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essies_library's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
3.0
kimmybartle's review against another edition
4.0
Dear Evan Hansen, an anxious bean that tries to help and do the best he can, but he gets it all wrong. A son who's been feeling left behind, not seen as he is. A boy that can't find his voice until he's invited into a world where he might matter, if only for an ephemerous daydream of a moment.
"I wish that everything was different. I wish that I was a part of something. I wish that anything I said mattered, to anyone. I mean, let's face it: would anybody even notice if I disappeared tomorrow?"
I hold "Dear Evan Hansen" (the musical, this book, the movie) so close to my heart. I give 4.5 stars based on how the music had hit me differently already – and really, will anything ever beat precious Evan Platt belting he's waving through a window? I'm emotional like that.
I've explained this book to people as a mix of a modern "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and Simple Plan's "I'm just a kid" / "Welcome to my life." It's a story that is needed, now more than ever. I read this book in a post-quarantine, a sort-of-quarantine world where loneliness being the new normal rings true as Evan falling from a tree and waiting for someone to find him, only for this never to happen. Evan made so many mistakes, countless, but he was doing the best he could with the knowledge he had at the time. I wanted to jump inside this book and steer him in different paths so many times. He drove me crazy, and he drove me to the stars, and that's a character that changes you. I've met Evan Hansen. I was Evan Hansen. The inner child within us that was scared and bruised can find a song of redemption within these pages. I know I did.
"I wish that everything was different. I wish that I was a part of something. I wish that anything I said mattered, to anyone. I mean, let's face it: would anybody even notice if I disappeared tomorrow?"
I hold "Dear Evan Hansen" (the musical, this book, the movie) so close to my heart. I give 4.5 stars based on how the music had hit me differently already – and really, will anything ever beat precious Evan Platt belting he's waving through a window? I'm emotional like that.
I've explained this book to people as a mix of a modern "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and Simple Plan's "I'm just a kid" / "Welcome to my life." It's a story that is needed, now more than ever. I read this book in a post-quarantine, a sort-of-quarantine world where loneliness being the new normal rings true as Evan falling from a tree and waiting for someone to find him, only for this never to happen. Evan made so many mistakes, countless, but he was doing the best he could with the knowledge he had at the time. I wanted to jump inside this book and steer him in different paths so many times. He drove me crazy, and he drove me to the stars, and that's a character that changes you. I've met Evan Hansen. I was Evan Hansen. The inner child within us that was scared and bruised can find a song of redemption within these pages. I know I did.
tamarrow's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Makes me ten times more excited to see the show live.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction and Suicide
neighborhood_reads's review against another edition
3.0
The book started out strong, had me captivated and interested. One of my favorite musicals has been turned into a book! Yay! I was eagerly ate it up...until I got about, I dunno, halfway in. Then it kinda just got meh. Yes, it was still an emotional journey of a read, but it kinda fell flat after a while and reading this turned into a drag.
But it discussed something important, and honestly personal to me, so it's hard to dislike it.
Rating: 3.75
But it discussed something important, and honestly personal to me, so it's hard to dislike it.
Rating: 3.75
mirrorchaser's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first time reading a novelization of a musical and it was an interesting experience.
I guess
Certain passages mirror songs and I caught them immediately but felt that they were fluid enough to not be noticed as odd by someone who wasn’t familiar with the show.
Just to put it out there, full transparency, all that jazz... I am a major musical theatre nerd. One of those "listens to show tunes for fun, "collects playbills," "seen 'em all," theatre people. I've seen Dear Evan Hansen in person, I've watched bootlegs, I've listened to every cast recording and cover out there, and this book had pretty big shoes to fill.
[b:Dear Evan Hansen|39088507|Dear Evan Hansen|Val Emmich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521490556l/39088507._SY75_.jpg|60663163] tells a very important story of Evan Hansen, a pretty average high school kid, and the slippery slope of trying to fit in. When most kids get tangled up in lies for popularity it is something like their natural hair color, listening to a band, or knowing someone famous. Well, Evan didn't stop at a little white lie. He accidentally capitalized on a major life event of a classmate, Conner Murphy, who he barely knew when their assumed association skyrocketed him into popularity and drew a lot of attention to "The Conner Project," something that Evan began working on with great intentions. As things spiral out of control, Evan battles between doing what he knows is right and keeping the new friends, pseudo-family, and life that he has built in the wake of the Conner Project.
I wish that the novelization had went a little deeper with the characters, showing the impact of Evan’s lies. The real take away in the book is that lies hurt you more than anyone else and the show was able to show a little more emotion from the supporting characters to explain how lies were affecting them as well.
Not a horrible read but I’d pick the show any day!
I guess
Certain passages mirror songs and I caught them immediately but felt that they were fluid enough to not be noticed as odd by someone who wasn’t familiar with the show.
Just to put it out there, full transparency, all that jazz... I am a major musical theatre nerd. One of those "listens to show tunes for fun, "collects playbills," "seen 'em all," theatre people. I've seen Dear Evan Hansen in person, I've watched bootlegs, I've listened to every cast recording and cover out there, and this book had pretty big shoes to fill.
