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Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen
Jan 2, 2026 9:15 PM

Author:Val Emmich,Justin Paul,Steven Levenson,Benj Pasek

Dear Evan Hansen

*Read the book before you see the film, out September 2021!*

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 draws high school senior Evan Hansen into the Murphy family's grief over 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. And Connor's wealthy parents 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 family, he knows that what he's doing may not 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.

He's confident. He's a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. But when everything is in danger of unravelling, 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.

__________

Praise for Dear Evan Hansen:

'Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Required reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found' - Becky Albertalli, author of Love Simon

'Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a terrific reinvention of an already brilliant piece of art.' -Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister's Keeper

'Today's going to be an amazing day, and here's why: because you're holding this book.'- David Arnold, author of Mosquitoland

'The writers of Dear Evan Hansen have given fans a rare gift' - Teen Vogue

'Yep, the hit musical will make you cry just as much in book form' - Entertainment Weekly

Reviews

Even in book form, Evan Hansen's story sings. Required reading, especially for anyone who's ever needed to be found

—— Becky Albertalli, author of Love Simon

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel is a terrific reinvention of an already brilliant piece of art

—— Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister's Keeper

Yep, the hit musical will make you cry just as much in book form

—— Entertainment Weekly

A must-read for teens and those who care about them

—— Publishers Weekly

The writers of Dear Evan Hansen have given fans a rare gift

—— Teen Vogue

PRAISE FOR DEAR EVAN HANSEN:

A gorgeous new musical for anyone with a beating heart

—— The New York Times

One of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history

—— The Washington Post

As eagerly awaited as Hamilton

—— Baz Bamingboye, Mail on Sunday

The writer who above all others transformed the ravaged lands and minds of post-war Europe into a scene of hauntings

—— Independent

It’s been a long time since a book kept me up all night, but Eva Nour’s The Stray Cats of Homs did. A tender, yet wild and tangible testimony bearing witness to the tragedy in Syria.

—— Theodor Kallifatides, Award-winning author and Professor of Literature

One of the greatest successes of The Stray Cats of Homs is that it manages to explain the complexity of the war in Syria through Sami's eyes, without getting bogged down by exactly who did what and when.

—— The National

An artistically flawless novel, written as an act of protest, but also as a poetic declaration of love.

—— Svenska Dagbladet

The Stray Cats of Homs is a study in survival and a portrayal of the utter hell of the Syrian war. The novel reveals what can never be told by the news reports.

—— Landskrona Posten

An extraordinary novel, filled with grief, warmth and love, that I recommend everyone to read.

—— Selma Stories

Dazzling. Mind-blowing. About as much fun as you can have without risking arrest

—— Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls

A deeply funny, very moving book . . . Ferris's hijinks are serious; his play is profound. There is magic in these pages

—— Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies

A touching tale about the love between fathers and sons

—— The Times

A passionate, well-constructed, often hilarious and, at times, profound plunge into grief, both civic and intimate, as well as a culmination (so far) of the literary explorations he has been undertaking since he arrived

—— Sam Lipsyte , New York Times Book Review

A Calling for Charlie Barnes is wonderful: fast and deep, urgent and brilliant . . . A hilarious, intimate, and scathing takedown of so many American vanities

—— Dana Spiotta, author of Stone Arabia

He has proved that he's one of the best American authors of comic fiction working today. His humour is on full display but so are his intelligence and compassion. It's a masterpiece that shines a revealing light on both family and fiction itself

—— NPR

Ferris's work cuts to the heart of who we are by focusing very painfully on who one man was . . . Consider this book not just a work of grief or love or memoir, then, but a work of hope, too.

—— Publishers Weekly

A warmly bullish but measured and reflectful voice that brings out all the humour and wisdom of the novel

—— The Times, Audiobook of the Week

Intriguing and intelligent . . . the humour throughout is exquisitely judged . . . and the descent into metafiction, the novel's true crowning glory, is extremely well done without ever feeling hammy or clunky

—— Irish Times

A relentlessly self-reflective book

—— FT

Joshua Ferris has proved his astonishing ability to spin gold from ordinary air . . . As brave and adept as any writer out there

—— New York Times Book Review on To Rise Again at a Decent Hour

Not too many authors have written the Great American Office Novel... Then We Came to the End feels like a readymade classic of the genre. . . . A truly affecting novel about work, trust, love, and loneliness

—— Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times on Then We Came to the End

Dismayingly funny in the way that only really serious books can be

—— Guardian, on 'To Rise Again at a Decent Hour'

Brilliant, funny, stomach-turningly accurate

—— Observer, on 'Then We Came to the End'

Very funny, intense and exhilarating

—— The Times, on 'Then We Came to the End'

A marvelously told story of devotion, desire and ambition in the heart of a female utopia

—— Daily Mail

Matrix is another masterpiece from a writer whom few at this point can best

—— The Atlantic

Through Marie, Groff explores how a society's religious and gendered constraints can be turned on their head to create a utopia

—— The New Yorker

[A]n electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual, magisterial, de France's saga is one of hardship and triumph, an unforgettable character whose far-seeing vision and devotion to the nuns in her community enable them to transcend what threatens to erase and silence them

