Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich

26 reviews

tays_dear_reader's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

3.75


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indigocrayon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kriskelly's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’d give this book 3.5 stars overall! 

I’ve been a fan of the Dear Evan Hansen musical since it originally premiered on Broadway, so this book was highly anticipated for me to read. Overall, I was intrigued by this book, but there were some aspects I wish they improved on.

TW: suicide, anxiety, mental health

This adaptation of the story provides a new insight, with additional details that the Broadway production does not mention. One of the aspects that I truly enjoyed was how in depth they go with Connor Murphy - the character who ends his life. It was intriguing how there were multiple chapters from Connor’s perspective to step away from Evan Hansen’s point of view. Connor brings up a character named Miguel multiple times, which is exclusive to the book, but adds so much background. I wish they included more background on that in the musical adaptation. 

Speaking of Evan Hansen himself, that’s one aspect of the book I disliked. Evan as a character is quite honestly not a good person. The main plot of this book is that he gets caught up in this lie about being Connors friend to comfort his family, but I’m more so convinced that it’s because he desperately wanted to be close to Zoe Murphy (aka Connor’s sister). One part of the story that particularly made me uncomfortable was this quote: “These flowers should be for Zoe, as a gesture of, well, my affection or whatever, but instead I’m giving them to her mother because she lost her son” (pg 100). How low could you go with that line? I’m not convinced that Evan is truly deserving of praise from his actions. 

I have much more opinions, but overall, there are parts of this book that I think that could be improved. I would highly recommend watching the musical, as I liked that adaptation more than the book. But overall this was an interesting read!

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pongraczreads's review against another edition

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Sometimes musicals don't translate well onto pages. Maybe I'll pick up where I left off later, but for now this book is a no go for me. 

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specklethecrow's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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remwandering's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Connor's moments in the book are the greatest. You get more insight into who he is
/was
.

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caitlyn_drago_1226's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0


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saoirse_the_thespian's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a fan of the musical, I can say this is a great stage to page adaptation. It is emotional and will have you crying. Also, it uses direct quotes from the musical which is always a nice touch for all the theatre nerds out there. 

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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I've decided to just dnf. I really don't like the character and some of the decisions for the writing are going to make me dislike the musical. And I love the music so I'm just stopping now. 

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fluffyfox's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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