[b:Dear Evan Hansen|39088507|Dear Evan Hansen|Val Emmich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521490556l/39088507._SY75_.jpg|60663163] tells a very important story of Evan Hansen, a pretty average high school kid, and the slippery slope of trying to fit in. When most kids get tangled up in lies for popularity it is something like their natural hair color, listening to a band, or knowing someone famous. Well, Evan didn't stop at a little white lie. He accidentally capitalized on a major life event of a classmate, Conner Murphy, who he barely knew when their assumed association skyrocketed him into popularity and drew a lot of attention to "The Conner Project," something that Evan began working on with great intentions. As things spiral out of control, Evan battles between doing what he knows is right and keeping the new friends, pseudo-family, and life that he has built in the wake of the Conner Project.
"The me I am is not the me I was." - Dear Evan Hansen
I wish that the novelization had went a little deeper with the characters, showing the impact of Evan’s lies. The real take away in the book is that lies hurt you more than anyone else and the show was able to show a little more emotion from the supporting characters to explain how lies were affecting them as well.
Not a horrible read but I’d pick the show any day!
kendalljo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.75
A very close friend of mine got me to read this by saying I’d love it. She was definitely right since I already had seen the musical and loved that so much. Dear Evan Hansen is such a great story and the book is able to add quite a bit to the that by explaining the characters more. I do think it would be better to read this first before having seen the musical as I personally still liked the musical more, but the book is still so well done. Plus the extra Connor parts are very nice to see in the book. Took me a while to get through, but a good read. (I also wish it was a little less YA, but still a great story!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
leenduff's review against another edition
4.0
I dislike Evan immensely. But i appreciate how the storytelling shed light on mental illness and how we need to talk about it more.
roctothorpe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It's difficult to evaluate this because I love the musical so much and it's pretty much impossible for me to separate my memories and nostalgia for the show from the reading experience of this book.
What I enjoyed:
The audiobook narration was fantastic and contributed heavily to my overall enjoyment. It's read by Ben Levi Ross (my favorite Evan, who originated the role on the national tour), Mike Faist (who originated the role of Connor on Broadway), and features singing(!!) by Mallory Bechtel (who played Zoe on Broadway).
Seeing Connor's POV added depth to his character that I appreciated. I wish the POVs were more evenly split because I wanted to spend more time in the sideplot that is introduced with Connor's past.
The core message, I think, is still a worthy one: no matter your faults, you are not alone, and you are enough.
What I'm conflicted over:
The book feels like it just doubled down on and exacerbated problems that already existed in the musical. I found myself having much less sympathy for Evan in the book, in a way that does not feel intentional on the part of the authors.
Firstly, I think the book made undoubtedly the wrong choice in depicting what leads Evan to take the actions that set the story into motion. Conceivably, Evan's motivations are some mixture of:
What I enjoyed:
The audiobook narration was fantastic and contributed heavily to my overall enjoyment. It's read by Ben Levi Ross (my favorite Evan, who originated the role on the national tour), Mike Faist (who originated the role of Connor on Broadway), and features singing(!!) by Mallory Bechtel (who played Zoe on Broadway).
Seeing Connor's POV added depth to his character that I appreciated. I wish the POVs were more evenly split because I wanted to spend more time in the sideplot that is introduced with Connor's past.
The core message, I think, is still a worthy one: no matter your faults, you are not alone, and you are enough.
What I'm conflicted over:
The book feels like it just doubled down on and exacerbated problems that already existed in the musical. I found myself having much less sympathy for Evan in the book, in a way that does not feel intentional on the part of the authors.
Firstly, I think the book made undoubtedly the wrong choice in depicting what leads Evan to take the actions that set the story into motion. Conceivably, Evan's motivations are some mixture of:
- to escape an extremely uncomfortable misunderstanding (neutral intentions)
- to bring closure to the Murphys (good intentions but morally ambiguous)
- to get together with Zoe and/or for social capital (unambiguously bad intentions)
In the stage production, Evan does have a crush on Zoe but seems for the most part to be driven by reasons 1 and 2. Through his physicality and his internal conflict portrayed as conversations with an imaginary Connor, we get the feeling that Evan is someone who is flawed and understands that what he's doing is wrong, but is not a fundamentally bad person. On the other hand, when we got Evan's internal dialogue in the book, it was focused on how the lies and fallout would impact him, not the Murphy's, and leans much more strongly towards trying to justify his actions. On top of that, the flashbacks from before the main plot make it very explicit how Evan was borderline stalking Zoe, which was deeply uncomfortable to read and gives his actions a sinister undertone. His lies feel more self-serving, more directly tied to his obsession over Zoe, and paint him as more malicious and manipulative.
A second point: Evan's remorse and the consequences of his actions come through much clearer in the musical. The book cuts the song "Good For You", which comes from a POV other than Evan's and is very important for showing how his actions are selfish and hurting others. Book Evan did not seem to me like he grasped the true impact of what he did and as a whole the book cast off Evan’s mom and the Murphy’s to the side, to the detriment of the overall narrative.
Lastly, Connor as a ghost getting to have agency and observe the aftermath of his death feels very problematic, in that it makes it seem like you get to have this closure after you die. This strikes me as a dangerous way to downplay the finality of suicide, and most of the context we get on Connor could have been delivered through flashbacks instead.
Overall, this was fine as a YA novel but I don't think it stands on its own and I wouldn't have picked it up if not for the musical. The suspension of disbelief that comes with theater makes me feel like this story simply works better onstage and leads me to wonder did this even need to be a book? Having said that, I love this story for sentimental reasons and therefore I'm glad that I listened to it and even enjoyed it.
kaymmullins's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide