I'm making this up as I go"