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

My Goodreads rating: 3/5 stars

This is a book based off of the Broadway musical of the same name! It was a pretty quick read (only took me two days). It's very similar to the musical, but you get to see a lot deeper into Evan's thoughts and motivations. There are also a few chapters where Connor narrates his perspective and side of the story as a ghost, and honestly, those were my favorite chapters, though they were usually only a couple pages each. The fact that it is based on the musical messes with my head a little bit; since you are seeing deeper into his thoughts, Evan is, in my opinion, much less likable in the book than in the musical. most of the things he does are done in his own self interest, and that had me on edge for most of the book. For the most part, Dear Evan Hansen was a really fun read. Evan is much different than most characters I normally read about. He just is not my cup of tea."

- June 18, 2019

Evan Hansen is a really self-conscious character in the musical and in the book. His actions throughout the works only make things worse for him in the long run, and finally, everything comes crashing down around him. I love the musical. It is easier to sympathize with him. You see this broken kid, and you just want everything to work out for him, but in the book, it was like one of those movies where everything that could possibly goes wrong goes wrong, and then the ending just is not satisfying enough to make you feel like it was worth it. I would not read the book again (I don't think), but I would definitely watch the stage production again!