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

Genre: YA fiction, Contemporary
Published: October 9, 2018 by: Poppy
Pages: 368
Rating: 4/5 stars

Evan Hansen is a teen with severe social anxiety. To help combat this, his therapist has him write letters to himself: "Dear Evan Hansen, today's going to be a good day, and here's why." But, one of Evan's letters gets into the hands of Connor Murphy, an outcast who commits suicide with Evan's letter in hand. Soon Evan gets caught up in an elaborate lie in order to bring peace to the grieving Murphy family, and to gain the one thing he has always wanted: to belong.

This novel is based on the Tony-award winning musical that basically rules my entire life. If you know me, you pretty much know that Dear Evan Hansen is probably my all time favourite musical. I am passionate about the message, I see myself in Evan, and no car ride is complete without blasting "Waving Through a Window." So, when I saw the YA adaptation at my library, I had to give it a go.

I was not disappointed from what I got. The book stays extremely true to the musical. Pretty much the lines are the same as the script, with obviously more detail sprinkled in to make the dialogue longer. But I was really happy that little quips from the musical that I love were included. I didn't find that this book strayed too far away from the source material, which is why it is vital to include Levenson, Pasek and Paul as the authors. It is pretty much their story, and Emmich just put it into book form.

I liked how this book could do more with Evan's frantic mind. By putting it into 1st person, I could totally get the essence of Evan. I could imagine his quick talking as it is displayed in the musical. I could totally imagine book Evan saying these lines as Broadway Evan. So that was very appreciated.

This book was not a full-on home run though. I thought it was *slightly* cheesy. For example, Zoe Murphy is a singer/songwriter in the book, and the solos that she has in the musical are written as songs she has written in the book. It came across as ingenuine to me, and not really real. I found that this book didn't really elevate Zoe's character like they could have.

Overall, I am happy with this book. It did the musical justice, though if you have to pick between reading the book or seeing the musical (given you have the financial means to do so), then I would totally recommend the musical over the book. There is just nothing like hearing those vocals live, and I think the element of live theatre just provides a bit more emotion than the book did.

Have you read/seen Dear Evan Hansen? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Wow! She Still Blogs! A Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag

Hi world! Remember when I used to put up regular posts? You know your life is busy when on your DAY OFF you still can't find time to write a post. My last post was my month in review for June and it is well into July. But alas, I have two minutes to myself, and so I decided to do one of those Mid-Year Book Tags. I feel like I haven't really chatted about my reading (or lack thereof) this year, so I thought this would be a good chance to share some favourites.

Best Book You've Read So Far in 2019: 

Without a single doubt, Crazy Rich Asians by: Kevin Kwan. It was light-hearted, hilarious, and so romantic. I flew through it and the movie is awesome as well.

Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2019: 

Not a sequel, but as part of When Dimple Met Rishi series, There's Something About Sweetie takes the cake. I thought the characters were so lovable and I was happy to get an ARC of this!

New Release You Haven't Read Yet, but Want To: 

I really want to read Red, White and Royal Blue by: Casey Mcquiston! I thought I would get to it this summer, but then life got in the way. I will get to it eventually!

Most Anticipated Release For The Rest of The Year: 

Probably Call Down the Hawk by: Maggie Stiefvater. It's the first book in her Ronan Lynch series, and I used to love The Raven Cycle. I understand she has had some problematic elements and I don't think the books are the quality literature I once thought they were, but it'll be a nice return to my teenage obsession.

Biggest Disappointment: 

Children of Blood and Bone by: Tomi Adeyemi. This book was hyped so much, but I just found it kinda boring.

Biggest Surprise: 

Wide Sargasso Sea by: Jean Rhys! I was not expecting to like this book because I had to read it for school, but it was so well-written and an amazing Jane Eyre retelling!

Favourite New Author (Or Debut to You): 

Michelle Berry was a debut author for me and I loved her book The Prisoner and the Chaplain! I also got to interview her too and she was super nice!

Newest Fictional Crush: 

Nick from Crazy Rich Asians. Nothing else to say.

Newest Favourite Character: 

Seth Clearwater from The Twilight Saga. I never really appreciated him before but now I love him!

Book That Made You Cry: 

I didn't actually cry, but My Lady Jane could have made me cry with laughter at times.

Book That Made You Happy:

I re-read To All the Boy's I've Loved Before and that book never fails to make me smile!

Your Favourite Book to Movie/Tv Adaptation From This Year: 

I haven't read Birdbox, but the movie was amazing!!!

What's Your Favourite Post From this Year? 

I really liked my post, Why I Don't Want to Get Published. It was really good for me to get that stuff off my chest.

Most Beautiful Book You've Bought So Far: 

Slayer by: Kiersten White, for the sole purpose that anything related to Buffy is beautiful.

What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year? 

I need to finish my re-read of the To All the Boy's series, and I also need to get going on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics. I finally bought the first volume and I hope I love them!

This has been my year so far! I know it's no secret that I haven't been posting or reading regularly, but I'm still here. Don't forget me book community!

Emily @ Paperback Princess