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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Val Emmich, Justin Paul, Steven Levenson
16 reviews
jessicabearbooks's review against another edition
dark
informative
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
3.5
This story beautiful.
Evan’s constant lying is frustrating and makes each chapter tense as you worry what he's going to get caught up with or try to get away with next. But that's the whole point of the story so can I really fault that. I wish Evan had faced the consequences for all his actions though, as he gets away with too many things that have ultimately caused others so much pain and frustration.
As a fan of the musical, I found this book added a lot to the story and overall experience. Definitely give it a read if you can!
Evan’s constant lying is frustrating and makes each chapter tense as you worry what he's going to get caught up with or try to get away with next. But that's the whole point of the story so can I really fault that. I wish Evan had faced the consequences for all his actions though, as he gets away with too many things that have ultimately caused others so much pain and frustration.
As a fan of the musical, I found this book added a lot to the story and overall experience. Definitely give it a read if you can!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use
simbarabbit20's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Suicide attempt
pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
y3llow_umbr3lla's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
zakcebulski's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
3.0
<spoilers>
Hi folks!
Well, I finally read this book! In my friend group this play is a favorite. I, however, have not seen it. In fact, I know only one song from the soundtrack (can you tell that I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to stage plays??).
So, my girlfriend graciously got me this book, and I finally got around to reading it.
I have heard that the book is not the best way to enjoy this story, so, with that in mind, I can say that I thought that this book was... okay. I did not feel blown away by it at all, and in fact, I ended it off by not really liking the titular character very much at all.
The story follows a senior- Evan Hansen who is 17 and is an awkward, anxious outcast with a broken arm. He lives with his mother- Heidi, who I feel is a really great character honestly.
Evan is a character who I am sure many of us can relate to on some level or another due to the feelings of social isolation and anxiety which he feels.
On the first day of school there is an event wherein Evan crosses paths with one Conner Murphy who is another social outcast who is the brother of Evan's crush- Zoe.
Conner shoves Evan and takes with him a note which Evan had written himself. This note is an assignment from Evan's therapist who asked that Evan write a note to himself essentially manifesting positivity- starting it with "Dear Evan Hansen...".
It is revealed that over the next day Conner committed suicide- later revealed to be from unrequited love (actually revealed to just be business that stunted any conversation) with a character- Miguel.
Upon his death, Conner's family finds the note that he took from Evan, which seems to indicate that Evan and Conner were friends.
Now, what this does is... set Evan up for a series of really, truly very fucking bad decisions.
Evan states that he and Conner were not only friends, but, they were the absolute best of friends.
Now, most people would immediately clear the air, and go from there that it was a misunderstanding and that the letter was actually to himself and that's that! Not Evan- he lets this lie build and build to the point where he employs Jared, a family friend (and also one of the worst characters in this book, in my opinion), to fabricate emails between Evan and Conner completely synthesizing a relationship that never existed.
Evan starts to benefit from these emails by getting closer to Zoe (to the point wherein they start faux-dating) and even becoming close with Larry and Cynthia- Conner's parents, who see Evan as a through line to get to know their recently deceased son. I feel so fucking bad for the Murphy's, man, this shit is despicable to play with their emotions like Evan is.
There is eventually a project called the Conner Project, which serves as a platform to hear the unheard, and to be there for those people who feel like they are alone in the world. Now, this is obviously a fantastic initiative, but, goddamn it is a castle built on sand.
And, what happens when a castle is built on sand? The sand moves and the castle crumbles, which is exactly what happens in this book. The lie obviously comes out and Evan is forced to face the bullshit that he was spewing. But, what the fuck man, he faces quite literally no repercussions aside from the Murphy's being mad at him for a bit...? I can't lie, I was not at all a fan of the ending of this book. It felt like Evan was a very manipulative person who was only doing this stuff for personal gain, and because he had no desire to speak the truth, or if he did, he was too scared to (which does not give him a pass?). Basically, what Evan did was foce the Murphy's to not only lose their son again, but, to lose a fabricated idealized version of him, who was also struggling with addiction.
That is a real piece of shit move.
Now, probably the biggest theme of this book is projecting an identity that is not genuine, and I think that this was explored very well. From Evan who has his entire life made up throughout the book, to people like Zoe who feels bad that she doesn't feel bad about her brother's passing because they weren't actually that close, to Conner who was a closeted gay/ bi man but projected a facade of being straight. I thought that the exploration of these themes was very very well done and gives some nice food for thought for the reader.
