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

 

From Goodreads, 

"From the show's creators comes the groundbreaking novel inspired by the Broadway smash hit Dear Evan Hansen.

Dear Evan Hansen,

Today's going to be an amazing day and here's why...

When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family's grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend.

Suddenly, Evan isn't invisible anymore--even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy's parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he's doing can't be right, but if he's helping people, how wrong can it be?

No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself.

A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation."

Goodreads - Dear Evan Hansen

I'm one of those people that are either reading all the trending books or reading none of them.  A few months back a trailer was released for the movie Dear Evan Hansen.  I did a little research and realized there was a book that the movie was based on (and the book is based on a play).  Once I recognized the cover I realized I had seen the book on Scholastic before.  I did a little digging and searching but was unable to find it.  I ended up finding a copy at Books-A-Million on the CLEARANCE AISLE.  I'm not mad about it being on sale, but I was definitely shocked considering there's a movie being released in September. 

Dear Evan Hansen is the story of two boys.  Evan Hansen has a broken arm, social anxiety, and an assignment from his therapist to write a letter to himself.  Connor Murphy is a loner and an outsider who decides to sign Evan's cast and steal his letter to himself.  But the next day at school Connor doesn't show up.  Or the day after that.  Evan gets called to the office and meets Connor's parents.  They return Evan's letter saying that it Connor wrote it for Evan before he took his life.  Evan's social anxiety is at an insanely high level and he goes along with the lie that he was friends with Connor.  Will Evan ever tell the truth about his friendship, or lack thereof, with Connor?

It has been a long time since I have read a book as quickly as I read this one.  I felt like I couldn't put it down.  I absolutely loved the two viewpoints that were present in this book.  For the majority of the book we get to read Evan's point of view, but we periodically get a glimpse from Connor who is basically hanging out as a ghost.  I thought it was so unique to have that glimpse from Connor because it told just a piece of his narrative.  Connor took his own life, but he doesn't have a real voice in the book.  Unfortunately, Evan creates an entire narrative of his relationship with Connor and paints a picture of who Connor was, even though that's not at all who Connor was.  I had very mixed emotions throughout the entire book concerning the characters.  I almost sympathized with Connor.  I felt so sorry for him that he didn't have a voice and that he wasn't ever able to be the real him.  And at times I sympathized with Evan.  When he finally admits how he broke his arm and the struggles he has with his anxiety I was hoping that he would get the help that he needed.  But when Evan was being a conniving human that was trying to be popular and get with Connor's sister Zoe I was livid and frustrated at this character.  For the majority of the book I felt angry at Evan and his actions.  I kept waiting for a redemption arc, but honestly, it never came.  The ending tried to smooth things over, but at that point I was over it and I was over Evan. 

I kind of went on a negative rant there for a minute, but I want to talk about what I want after reading this book.  I want a prequel.  I want a book that tells Connor's side.  I want the events leading up to where Dear Evan Hansen starts.  Connor is painted as the loner or the "school shooter" type.  I want to know what kind of person Connor really was.  I want to learn about his experiences with his family and Miguel.  This book left so many unanswered questions for Connor and I think that it would be fantastic to get answers.  There is so much potential with a prequel and I would purchase it in a heartbeat. 

I enjoyed this book.  My neighbor's mom almost spoiled the entire thing one day while I was reading on my porch.  I basically had to shut her down and be like I'M NOT FINISHED WITH THE BOOK PLEASE DON'T SPOIL IT.  I give this 4 stars.  This is a great young adult book and I definitely can't wait to watch the movie.