This one was just okay for me. I had a lot higher hopes for how this one would turn out but for me it just fell flat. I enjoyed the plot and characters, but really had a hard time connecting with any of them. I was prepared to have a good cry with this one, but I didn’t shed a single tear. I also felt the ending was rushed and a bit thrown together. Overall an okay read, but not a favorite.

DNF @ 30%


Might be willing to try this again in the future but I just couldn’t get into it. I can’t pick out anything in particular I was just so bored reading it??

Julie is wracked with grief after her boyfriend Sam dies in a tragic accident. Desperate to hear his voice again, she calls his cell phone, and somehow, he answers. Julie has a second chance to say goodbye to Sam but finds it harder and harder to let him go again.

You've Reached Sam is the epitome of bittersweet. The book is super character-driven, but it's a quick read and it really pulled me in right away. I've seen the book categorized as romance, and I'm not sure that's where I'd put it - this is mostly a book about grief, letting go, and healing.

Overall I liked the book a lot, but I need something MORE in terms of explanation on Sam's end. I know the focus was on Julie but I needed more about what was happening for Sam.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

An astonishing story. I really enjoyed "You’ve Reached Sam."

Julie is having a difficult time coping with the recent death of her boyfriend, Sam. Miraculously, when she calls Sam’s phone number, he answers. They have an envious second chance to reconnect and say goodbye, but now Julie struggles even more to let go and live.

Readers will easily be able to connect with this story and empathize with what the characters are experiencing. Not only are characters grieving over Sam but also dealing with the stress of their last year of high school.

There are a myriad of reactions to Sam’s death. Angry, guilty, sad, lost, barely staying afloat. Grief brings some together and tears others apart, as seen between Julie and Sam’s cousin, Mika, and his best friend, Oliver.

I like the fantasy element of the story, of Julie being able to talk to Sam through their phones. It’s what initially piqued my interest in this story. There’s lots of questions about how this is possible, and I like how that’s kept open ended. It also makes sense for them to reconnect by phone based on events prior to the story’s beginning. Julie has to keep this a secret because there are certain (sometimes vague) rules involved and telling someone else could end their connection for good.

I love Sam’s character and appreciated him more and more as the story progressed. In life, Sam was friendly, compassionate and outgoing. He and Julie had a really strong bond. How they met was so adorable; Sam is such a romantic. In death, Sam is still that same kind, caring, loving person, looking out for the ones he left behind but also trying to grapple with being dead. Knowing his hopes and dreams, it’s especially tragic Sam died so young.

The goodbye when it finally came was bittersweet, but really well done by the author. Thao built the story up to a satisfying climatic moment.

"You’ve Reached Sam" is beautiful, heartbreaking, and feelings. The title and cover art are perfect! Julie and Sam’s relationship was great. I’m glad there were chapters that took place in the past so we could really see the depth of their love.

I highly recommend "You’ve Reached Sam." It’s an all around lovely and emotional read.

This book will rip your heart out. Magical realism at its finest, I could not put it down and these characters were incredible. First and foremost this is a book about grief - and one that I would recommend to help people get through the loss of a loved one. It also reminded me of Your Name, for anyone who loves that film.

2 stars

You’ve Reached Sam seemed like the kind of book that would rip my heart out and have me sobbing for days. But neither of those things happened.

This YA contemporary had all the makings of a good emotional read that would break you. But it ruins that by giving you a very unlikeable MC. I immediately disliked Julie, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt since she was grieving. But the flashbacks didn’t help her. It was very frustrating as a reader trying to connect with a character who frustrates you so much.

I also would have liked to know more about the phone calls. WHY and HOW would have been some pretty good questions to answer. I don’t like not fully understanding a big part of the plot.

And while I didn’t care for Julie, I did like Sam. We don’t get a lot of him, but I did like what I saw. The romance in the flashbacks was a bit cheesy, but nothing wrong with a bit of cheesy love. I just wish their relationship was a bit better developed so that maybe I could have been a bit more emotionally invested.

Overall, I wish I liked this one more. I thought going into it that I was going to love it. Bit disappointed that I didn’t.

Anyone who has ever lost someone has wondered what if it would be like to be able to have one last conversation. Julie gets that opportunity when she dials Sam's number expecting to just hear his voicemail. Instead she hears Sam.... I like a book that is a good tearjerker, and this didn't disappoint. The story isn't ever really about Sam but about Julie's process of grieving, forgiving herself, and letting go.

If you want to cry buckets of tears and feel like your heart has been ripped out, then this is the book for you. The aching and longing and trying to move forward when you’ve lost someone is captured so well and I kept finding myself wanting to hug my husband close to me because I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him.

I really liked how the relationship between sam and Julie is shown progressively through the story by sharing flashbacks to moments and memories Julie has, so that the longing and wishing they could remain connected grows as you read.

An amazing and stunning read, heart breaking, emotional and so worth it! I highly recommend this book that will give you a good ugly cry!

This is a really well-written book. The prose is beautiful, and the writing works well with the emotions covered. Unfortunately, I didn't feel really connected to the characters or their romance. I think this book is supposed to make you cry - not a single tear left my eyes.

Overall, a bit disappointing, but worth a read if you're interested in the synopsis.

You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is a YA novel about love and loss. Seventeen-year-old Julie has planned her future with her boyfriend Sam; but then he tragically dies, and she doesn't know what to do without him. Julie calls his voicemail, just to hear his voice, but he answers. How can this be? Their connection is temporary, but being able to talk to Sam helps Julie figure out her new future without him. Even though this book is highly unbelievable, I still found it encouraging and delightful. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Something didn’t feel right from the beginning when I started this book, during the read and at the end.

