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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Val Emmich, Justin Paul, Steven Levenson
63 reviews
baratheonbooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide
summermay1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Abandonment
braytonaubree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
jessicabearbooks's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use
tays_dear_reader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use and Self harm
Minor: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders
simbarabbit20's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Suicide attempt
indigocrayon's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying and Gaslighting
kriskelly's review against another edition
- 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’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!
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, and Self harm
pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
mishshell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide