I literally cannot describe how much I hate this book. If there were any characters in this book that I could read more about, it would be Connor, because that might involve a plot that actually discusses mental health like this book was supposed to, because what book uses suicide purely as a plot device and doesn't discuss mental health like at all afterwards. It would give a more nuanced view of Connor and his family, other than "we all hated him" and "I'm glad he's dead".

I think my main problem with this book really is that Evan is a terrible person. He literally benefits off of the suicide of a classmate to insert himself into what he views as the perfect family, the daughter of which he has a major crush on and has basically been stalking for years, he completely messes with that family and their emotions regarding their son/brother, and I honestly feel for them because by the end of the book, they have to grieve for their son/brother twice! He completely changed their opinions and views of Connor, to the point that the family unofficially adopt Evan as a replacement of Connor because of how Evan can give them information about their son that they don't know, and then when he finally comes clean (at which point he's like "what about all the things I will lose by telling the truth") they have to find a way to return their viewpoint of their son to how it was originally, and grieve for the idea of the figment that Evan created. Evan doesn't even feel guilty about it. I honestly hate this guy, and the fact that he uses social anxiety as an excuse, something that basically disappears after the first half of the book, is more of a stigma than anything else.

I can't even with the other characters. None of them are remotely likeable or even semi decent.

This should probably have remained as just a musical, albeit, if it's anything like this book, one that I will not be watching.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Not for me this unfortunately, made my way to the end albeit skimming pages at times. Definately more suited to a younger audience

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

Although very popular now, especially because of the musical, there was something about Evan that rubbed me up the wrong way. All of his problems were really of his own making and I couldn't help but be annoyed by his constant moaning.
Not for me.

I can see why so many people love this book. I won’t say too much because I don’t want to risk spoilers, but this book was easy to love. A great read.

I haven't seen the play and I’m sure the musical is must be great as it is so raved but unfortunately the book just isn’t interesting me.

This book is based on the smash hit musical of the same name. There's also a big Hollywood movie coming out soon. As I know nothing about the show, I went into this book blind and I have no idea how true to the musical it is or if there are any differences.

Evan Hansen is a troubled teen. He has terrible anxiety, has no friends and feels alone. It's the first day of a new term at high school and he feels invisible. His therapist encourages him to write a letter to himself every day outlining why today is going to be a good day.

But unfortunately another pupil, Connor Murphy finds his letter and steals it. Evan worries that his letter is going to end up all over school, embarrassing him further. But nothing happens, until a few days later when Connor's parents arrive at the school to say Connor has committed suicide and left a letter for Evan. Evan can't bring himself to tell the truth so ends up creating a whole backstory that he was best friends with Connor.

This makes everyone take notice of Evan for the first time. He gets further and further into the lie. He's organising charity events, making speeches at the school, becoming a valuable member of the Murphy family.

I don't know, this was a quick easy read, a definite page turner. But I felt uncomfortable with the subject matter. I enjoyed this book but I can see how it's problematic for people. None of the characters were likeable, Evan does not come across as a nice person and is taking advantage of a grieving family. Also he's had a crush on Connor's younger sister Zoe for years and now he can finally talk to her. I think we were supposed to find this romantic. But I thought that was kind of creepy and stalkerish. And he stops taking his medication and guess what? He's fine. Um, no, it doesn't work like that. That part for me was so irresponsible.

I would have liked to have known more about Connor, he was the only character I liked and I felt his character could have been explored more.

Dear Evan Hansen is a YA book based on the musical. Covering loneliness, mental health, pressures of social media and being a teenager.

It is very rare for me to not finish a book, especially one I've been given to review, but at 65% I can safely say I will put this down permanently.

My issues with this book were not the same as I've seen in other reviews. I was familiar with the musical, so I did not have a preconceived notion of how the plot should go. I also didn't really notice how the multiple authors affected the tone and pace of the story, I thought they blended in quite nicely. Though the writing itself was quite awkward, I have to admit. However, my main problem was that I could not connect with or ultimately care for the story not the characters. Maybe I've outgrown this style of teenage fiction. Maybe it wasn't for me.

Absolutely beautiful tale of adolescent loneliness and the messy ripples of untruths. Buy this for your favourite young people in your life and they will love you for it.

DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

Dear Evan Hansen,

Things work out. Liars don’t rest easily. Bad can never be good.

No one deserves to be forgotten, but Connor was an outcast. More alone than not. A label for his lonesomeness.

That is until Evan Hansen and the story he spins...

—-
The book was good, not too lecturing or high and mighty. Even the worst things weren’t spelled out as so and it really makes you think there’s a greater low.

I couldn’t get behind Evan and his lies. I thought it too great a crime. I wanted to hear more about Connor and his relationship with his sister...
What happened to him was distressing and I felt Evan just exploited a vulnerable family in their time of grief.

