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

emotional hopeful 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

3.5

This book chronicles the story of the ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ musical and while it is trying to tell the same story in a unique way, I couldn’t help myself from comparing the two. In the first part of the story it seemed like the book was trying to set itself apart by not including too many lyrics from the musical, but in doing so I felt like it had a tendency to gloss over the integral parts of the show that carry the heart and soul of the story. Because of that the book just didn’t pack the same emotional punch. I didn’t entirely connect with the writing style either, it felt a bit too dialog-heavy, partly because Evan’s inner monologue read like a conversation. However, I did appreciate the way the book was able to throw in some extra information that shed a new light on parts of the story. For example, how it was able to delve deeper into Evan’s relationship with his dad. These little tidbits created a bit of extra depth that I felt was missing in some of the other parts. By the second part of the book things started picking up, it felt like the story had found its voice and rhythm and things were finally clicking into place. Perhaps this was just me getting used to the different format and style, but I found myself comparing it to the musical less and less and started enjoying the book on its own. My favourite thing about this book was how it included Connor. It was able to explore his past, give us more insight into his psyche and bring closure to his part of the story. 

Overall, it’s a quick and easy read and I would recommend it to any fan of the musical. It will help connect the dots between the songs for people who’ve only been able to listen to the album, and for people who’ve already seen the show it will add some extra pieces of information and bring new insights into the characters. 
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