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A review by frosthetix
Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Mike Faist your beautiful voice has enthralled me...
I'm not one of those DEH fans that was obsessed with the musical (unfortunately, you don't get to be a broadway theatre kid if you live half way across the world from America), I've only heard of it and knew of its popularity. Now that I've seen it (a bootleg of course, blue slime tutorial you will always be famous), I can kinda see why it garnered such a big fan base? But I can also see why its downfall came so quickly after the movie's release. Personally I'm not that into the plot, and I don't think I'd have ever looked into the show if it were not for Mike Faist, but I feel a bit bad for the fans because of how fast it went from it's cool to like this show to this show is the most problematic thing to ever exist everyone who likes it is crazy. As an outsider, I think the fandom is just like any other, with its love for their actors, cringey memes and those wild yet widely accepted headcanons. There's just a very morally ambiguous main character in the center of it all, who just so happens to suffer with mental health. Oh, and suicide is used as a macguffin in the show. So yeah. The musical is obviously going to be controversial under the scrutiny of cinephiles.
The book retells the story of the musical, while expanding on some parts, most notably the character of Connor Murphy. Spoiler alert for the show ahead, but Connor, the real Connor not the imaginary one, dies in the beginning of the first act and basically disappears completely for the rest of the entire show. He was basically reduced to a tool to push the plot further. The book however gives Connor a voice and offers the audience a chance to know what he was like, what his life was like before everything and what pushed him onto the path of his final decision. The best thing about the book is definitely Connor's parts. And with it read by the amazing Mike Faist, it gives Connor so much life that he never had the chance to show in the musical (no pun intended). Mike did such a wonderful job portraying this vulnerable version of Connor behind his violent bravado, and I often found myself missing his voice whenever his chapters ended. I loved his story with Miguel. It's cliché-ridden sure, but it still made me feel more than the musical ever did. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the mind of Connor very much, and I wish that Mike had more to work with on the show. I love his voice (his singing voice too) and I think they really underutilized Mr. Jack Kelly understudy.
There's this thing with books, and especially those in first person POVs (I'm actually not the biggest fan of first person POV when it comes to YA literature, but in some cases it works and it's also different when you're reading an audiobook where it's like the MC is telling you a story about their experience), where there's a certain intimacy and connection you feel with the characters that you won't get with audiovisual media (and I am saying this as the biggest cinephile ever, I am biased towards films, yet I won't hesitate to admit that there are many things books can offer you that a film cannot; but then again, the other way around is also true). It's easier to feel for Evan in the book, at least easier than in the show I feel, because you could see his thought process and the actual mental health struggles he's going through. I don't suffer from anxiety so it's not my place to say how accurate this portrayal is, but I'm certain that many people felt seen and related to the character (which I guess is why the musical was such a big hit in the first place. something something theatre kids mentally unstable depressed kids) in a certain sense. Though of course what the book doesn't have are the fun songs (sincerely, me felt so weird when read out like that) and musical numbers, save for Zoe writing Requiem (sung by Mallory Bechtel, who took over the role of Zoe after Laura Dreyfuss' departure), which was quite sweet.
Again, I feel like I would have never read this book if Mike didn't voice it, but I wouldn't say I absolutely didn't enjoy this either. There is a story to be told here, but whether or not the message is right is of course still up to debate. I'll just sit back and be the casual musical enjoyer instead of getting into the heat of it though. I'm truly just here for Mike Faist.
I'm not one of those DEH fans that was obsessed with the musical (unfortunately, you don't get to be a broadway theatre kid if you live half way across the world from America), I've only heard of it and knew of its popularity. Now that I've seen it (a bootleg of course, blue slime tutorial you will always be famous), I can kinda see why it garnered such a big fan base? But I can also see why its downfall came so quickly after the movie's release. Personally I'm not that into the plot, and I don't think I'd have ever looked into the show if it were not for Mike Faist, but I feel a bit bad for the fans because of how fast it went from it's cool to like this show to this show is the most problematic thing to ever exist everyone who likes it is crazy. As an outsider, I think the fandom is just like any other, with its love for their actors, cringey memes and those wild yet widely accepted headcanons. There's just a very morally ambiguous main character in the center of it all, who just so happens to suffer with mental health. Oh, and suicide is used as a macguffin in the show. So yeah. The musical is obviously going to be controversial under the scrutiny of cinephiles.
The book retells the story of the musical, while expanding on some parts, most notably the character of Connor Murphy. Spoiler alert for the show ahead, but Connor, the real Connor not the imaginary one, dies in the beginning of the first act and basically disappears completely for the rest of the entire show. He was basically reduced to a tool to push the plot further. The book however gives Connor a voice and offers the audience a chance to know what he was like, what his life was like before everything and what pushed him onto the path of his final decision. The best thing about the book is definitely Connor's parts. And with it read by the amazing Mike Faist, it gives Connor so much life that he never had the chance to show in the musical (no pun intended). Mike did such a wonderful job portraying this vulnerable version of Connor behind his violent bravado, and I often found myself missing his voice whenever his chapters ended. I loved his story with Miguel. It's cliché-ridden sure, but it still made me feel more than the musical ever did. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of the mind of Connor very much, and I wish that Mike had more to work with on the show. I love his voice (his singing voice too) and I think they really underutilized Mr. Jack Kelly understudy.
There's this thing with books, and especially those in first person POVs (I'm actually not the biggest fan of first person POV when it comes to YA literature, but in some cases it works and it's also different when you're reading an audiobook where it's like the MC is telling you a story about their experience), where there's a certain intimacy and connection you feel with the characters that you won't get with audiovisual media (and I am saying this as the biggest cinephile ever, I am biased towards films, yet I won't hesitate to admit that there are many things books can offer you that a film cannot; but then again, the other way around is also true). It's easier to feel for Evan in the book, at least easier than in the show I feel, because you could see his thought process and the actual mental health struggles he's going through. I don't suffer from anxiety so it's not my place to say how accurate this portrayal is, but I'm certain that many people felt seen and related to the character (which I guess is why the musical was such a big hit in the first place. something something theatre kids mentally unstable depressed kids) in a certain sense. Though of course what the book doesn't have are the fun songs (sincerely, me felt so weird when read out like that) and musical numbers, save for Zoe writing Requiem (sung by Mallory Bechtel, who took over the role of Zoe after Laura Dreyfuss' departure), which was quite sweet.
Again, I feel like I would have never read this book if Mike didn't voice it, but I wouldn't say I absolutely didn't enjoy this either. There is a story to be told here, but whether or not the message is right is of course still up to debate. I'll just sit back and be the casual musical enjoyer instead of getting into the heat of it though. I'm truly just here for Mike Faist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt