A review by amandalorianxo
Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Teetering between 4.5/5 stars - I found this book to be refreshing in many ways.
Favorite quotes so far:  
" From the moment she was born, she's been training to kick life's ass." (pg 182)
" I can never just sit back and sail. People like Rox can just put their feet up and let the water carry them along. Not me. I'm constantly on the verge of sinking." (pg. 168)
" Actually drowning is peace, almost drowning is pure pain." (pg. 187)
" I'm tired of curbing my emotions just to make room for hers." (pg. 283)
 The realistic voice of a high school senior whose mental health is not used as a punchline but is taken seriously throughout the entire novel. The story of someone who initially didn’t mean to be a part of anything but has his life changed for the better.  
Evan knew from the beginning that
lying about his involvement with Connor + most importantly Connor taking his own life was wrong. But this was a kid who had practically no one to talk to except his mother and the jerk of a family friend Jared. It’s no wonder he decided to make his claim as the best friend. What follows is Evan being able to have people know who he is and being temporarily part of a family that cares about him.
His mother means well but it seemed to Evan that he was “curbing his emotions to appear her own.” I cried when I read that sentence because I too grew up having to make my emotions smaller in order to appease my own mother. This book struck me in a good way and I’m glad I made this my first read of 2021.
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