Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Val Emmich, Justin Paul, Steven Levenson

42 reviews

theatrenerd_'s review against another edition

inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

I love this! Fantastic adaptation of the brilliant musical, shows some interesting insight into the characters’ relationships as well as having some chapters from Connor’s point of view. Love how similar it is to the musical whilst staying original (the Miguel plotline).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Grief

summermay1's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Abandonment

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!

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Content Warnings

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

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Drug use and Self harm

Minor: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders

indigocrayon's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

remwandering's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

saoirse_the_thespian's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Fatphobia - not sure if that's what the line was going for so writing it here, but there is a line "of a certain body type" that just rubbed me completely the wrong way. There is a joke about school shootings. The character comes across as stalkerish noticing everywhere a female character goes daily.

homulucy's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love the stage show of Dear Evan Hansen, and I’ve read the book once before…but WOW listening to this was stressful. There were many times where I wanted to yell at Evan to stop lying and being a generally crappy person. 
Jared was the best character in this entire book. He’s so funny and blunt and Evan should’ve listened to him. His reaction to finding out how Evan broke his arm was pure gold.

You fell out of a tree. What are you, an acorn?

The novel gives chapters to Connor, which the stage show wasn’t able to do. It was nice being able to see inside of him past what we see from Evan’s perspective.
The best part of listening to the audiobook instead of reading the book were the additions of sung versions of Requiem and Only Us. It was a really sweet detail, that wasn’t necessary, but enhanced the overall experience of listening to Dear Evan Hansen. They should’ve done that with the other songs, because the other songs get translated into conversation in a way that I found oddly funny. 
Overall, great for both fans and non-fans of the musical/movie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, and Grief