I also wonder, and wondered in my reading, what are the moral implications of the Conner Project (I just realized I have been spelling Connor with an E for some reason throughout this review- my mistake.)? The project undoubtedly does good, but, it is stemming from a completely synthesized memory/ idea of a person who killed himself. To me, this is morally dubious, because while it does help people, without a doubt, it is still perverting the memory of who Connor was and is ultimately not in his memory because he was not the person who Evan is touting him as being. I think that this actually acts to do more harm to Connor's memory because his memory is being ushered out by the fake version whom Evan is making up, which is super fucking shitty.
I did as well like the analysis of what it means to know someone. After the unfortunate passing of a person there will always be a flood of social media posts by people who state that they loved this person, and that they were best friends with me and this and that. I think that this is a narcissistic view of mortality in the internet age as many people will take someone else's passing and immediately flip it on them. Instead of "this person passed away, may they rest in peace", it is "this person passed away, and it is affecting ME", which is disturbing and fucked up. We have come to a point in society wherein people are not opposed to benefitting from the deaths of others, and Evan is a prime example of the worst-case scenario in this.
I know that Evan is the main character in this book, but, man, I really did not like him at all. I thought that he was a manipulative person who fell back on his mental illness as a means of letting things go way too fucking far, and seemingly getting a pass for his actions while benefitting from the fires he was letting rage. Let it be said- mental illness is not a get out of jail free pass- and it is sort of illustrated as such in this book. Evan truly faces no repercussions for his actions which I think is super shitty, and I feel horrible for people like the Murphy's who were subjected to this horseshit after the tragedy of losing their son.
I am interested to see how the play stacks up to the book, because, I left this with a very sour feeling toward Evan.
</spoilers>
Hi folks!
Well, I finally read this book! In my friend group this play is a favorite. I, however, have not seen it. In fact, I know only one song from the soundtrack (can you tell that I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to stage plays??).
So, my girlfriend graciously got me this book, and I finally got around to reading it.
I have heard that the book is not the best way to enjoy this story, so, with that in mind, I can say that I thought that this book was... okay. I did not feel blown away by it at all, and in fact, I ended it off by not really liking the titular character very much at all.
The story follows a senior- Evan Hansen who is 17 and is an awkward, anxious outcast with a broken arm. He lives with his mother- Heidi, who I feel is a really great character honestly.
Evan is a character who I am sure many of us can relate to on some level or another due to the feelings of social isolation and anxiety which he feels.
On the first day of school there is an event wherein Evan crosses paths with one Conner Murphy who is another social outcast who is the brother of Evan's crush- Zoe.
Conner shoves Evan and takes with him a note which Evan had written himself. This note is an assignment from Evan's therapist who asked that Evan write a note to himself essentially manifesting positivity- starting it with "Dear Evan Hansen...".
It is revealed that over the next day Conner committed suicide- later revealed to be from unrequited love (actually revealed to just be business that stunted any conversation) with a character- Miguel.
Upon his death, Conner's family finds the note that he took from Evan, which seems to indicate that Evan and Conner were friends.
Now, what this does is... set Evan up for a series of really, truly very fucking bad decisions.
Evan states that he and Conner were not only friends, but, they were the absolute best of friends.
Now, most people would immediately clear the air, and go from there that it was a misunderstanding and that the letter was actually to himself and that's that! Not Evan- he lets this lie build and build to the point where he employs Jared, a family friend (and also one of the worst characters in this book, in my opinion), to fabricate emails between Evan and Conner completely synthesizing a relationship that never existed.
Evan starts to benefit from these emails by getting closer to Zoe (to the point wherein they start faux-dating) and even becoming close with Larry and Cynthia- Conner's parents, who see Evan as a through line to get to know their recently deceased son. I feel so fucking bad for the Murphy's, man, this shit is despicable to play with their emotions like Evan is.
There is eventually a project called the Conner Project, which serves as a platform to hear the unheard, and to be there for those people who feel like they are alone in the world. Now, this is obviously a fantastic initiative, but, goddamn it is a castle built on sand.
And, what happens when a castle is built on sand? The sand moves and the castle crumbles, which is exactly what happens in this book. The lie obviously comes out and Evan is forced to face the bullshit that he was spewing. But, what the fuck man, he faces quite literally no repercussions aside from the Murphy's being mad at him for a bit...? I can't lie, I was not at all a fan of the ending of this book. It felt like Evan was a very manipulative person who was only doing this stuff for personal gain, and because he had no desire to speak the truth, or if he did, he was too scared to (which does not give him a pass?). Basically, what Evan did was foce the Murphy's to not only lose their son again, but, to lose a fabricated idealized version of him, who was also struggling with addiction.
That is a real piece of shit move.
