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mudder17's review against another edition
5.0
I'm so glad I didn't read any spoilers ahead of time. I have not seen the stage play or listened to the music, although it's been cued up for some time on my Spotify list. So I listened to this audio without any foreknowledge about the book, other than that Evan Hansen writes himself some letters as a form of therapy. He is a major train wreck and in many ways, this is a tragedy where Evan IS the tragedy. And yet, as the story proceeds and you see where it is headed--where it must be headed, you can't help but cringe at every wrong move he makes and say to him, "No, no, no, no, no..." This book explores the feeling of being alone and not belonging, but wanting to belong. It explores mental illness, and it talks about teen suicide and the effects on the loved ones left behind. This was not an easy book, but I can definitely recommend it without hesitation.
karonsb413's review against another edition
5.0
I definitely needed to read this, this week. It put a lot of things into perspective for me! I saw the musical about a year ago. I cried during the musical and then cried reading the book. Highly recommend reading this. There is a lot more detail added that was not in the show.
eayen2024's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this book a 3.5 overall. I'm a big fan of the Broadway Musical, so it was fun to follow the storyline and compare it to the musical. I think one of my biggest critiques of this book is that I was easily able to lose interest in the book. That's why I ended up using an audiobook to listen to the rest of the book. However, I was a really big fan of the chapters that told the POV of Conor. It really gave a whole new perspective to the story.
p2warner's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this. I have not seen the play and had no idea what it was about. Good YA story for teens.
bookbaddie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Dear Evan Hansen,
I fear you suck? I also anxiety but I have never lied about sucide note, “accidentally” taken advantage of a family and then had someone else create a non profit in honor of their son.
I fear you suck? I also anxiety but I have never lied about sucide note, “accidentally” taken advantage of a family and then had someone else create a non profit in honor of their son.
boronguyen's review against another edition
3.0
The epilogue felt like it was written by a completely different person. And ‘twas beautiful!
dioniziah's review against another edition
2.0
2.5! There’s a lot I liked about this book but it really didn’t sit well in my soul that Connor’s life story was used to advance the narrative and growth of another character, who didn’t even like him. I read commentary on this by the author and he said that this book is meant to highlight mental health issues and show people that no one deserves to be alone etc. He made a point to single-out lgbtq youths and how suicide disproportionately affects them only to have the only lgbtq character die very early on, so the reader never really meets him, and then when his ghost showed up to narrate a few chapters it didn’t have an impact because 95% of the book is about Evan and how he used his anxiety as an excuse to exploit a grieving family. The worst part is how the story is resolved. Evan, doesn’t get any type of punishment for anything he did. There are literally no consequences. I don’t think his life should’ve been ruined or anything of the sort but the entire conversation with Zoe made it seem like Evan did them a favor after all...anyway.
ellaroshea's review against another edition
4.0
I am of the impression that neurodivergent representation is almost always better in books, as it comes from the inside. musicals and films are cool, yes, but there is only so much you can get from an external perspective. I love how this book explores social anxiety, unstable emotions/sense of self and depression from an internal perspective. this book is also an excellent baby exposure for moral scrupulosity as it deals with the Nativity-style 'lie growing and spreading out of control' storyline. I sympathise so much more with Evan now I know his internal workings and how so much of it was because he was so desperate to write himself another story, compared to the suboptimal one he was living, and how he was desperate to please a broken family in any way he could, but also he was doing something objectively harmful in the end and was often rude to the people around him, like his mum. I also disliked Jared as a character, but I think he's kind of meant to be the archetypal annoying dudebro that e.g. objectifies women a lot and is only friends with Evan because of circumstance. even Alana was unlikeable at times, ignoring Evan, publishing someone's suicide note for a monetary goal (what the hell) and also being so focused on doing things that she neglected the emotional side of things (though there is an argument about autism-coding in Alana and the concept of the undiscovered autistic girl trying to fill her life with things to overcompensate for her social difficulties). the book is filled with a lot of morally grey characters, which is very interesting to someone whose brain often tends towards the black-and-white and who exists in an ever-more polarised culture.
heyyyitsjp's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent companion to the musical. Gives a lot more perspective into evan’s inner turmoil