Dear Evan Hansen Short Summary

This is a novel by Steven Levenson that was adapted from a musical. It focuses on a boy named Evans. Below is a plot summary of the story.

A Short Overview of the Story

Evan is in high school and suffers from anxiety. He lacks friends. Evan has a therapist who asks him to write letters to himself. He has a cast from falling from a tree, and his mother urges him to get people to sign it as a way of making friends.

Connor is his classmate and lives lavishly with his parents and sister. Connor is high on drugs, and his family is disappointed. Evan meets Jared and Alana in school who are close classmates, and they discuss their summers.

Evan tells of his accident leading to the arm cast. He asks them to sign it, but they refuse. Evan comes across Connor who shoves him to the ground and speeds off. Zoe, Connor’s sister, apologizes for his brother’s behavior and walks away before she could sign the cast.

Evan is sad that his day was terrible and decides to write a letter this time giving up on the positive thinking and wondering whether he would be an outcast for life. He also writes about how he feels Zoe is his last hope. He runs into Connor again after printing the letter in school. Connor signs Evan’s cast. He sees the letter and the mention of his sister Zoe. This makes him angry, and he takes the letter with him. Evan tells Jared what happened.

Sometime later, Evan is called to the office and gets told that Connor has committed suicide and was found holding the letter. Connor’s parents invite him for dinner because they think Evan was Connor’s friend.

Evan goes with the lie and shares fake tales of him and Connor. He makes Jared his alibi in his lie, and they even create a fake email correspondence to cover it. Zoe is frustrated by the thought of mourning her abusive brother. She becomes curious about the letter, especially where she was mentioned, and Evan tries to show his affection for her by pretending he is repeating the words Connor said to him in the letter. He leans in to kiss her, but she runs away.

Soon the attention that Evan is getting because of Connor`s death begins to fade, and hence, he gives a powerful speech that ends in Zoe kissing him. Jared sees through this, and they fall out.

The Murphy’s family offers to pay for Evan’s education with Connor’s trust fund. Evan uses a fake suicide note to calm Alana, who was getting suspicious of his story. Alana posts it online, and it leads to the Murphy’s being criticized for their son’s death. Evan goes to Murphy’s house and finds them arguing about whose fault it was. He decides to come clean, and the family turns against him.

Evan goes back home for the comfort of his mother. They have a sharing moment, and his mother promises to always be there for him. The story ends with Evan meeting Zoe to thank her for keeping his secret.