Now, probably the biggest theme of this book is projecting an identity that is not genuine, and I think that this was explored very well. From Evan who has his entire life made up throughout the book, to people like Zoe who feels bad that she doesn't feel bad about her brother's passing because they weren't actually that close, to Conner who was a closeted gay/ bi man but projected a facade of being straight. I thought that the exploration of these themes was very very well done and gives some nice food for thought for the reader.
I also wonder, and wondered in my reading, what are the moral implications of the Conner Project (I just realized I have been spelling Connor with an E for some reason throughout this review- my mistake.)? The project undoubtedly does good, but, it is stemming from a completely synthesized memory/ idea of a person who killed himself. To me, this is morally dubious, because while it does help people, without a doubt, it is still perverting the memory of who Connor was and is ultimately not in his memory because he was not the person who Evan is touting him as being. I think that this actually acts to do more harm to Connor's memory because his memory is being ushered out by the fake version whom Evan is making up, which is super fucking shitty.
I did as well like the analysis of what it means to know someone. After the unfortunate passing of a person there will always be a flood of social media posts by people who state that they loved this person, and that they were best friends with me and this and that. I think that this is a narcissistic view of mortality in the internet age as many people will take someone else's passing and immediately flip it on them. Instead of "this person passed away, may they rest in peace", it is "this person passed away, and it is affecting ME", which is disturbing and fucked up. We have come to a point in society wherein people are not opposed to benefitting from the deaths of others, and Evan is a prime example of the worst-case scenario in this.
I know that Evan is the main character in this book, but, man, I really did not like him at all. I thought that he was a manipulative person who fell back on his mental illness as a means of letting things go way too fucking far, and seemingly getting a pass for his actions while benefitting from the fires he was letting rage. Let it be said- mental illness is not a get out of jail free pass- and it is sort of illustrated as such in this book. Evan truly faces no repercussions for his actions which I think is super shitty, and I feel horrible for people like the Murphy's who were subjected to this horseshit after the tragedy of losing their son.
I am interested to see how the play stacks up to the book, because, I left this with a very sour feeling toward Evan.
</spoilers>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
slightlylostwriter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
emmaward55's review against another edition
sad
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Oof. Those trigger warnings are no joke.
Some quick thoughts:
Evan was a character that I loved to hate - right until *that* twist in the end. He's inappropriate, makes poor and harmful choices, and prioritizes his own need for comfort over others (even when his narration is insisting the opposite is true). In essence, he's a realistic teenage boy.
I got such strong secondhand embarrassment from his words and deeds, that reading this book often felt like a minor anxiety attack.
Until like the final 90% or so of the book, I genuinely thought it had been mis-shelved as LGBTQ+. The straight "romance" is excruciating thanks to a certain dramatic irony. I dreaded every scene between Evan and Zoe and that KISS? Gross. Evan just kept crossing lines so blatant that a person with their eyes closed could have seen them.
Some quick thoughts:
Evan was a character that I loved to hate - right until *that* twist in the end. He's inappropriate, makes poor and harmful choices, and prioritizes his own need for comfort over others (even when his narration is insisting the opposite is true). In essence, he's a realistic teenage boy.
I got such strong secondhand embarrassment from his words and deeds, that reading this book often felt like a minor anxiety attack.
Until like the final 90% or so of the book, I genuinely thought it had been mis-shelved as LGBTQ+. The straight "romance" is excruciating thanks to a certain dramatic irony.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cursing and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Antisemitism
Child death: It's a teenager (a senior in highschool)sierrabowers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found this book good, but definitely not as good as I had imagined it to be. From the hype surrounding it, I thought it would be this amazingly profound story with tons of reflection on life. It did, and maybe I have just read too many books for this one to stand out. I did rate it a 4 because at the end, Evan’s mom said something that stuck with me and I connected to personally. She said, “do you remember the day your dad drove by to get his things? … it was a few weeks after he moved out … your father and I were both nervous about how you’d handle it, watching all his stuff get taken from the house. But you were so excited when you saw that big moving truck in the driveway you barely seemed to notice … and then a few hours later your father was gone, and the truck was gone, and it finally set in. It was just you and me, all alone in that big house.” That stuck with me personally because it was a mirror image of the night my own father moved out. I do appreciate the story about Connor and developing his personality and finding more about him as the story goes on. I also like how they did not demonize him at all in this book for taking his own life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia
thattheatrekid's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
I adore this musical above all others and this book did not disappoint! Heavy swearing but there were some extra scenes not seen in the musical that really added to the story. It’s told in a conversational manner and you don’t even realize how fast you’re turning the pages until it’s done. This plot and these characters will always have my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug use