Dear Evan Hansen

THE NOVEL

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 griefover 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.

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Trade Paperback / ISBN-13: 9780316420211

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About the Authors

Val Emmich is a writer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has had recurring roles on Vinyl and Ugly Betty as well as a memorable guest role as Liz Lemon's coffee-boy fling, Jamie, on 30 Rock. His debut novel, The Reminders, was a B&N Discover selection that Library Journal called “quirky, touching and addictive.” Emmich lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his wife and their two children.
Steven Levenson is the Tony Award-winning playwright of Dear Evan Hansen. Other plays include Days of Rage, If I Forget, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, and The Language of Trees. In television, he worked for three seasons as a writer and producer on Showtime’s Masters of Sex. Upcoming projects include the limited series Fosse/Verdon (FX) and the film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick...boom!
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are the Oscar®, Grammy, Tony, and Golden Globe-winning songwriting team behind the Broadway musicals Dear Evan Hansen and A Christmas Story, The Musical. Their film projects include: The Greatest Showman, La La Land, and Trolls, as well as the upcoming live-action musicals Snow White and Aladdin and original animated musical Foster.

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POINT OF (RE)VIEWS

"I found myself being able to connect more with the characters in this book more than I ever could from the musical. It dealt with so many issues that many of us experience in our lives."
—Kathleen, Read Forever More

"I devoured this book quite fast. It was such a warm hearted light read with really big topics and a heart breaking story. The story, the plot, the characters were all so amazing and I loved every part of it. By the ending I found myself crying so hard and couldn't stop."
—Elizabeth, Throne of Shattered Books

"While it may have been a fast story to get through, it was not easy. There are very, very tough topics covered: suicide, bullying, lying, and more. Those are never easy to read but they cannot be easy to write about either."
—Sara, A Gingerly Review

"The book touches on the topic of social media and its impact, and also how people's attention span on subjects can change so quickly and how that seems wrong like when the subject of a person's death is dismissed for the next, newest thing, which rang so true for events in real life."
—Daphne, Daphodilli

On the Blog

What's Inside

Praise

"Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Required reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found."—Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat

"Today is going to be an amazing day, and here's why: because you're holding this book. The exact opposite of meh, Dear Evan Hansen is a powerful exploration of grief and depression and the many ways we're present (or not) for those around us without always knowing it."—David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Kids of Appetite, Mosquitoland, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik

"Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a terrific reinvention of an already brilliant piece of art. It's real and it's definitely going to speak to readers of all ages."—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper and A Spark of Light

"It may be impossible not to find pieces of yourself reflected in Evan's loneliness and yearning to be accepted.... The book...captures the heartbreaking experience of searching for connection. Evan's character may have been born for the stage, but his earnestness and relatability sing through the book's pages."—New York Times Book Review

"Not since Salinger's Holden Caulfield has a teenager's cynical yet wise voice rang so true."—The Star-Ledger

"Yep, the hit musical will make you cry just as much in book form."—Entertainment Weekly

"A particularly authentic first-person narration about family dynamics, the importance of kindness, and the horrors of not fitting in at high school.... A must-read."—Publishers Weekly

"Compelling and deeply emotional."—Shelf Awareness