Musicals are some of my favorite things to watch and I love listening to the audio recordings as well. Sometimes a musical is based on a novel and sometime a musical gets its own novel adaption once it becomes a hit. Dear Evan Hansen is the case of the latter.
Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich is about a teenage boy who struggles with anxiety and can't seem to make any friends. His therapist tells him to write a letter to himself everyday that starting with the line "Dear Evan Hansen, Today will be an amazing day and here's why..." yet he can never seem to find enough positive things happening in his life. When the new school year starts, the goal his mother gives him is to have people sign his cast on his arm. Yet the only signature he gets is from the strange boy named Connor Murphy. When Connor commits suicide the following day, everyone suddenly believes that Evan and Connor were best friends, including Connor's parents. Evan is pushed center stage and everyone gives him the attention he desires. He uses this lie of being friends with Connor to help Connor's parents have one last connection to their son who they never understood. Evan becomes confident in his new role and people love him, except for the people who truly know him. Suddenly the people who cared the most for Evan are pushed to side by Evan himself. Evan must decide whether he will continue this lie or if he will tell everyone the truth of his nonexistent relationship with Connor.
This novel captures the struggles of fitting in during high school and finding the people who care about you the most. Loyalty, honesty, and love are important topics that truly resonate in Dear Evan Hansen. This Young Adult novel is perfect for those old enough to handle heavy topics.
~Abigail C.
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