I received this book through NetGalley for review consideration.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This novel, based on the award winning show, is about a boy who is isolated at school and who unexpectedly find himself at the centre of a suicide drama. Asked by his therapist to write a letter to himself, one of the most honest letters is picked up the known school rebel, who later commits suicide with the letter on him. The latter's parents assume that it was directed by their son to his best friend Evan, and Evan find himself inextricably locked in the drama that develops in the school and in the boy's family, forced to create and perpetuate a lie that the two boys were friends.

Told warmly with a great insight into teen psyche, this a must read coming of age novel that targets the importance of family, friends, but also honesty and the need for us to be able to be ourselves. A must read.

Perfect for fans of the stage show. I read this after seeing the show in London and the book was just as heart breaking. This book will move you to tears

Read May 19

Just to clarify I had never heard of the musical before reading this and I haven’t listened to any of the music since. A boy – Connor Murphy – takes his own life and is found with a note in his pocket addressed “Dear Evan Hansen”. Evan is a loner who has issues with anxiety. One of his therapy tasks is to write letters to himself. Connor steals his letter and this is found with his body. Along with Connor having signed the cast on Evan’s broken arm this leads Connor’s parents, and later everyone else, to believe that Connor and Evan were best friends when in reality they barely knew each other. I like the way the story unfolded from the dishonest way that Evan creates fake emails between himself and Connor with a friend’s help to the fact that he uses his new popularity to create the ‘Connor Project’, a website to raise money and help those with mental health issues. Evan’s growth throughout was brilliant, but I think – especially due to a stage show’s nature of focusing only on a few people – that character development in the side characters suffered a little bit, I’d have liked more on them.

I found this book to be terribly sad at times. It also offers positivity in these days of Covid 19. I did struggle emotionally at times but in all, it was a lovely read.

Here's the thing, I've seen this show and I really enjoyed it ... okay, that's a lie. I loved it. I felt for Evan in everything that he did, understanding - though not really liking - his actions, we've all been in a situation where we just keep digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole.

However, as a book, I didn't like it. The writing was mediocre. It felt a typical from screen to page adaptation, where the writing doesn't fully understand the characters and the plot. Not giving them a true heart and soul.

In my opinion, it didn't add much to the story as a whole. Even with the additional scenes which now, I can't really remember. 2.5 stars.

Dear Evan Hansen is a conflicting novel. Based on the musical of the same name, this book follows a boy called Evan Hansen as he gets accidentally dragged into a pretty bizarre situation.

Evan Hansen’s therapist has recommended that he writes letters to himself in an attempt to give himself a more positive outlook on life. Unfortunately for Evan, he prints one of his letters off at school, where it’s discovered by the brother of the girl who he has a crush on. Connor questions why Evan is writing about his sister, then takes the letter with him… And when he commits suicide that evening, his parents find the letter in his pocket and assume that he had written his suicide note to Evan, not realising that Evan had written the letter to himself.


Do you see what I mean by a ‘bizarre situation’ now?

Sadly, Evan’s anxiety is so bad that he doesn’t know how to correct Connor’s parents, so he goes along with it. Yep. Evan Hansen pretends to be a dead guy’s best friend to avoid upsetting said dead guy’s parents.

I really enjoyed the first half of this story, because Evan’s reactions to the situation are so genuine. As soon as he gets himself implicated it spirals out of control very rapidly – he can’t say no to going to the wake because that would be rude; he can’t say no to dinner with Connor’s parents because that would be horrible – but then Evan starts dating Connor’s sister, Zoe, and that was the moment where I became a bit less enthused by the direction the story was going in.

To start with Evan is just trying to comfort the Murphy family, but as soon as he starts dating Zoe it reads more that he’s taking advantage of their son’s suicide to improve his own situation in life. I loved the fact that Evan teamed up with a couple of schoolfriends to host a memorial for Connor – no one should be forgotten about after committing suicide, and raising awareness of mental health and depression is never a bad thing – but the more that I read the more uncomfortable the story made me.

It wouldn’t have been as bad if Evan had experienced some kind of retribution, but he gets away pretty unscathed. I actually think I would have found the story more satisfying if his deception hadn’t come out at all, because the reveal was such a non-event.

That being said, there are a few chapters sprinkled throughout which are told from Connor’s perspective, and these are fascinating. He gives us an idea of why he decided to end his life, and comes to terms with the choice that he made in a very poignant way. I actually think I might have enjoyed this book more if it had been written entirely from Connor’s perspective and he had been watching Evan’s deception play out, because the few times he sees what Evan is up to he is just as confused as the reader is by Evan’s choices.

I’ve read a few other reviews for this one and have gathered that most people dislike the novel and enjoy the musical far more, so I am still interested in potentially seeing this one on the stage. The concept is so good, and I can tell that the writer has obviously done their best to raise awareness of mental health, but something about it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.