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Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'
Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Val Emmich, Justin Paul, Steven Levenson
1 review
richardw2024's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
TL:DR - if you are a fan of the DEH musical (and can get past the problematic plot of the story), you may like reading this book as it gives some extra backstory to Connor's character. Otherwise, it is a somewhat formulaic YA story with a somewhat problematic plot.
I am going to talk about the musical a bit - as this book started as a musical (and it felt like this was written for fans of the musical) I don't think the book can be reviewed in isolation from it.
Dear Evan Hansen started as a musical (and later musical film) and this is a novelisation of the musical's book (and not the other way around). I had seen the musical before reading the book, albeit it March 2020 when the world was heading into a lock down and maybe that, along with the excellent performances of the cast and the inoffensive but largely forgettable songs that make up the musical made me overlook how problematic the theme of this story is. The musical songs do help you get past this, as they intersperse lighthearted songs (like Sincerely Me) with more serious songs, which somewhat made me not realise the problems with the story, which became more evident in the book. The musical has some good songs including a big "This Is Me" style number (it's basically the same tune and written by the same composers) and there is a hopeful message in the show that a lot of people related to - but that doesn't obviously carry over in a book. This makes reading the book a much more somber experience, and highlights the more challenging aspects of the plot that the musical is somewhat able to get away with (similar criticism was raised about the film - likewise with film there is less place to hide).
Brief spoiler free plot - Evan Hansen is starting high school as a freshman. He has severe social anxiety and his therapist asks him to write letters to himself titled "Dear Evan Hansen today is going to be a great day because..." Evan meets in the library (whilst printing his daily letter) an equally outcast kid called Connor. Connor picks up Evan's letter and takes it home (Evan also has a broken arm and Connor has signed his cast). That night, Connor commits suicide. Evan's letter is found on Connor and Connor's parents believe that they were best friends. Evan (reluctantly at first) goes along with the lie, but then going to extreme of faking email exchanges and uses the lie to start a relationship with Connor's sister and give Evan a sense of family. Another kid called Alanna in the school wants to set up a charity foundation in Connor's memory called The Connor Project which Evan becomes a spokesperson for. Inevitably, the lie is discovered and Evan has to come clean.
And that's it. There is no real redemption ark, no atonement - it just ends.
One thing the book does improve on the original source material of is that there is some attempt at a redemption from Evan after the lie is found out, but more importantly the book gives Connor some backstory. The musical treats Connor as not much more than a plot device and somewhat trivialises his suicide. Learning more of Connor's story was truly my favourite part of the book and I think would potentially appeal to DEH fans.
You could read this if you haven't seen the show or seen the film, but I think it would be a less enjoyable experience and I personally see this as complementing rather than replacing or improving on it. If you don't have access to either (I know not everyone does) then it does give you a good idea of the plot which can help you understand the meaning of the soundtrack better.
I personally found it more enjoyable to play the soundtrack songs at relevant parts in the book - it is easy to work out where the songs come (sometimes they are printed almost word for word) and the book follows the musical almost identically (except for the Connor backstory bits).
I am going to talk about the musical a bit - as this book started as a musical (and it felt like this was written for fans of the musical) I don't think the book can be reviewed in isolation from it.
Dear Evan Hansen started as a musical (and later musical film) and this is a novelisation of the musical's book (and not the other way around). I had seen the musical before reading the book, albeit it March 2020 when the world was heading into a lock down and maybe that, along with the excellent performances of the cast and the inoffensive but largely forgettable songs that make up the musical made me overlook how problematic the theme of this story is. The musical songs do help you get past this, as they intersperse lighthearted songs (like Sincerely Me) with more serious songs, which somewhat made me not realise the problems with the story, which became more evident in the book. The musical has some good songs including a big "This Is Me" style number (it's basically the same tune and written by the same composers) and there is a hopeful message in the show that a lot of people related to - but that doesn't obviously carry over in a book. This makes reading the book a much more somber experience, and highlights the more challenging aspects of the plot that the musical is somewhat able to get away with (similar criticism was raised about the film - likewise with film there is less place to hide).
Brief spoiler free plot - Evan Hansen is starting high school as a freshman. He has severe social anxiety and his therapist asks him to write letters to himself titled "Dear Evan Hansen today is going to be a great day because..." Evan meets in the library (whilst printing his daily letter) an equally outcast kid called Connor. Connor picks up Evan's letter and takes it home (Evan also has a broken arm and Connor has signed his cast). That night, Connor commits suicide. Evan's letter is found on Connor and Connor's parents believe that they were best friends. Evan (reluctantly at first) goes along with the lie, but then going to extreme of faking email exchanges and uses the lie to start a relationship with Connor's sister and give Evan a sense of family. Another kid called Alanna in the school wants to set up a charity foundation in Connor's memory called The Connor Project which Evan becomes a spokesperson for. Inevitably, the lie is discovered and Evan has to come clean.
And that's it. There is no real redemption ark, no atonement - it just ends.
One thing the book does improve on the original source material of is that there is some attempt at a redemption from Evan after the lie is found out, but more importantly the book gives Connor some backstory. The musical treats Connor as not much more than a plot device and somewhat trivialises his suicide. Learning more of Connor's story was truly my favourite part of the book and I think would potentially appeal to DEH fans.
You could read this if you haven't seen the show or seen the film, but I think it would be a less enjoyable experience and I personally see this as complementing rather than replacing or improving on it. If you don't have access to either (I know not everyone does) then it does give you a good idea of the plot which can help you understand the meaning of the soundtrack better.
I personally found it more enjoyable to play the soundtrack songs at relevant parts in the book - it is easy to work out where the songs come (sometimes they are printed almost word for word) and the book follows the musical almost identically (except for the Connor backstory bits).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Mass/school shootings
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