Hey Everyone! Steph here and today I am going to release my review of the Dear Evan Hansen The Novel. I enjoyed this book, so I wanted to do a full review and analysis of the story.
Read from: 10/12-12/21/18
Format: US Hardcover
Dear Evan Hansen follows the story of Evan Hansen, an anxious teen who discovers what happens when you say something you might not mean. The story unravels a few different plots, however, the main plot is what I enjoyed the most. They base this on the musical of the same name which is currently making a smash at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. I will use examples from the book in this review, however, I will not spoil the entire story as I hope you want to read it.
(Cover image from Goodreads)
Overall: 4.8/5
I know, I might be in the minority here, but hear me out because I do have a point. I loved this book; I loved the characters and the majority of the plot. My thing, which is why I docked .2 stars, is the fact that it takes Evan so long to come clean about what he said. He has these moments when you the reader feel he will, and then he just never does. This one aspect will continue to drive me crazy in every piece of Dear Evan Hansen media. I know his reasons, and I understand where he is coming from, I still think that he should have come clean earlier in the novel.
Characters 4.8/5
My favorite character in this story is Zoe Murphy, with a close second being Alana Beck. These characters are flawed, and I think this is what makes them more compelling and endearing in the story. They’re complex and they’re very developed into the world. These characters grow in the novel, mostly Evan has such growth and change. I love the growth that Evan has and how he sees the wrong he did, and he goes through and tries to repair the relationships he broke with his actions. Another character that I really loved was Connor, and we get a look into his world because in this book he gets his own chapters in this book. My .2 taken off is for the reason outlined in the overall section of this review.
World Building 5/5
So, this is set in the real world somewhere in the U.S. I wish that we at least had a state where this story takes place, however, I understand why they don’t say it takes place in this state; it is because this story could take place anywhere. I give this world building a 5 because of the small details of the outside world; the story created uses small details that help generate the full story and the place where these characters live. The other part is the world on the characters minds. We get a look into the thoughts that these characters have, and I loved that. I read books where I wish that we could see the inner workings of the mind of a character so that we can see why the character’s do their actions. I use Evan and Connor as an example of this because they’re both people that live inside their head a lot, and you the reader get a look into their head along with them.
Writing 5/5
I loved the writing style in this novel. It felt simple at points, and then complex at points depending on what the character was going through at this moment. I felt that this book has a wide variety of ages, everyone from upper middle grade to adults such as myself love the musical. I feel they portray this in the novel because of the fact anyone can find something to enjoy in the writing. I feel that the writing helped move the story along, and I found that in a story such as this, the writing drives the story and pushes the plot forward.
Pace 5/5
I felt that the pace in this novel was fantastic. They told the fast parts of the story fast, but not in a way that you lost any of the story or the details that helped you see where the story was taking place. The slower or more dramatic parts of the story were slow, this was only because if someone told them at a fast pace, they would not have the same amount of impact as they had. It gave all the points in this novel their time, be it a small point or a big one they were each covered in this book.
I feel that anyone that is a fan of this musical will enjoy this story. There are changes made, but these are changes that help the story grow into another media. I loved this book, and I hope that I introduced you to a book that you might not have heard or read in 2018.
Thank you for reading this review! If you have read this book, what did you think about the novel?
Read from: 10/12-12/21/18
Format: US Hardcover
Dear Evan Hansen follows the story of Evan Hansen, an anxious teen who discovers what happens when you say something you might not mean. The story unravels a few different plots, however, the main plot is what I enjoyed the most. They base this on the musical of the same name which is currently making a smash at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. I will use examples from the book in this review, however, I will not spoil the entire story as I hope you want to read it.
(Cover image from Goodreads)Overall: 4.8/5
I know, I might be in the minority here, but hear me out because I do have a point. I loved this book; I loved the characters and the majority of the plot. My thing, which is why I docked .2 stars, is the fact that it takes Evan so long to come clean about what he said. He has these moments when you the reader feel he will, and then he just never does. This one aspect will continue to drive me crazy in every piece of Dear Evan Hansen media. I know his reasons, and I understand where he is coming from, I still think that he should have come clean earlier in the novel.
Characters 4.8/5
My favorite character in this story is Zoe Murphy, with a close second being Alana Beck. These characters are flawed, and I think this is what makes them more compelling and endearing in the story. They’re complex and they’re very developed into the world. These characters grow in the novel, mostly Evan has such growth and change. I love the growth that Evan has and how he sees the wrong he did, and he goes through and tries to repair the relationships he broke with his actions. Another character that I really loved was Connor, and we get a look into his world because in this book he gets his own chapters in this book. My .2 taken off is for the reason outlined in the overall section of this review.
World Building 5/5
So, this is set in the real world somewhere in the U.S. I wish that we at least had a state where this story takes place, however, I understand why they don’t say it takes place in this state; it is because this story could take place anywhere. I give this world building a 5 because of the small details of the outside world; the story created uses small details that help generate the full story and the place where these characters live. The other part is the world on the characters minds. We get a look into the thoughts that these characters have, and I loved that. I read books where I wish that we could see the inner workings of the mind of a character so that we can see why the character’s do their actions. I use Evan and Connor as an example of this because they’re both people that live inside their head a lot, and you the reader get a look into their head along with them.
Writing 5/5
I loved the writing style in this novel. It felt simple at points, and then complex at points depending on what the character was going through at this moment. I felt that this book has a wide variety of ages, everyone from upper middle grade to adults such as myself love the musical. I feel they portray this in the novel because of the fact anyone can find something to enjoy in the writing. I feel that the writing helped move the story along, and I found that in a story such as this, the writing drives the story and pushes the plot forward.
Pace 5/5
I felt that the pace in this novel was fantastic. They told the fast parts of the story fast, but not in a way that you lost any of the story or the details that helped you see where the story was taking place. The slower or more dramatic parts of the story were slow, this was only because if someone told them at a fast pace, they would not have the same amount of impact as they had. It gave all the points in this novel their time, be it a small point or a big one they were each covered in this book.
I feel that anyone that is a fan of this musical will enjoy this story. There are changes made, but these are changes that help the story grow into another media. I loved this book, and I hope that I introduced you to a book that you might not have heard or read in 2018.
Thank you for reading this review! If you have read this book, what did you think about the novel?
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