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Reviewed by:
  • Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Emmich, V?al Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel; by Val Emmich with Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul. Poppy/Little,
2018 [368p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-316-42023-5 $18.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-316-42022-8 $11.99
Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10

In this novel version of the popular Broadway musical, Evan Hansen writes a letter on the first day of school that ends up in the pocket of Connor, a stoner he hardly knows, who commits suicide later that day. When Connor's parents find the note, they believe that Evan was Connor's best friend, and Evan, thinking it will help them through their grief, spins a web of lies about a secret friendship that never existed. Connor was also the brother of Zoe, the girl Evan most wants to connect with, and she eventually begins dating Evan as he becomes more and more a member of their family, which he prefers to his own absent father and overworked mother. Things get seriously out of hand at a public ceremony in remembrance of Connor, when Evan's awkward tribute goes viral, donations pour in, and Evan becomes internet famous.. This novelization features all the angst and lies without the necessary and redeeming distractions of memorable songs and metaphoric staging. What it does include are clichéd developments such as the perspective of dead Connor offering his own benediction to Evan's deception, and a character named Miguel, whose rejection after their brief affair precipitated Connor's suicide. Fans would be better served by sticking to the musical, but the book may fill in some gaps. KC [End Page 68]

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