The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Fall 2024 Group Read Dear Evan Hansen in the category Fiction: Musicals. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

I found this book to be a fun read despite some potentially heavy subject matter. Since I'm not really into most musicals, I was cautious going in, but it turned out to be just fine. I enjoyed most of the characters and even laughed out loud a couple times. Evan was relatable to me, and I know people like him. I can't say this would be a favorite book, but it was well done, and I don't regret reading it. I would be open to reading more from this author. Solid 3 stars.

It was a pleasant surprise in the audiobook that there were a couple places with singing, but it was short and sweet and made sense - that's why I have a hard time with musicals - I can't suspend belief around people breaking into song.

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting and I'm curious of how the musical was done. I listened to the audiobook version, and it was a surprise while driving when the songs popped in.

I couldn't get The Echo of Old Books in time from my library and had already read The Day the World Came to Town. So—Dear Evan Hansen, which is a book adaptation of a musical, fitting for the category, which from the outset I found quite a strange choice. I enjoy musical theater, but I have not had great experiences reading book adaptations from other media. I found it OK for a YA novel, surprisingly well written overall, but I would not seek out the musical itself. I am clearly not the target audience for the teen angst and issues in the book, other than to create worry for the future for my grandchildren. All things being equal, I suggest reading The Day the World Came to Town.

For those curious about the musical, your library almost certainly has a CD you could borrow to listen to it.

I enjoy watching musicals, especially older ones on video, but mostly for their storylines and not the songs. My dad would often ask me why I watch them if I fast forward through a lot of the intensive song sections. Although I do like the songs as well, the fast forwarding was during my rewatching of them so I could get back to the main storyline faster. So I was curious how this was going to work in book form.

I wasn't sure at first how having the Connor sections was necessary to the story, but it tied together at the end. I could see him as 'haunting' in the musical form and bringing several opportunities for songs by interacting with the live characters. Overall, I think the book was well written and I liked that the ending had an optimistic, but not necessarily happy, feeling to what is a very hard topic to talk about.

This was a hard task for me. I tried twice to read The Echo of Old Books, but couldn't get into it, even though I enjoy the author. I had The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland on hold, but it never came in. So I finally bit the dust and read Dear Evan Hansen.
I know lots of people liked it, but I just found so many of the characters annoying or unlikeable that I just couldn't wait for the book to end.

I read this because it was immediately available in the library. (They had the other books but I would have had to reserve them.) I didn't know much about the musical, so was treating this as an actual novel rather than a novelization of a show. I found it very YA, very angsty. It might have worked better for me if I had been seeing it or hearing it instead of reading it.

I was also disappointed that there wasn't more about Connor and Miguel's relationship. Would Connor's parents have accepted him being gay? Their issue seemed to be solely about drugs, not about orientation.