—— Oprah Magazine

Matrix focuses less on Marie the author and more on Marie the abbess - and if you think that doesn't sound like the obvious angle for a fun and engaging story, you underestimate the scope of Groff 's imagination and talent

—— The Daily Telegraph

In these incandescent pages, Groff reverently imagines her way into the life and lore of Marie de France . . . Woven from Groff's trademark ecstatic sentences and brimming with spiritual fervor, Matrix is a radiant work of imagination and accomplishment

—— Esquire

Thrilling and heartbreaking, Groff crafts an electric work of historical fiction

—— TIME, Most Anticipated Book of the Fall

A transportive and meditative tale that will swallow you up from the very start

—— Newsweek

Groff, a premier stylist . . . .continues to grow, taking on a medieval foremother's story in her latest novel. The voice she finds for Marie de France . . . .will hold readers fast as the exiled Angevin royal becomes abbess of a convent, leading her charges through historic upheavals

—— LA Times

Feverishly exhilarating stuff

—— Chicago Tribune

With her unparalleled gift for sumptuous, sublime prose, Groff paints an engrossing portrait of a woman who, despite living in a world bound by constraints, experiences a life rich with passion and creativity. Surrounded by a supportive sisterhood, Marie uses strength and ingenuity to subvert the oppression of the patriarchy

—— Atlanta Journal Constitution

Utterly absorbing

—— Vogue

Splendid with rich description and period vocabulary, this courageous and spin-tingling novel shows an incredible range for Groff (FLORIDA, 2018), and will envelop readers fully in Marie's world, interior and exterior, all senses lit up. It is both a complete departure and an easy-to-envision tale of faith, power, and temptation.

—— Booklist

In this bildungsroman about the real-life 12th-century poet Marie de France, a teenage Marie is exiled to a blighted Benedictine nunnery, where she finds strength and power as a prioress

—— Vanity Fair

Powerful, sapphic historical novel . . . Richly realized with historical details that don't overwhelm

—— BuzzFeed

Readers will recognize her stunning prose and grand, mythic perspective. . . . in a tale that feels both ancient and urgent, as holy as it is deeply human

—— Entertainment Weekly

The pages are almost completely devoid of men - seen, but not heard - with Groff using poetic, melodic and yet fierce writing to breathe volume into themes of power, ambition and success from the perspective of women

—— Press Association

[A] propulsive, enchanting, and emotionally charged read

—— Washington Independent Review of Books

A clever spin on the story of Marie de France

—— Bustle

I loved this accomplished piece of storytelling. So much so, I added it to my Booker wish list at the last minute, a wish not fulfilled, of course

—— A Life In Books

Matrix is a rich, beautifully written novel about ambition and desire, and also witchy separatist medieval nuns

—— Vox

Mesmerizing and inspiring

—— Newsday

Medieval life can seem far from our modern grasp, but Groff vividly describes the daily workings of the convent, from prayers to practical chores. She has done her research and it shows in the rich details she provides of working the fields, preparing meals, governing novices . . . magical, a beautiful evocation of what women can achieve and what they can mean to each other

—— NY Journal of Books

[A] feminist foray into a medieval nunnery that is stunning in its labyrinthine artistry and sensual tracing of life as lived during the era of the poet Marie de France and the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine

—— Lit Hub

Must-read

—— HuffPost

A[n] artful writer, Groff has no need for fantastic artifice to construct a world without men. She . . . gives us an extraordinary protagonist . . . Anyone who has read Groff's previous novels and stories knows that this author's greatest virtue is her economy of prose. A disciplined writer . . . If "Eleanor's best currency is story," that goes double for Groff . . . Groff's "Matrix" simultaneously transports us to a backward world that once was and the grim future that seems inevitable. And all this through the eyes of a group of extraordinary women who decline to live lives of quiet desperation

—— Gainesville Sun

[A] transcendently beautiful novel with sensuality, religious ecstasy, gender and power explorations, and a fair bit of tasteful gore. It's surprisingly delicious to read fiction about a historical figure we know so little about

—— Shondaland

I'm on page 17 and now nothing else matters . . . Once you have this book in your hands I feel certain you too will be consumed

—— Sarah Jessica Parker

[D]reamy prose . . . At its heart, the book's message is simple: joy can exist in darkness

—— Popsugar

Richly imaginative

—— AP

[A] relentless exhibition of Groff's freakish talent . . . an unforgettable book . . . ecstatic, refulgent, God-struck, heretical

—— USA Today

[A] creative, intelligent work that will last

—— Boston Globe

The real Marie de France may continue to elude historians but the speculative fiction in Matrix combine to produce an unfailingly absorbing novel

—— TLS

An uplifting novel in its own unique way, and up there with Groff's best work

—— iNews

Matrix forms an intensely focused character study, but also succeeds as a probing exploration of female power

—— Literary Review

A beautiful and beguiling novel that transports the listener utterly and completely to another world

—— Irish Examiner

Against a convincingly filthy and precarious medieval backdrop, Marie is a figure of dazzling complexity

—— The Times
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