Sometimes it dragged and sometimes I just wanted to stop reading.

I couldn’t connect to the characters, like I wanted to 😔

This is the story of Julie and Sam. They started dating when she moved to town. For three years, they were together. Then Sam dies. Julie is having a hard time with her grief and at a low point, calls him on the phone. She is surprised when he answers. Through these phone calls, Sam and Julie help each other deal with what happened.
Opinion
I was lucky enough to get an audio and ebook copy of this book from Net Galley. The narrator was excellent and conveyed emotions well. Being able to both read and listen to the book, I was taken back to when I was in school. It helped to enhance my opinion of the story.
Overall, it is a very tough topic. No one wants to hear about teen's deaths. However, this book was done very eloquently and with sensitivity. While some scenes are blunt for how they show teens reacting to the death, Thao conveys the emotions in the scenes and the driving force behind said emotions. This is a great book, especially for someone dealing with a loss in their own life. It may help them through the cycle of grief.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This is a bittersweet novel about facing loss and letting go. When Julie's boyfriend, Sam, dies in an accident, she doesn't want to let go. She calls his phone just to hear his voice and is surprised when he picks up the phone. However, she is not sure how long she will be able to keep calling him, and speaking with him at all may be keeping them both from being able to move on. This book reminds us that there is no one way to deal with grief, but to deal with it at all is important. Thus, although the idea of second chances is appealing, ultimately the heartbreaking conclusion of this book is inevitable.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I went into You've Reached Sam knowing that it would be an emotional read. It delivered on that promise.

You go into it knowing that Sam has died, but there's a magic that's keeping him and Julie tethered through their phones. They get a second chance to tell one another goodbye.

I have never lost anyone as close as a significant other so I'm not sure if I would disregard family and friends in the same way as Julie did, but I felt it was a little much. She's also very young so I guess is entitled to that.

I really liked this story and loved how the author brought it through all the way to the close. It pulled some tears out of me.

When you look at the (beautiful) cover and read the synopsis of You’ve Reached Sam, you know it’s going to be a sad book. I’m the kind of person who very easily starts crying while reading and yet… I’m not sure a book has ever made me cry because of the first chapter. By the time I reached the epilogue, I was sobbing so hard that I had to put my Kindle down.

Dustin Thao starts the story a week after Julie’s boyfriend Sam unexpectedly and tragically passed away and it follows our main character as she not only grieves but also learns to let go. It’s about healing and first love and friendship and how the future might not always turn out how you imagined.

I was immediately impressed by Dustin Thao’s beautiful writing style and some of my favorite scenes in the novel were the magical flash-backs. We learn about Sam and Julie’s relationship through montage-style “clips” that felt like watching a movie. Knowing how their time together ends, reading about how they met, about their dates and their quiet moments was absolutely heartbreaking but also made me really invested in their relationship.

One of the main plot lines is of course the unexpected connection that Julie and Sam still have through their phone calls. (This will come as surprise to absolutely no one but many of them made me cry as well.) It made the story really intriguing as the reader (along with Julie) is left wondering why this is possible, why they got a second chance and if everything is real or if Julie is imagining it.

Julie is an aspiring author who is about to graduate and head off to college. I really liked seeing her character development, her struggles to move on from such a devastating loss and how not only her plans for the future but also the relationships with the people in her life changed.

Sam on the other hand was a musician and we only really get to see him through Julie’s perspective. He is a great love interest and I was very much heartbroken by his death, but the focus of the story is definitely on Julie. I did also like the diverse cast of side characters with Sam’s cousin Mika, his best friend Oliver and the group of classmates they all used to hang out with together. Sam and Mika are Japanese-American and there are several queer and BIPOC side characters. While Sam’s heritage was not the central focus of the story, the references to Japanese culture and the brief discussion of xenophobia at school added a lot of depth.

Despite the many (MANY) times I got teary-eyed, You’ve Reached Sam somehow still manages to feel comforting and hopeful. It made for a cathartic crying session instead of being a book so devastating it’ll leave you hollow. I really enjoyed this beautiful exploration of grief, coming of age and first love, and I highly recommend that you check it out. Dustin Thao is a promising new voice in YA fiction and I can’t wait to read his next novel.

4.5 ⭐️
This is a realistic and heartbreaking story about grief and the different ways that people cope with losing a loved one. And showing the experiences one can face with their strong feeling of grief as seen in the side characters and main character Julie. The emotions in this book is palpable, I felt everything the characters felt and in the writing itself it carried so much emotion. The writing was fantastic and very engaging and was well paced from beginning to end. And the characters were all so likable and easy to follow along with. I really liked all the characters from the main characters Sam and Julie to the side characters we barely see like James. But the reason this is not a five star for me is that I wanted a little more from the characters I don’t know what, but I wanted to see more of them especially Sam, and I would have liked to seen more of his connection with other people like Oliver. Also, I wished that Oliver got a call with Sam, I’m a bit upset he didn’t get one. Overall, even with all the heartbreak, this is a very moving and beautiful story about loss that I would recommend.

This book follows Julie, who is mourning the death of her boyfriend Sam. But one day, when she tries calling his old number for old times’ sake … Sam picks up! Now, Julie must keep her newfound connection with Sam a secret from all his other loved ones, or risk losing him forever …

I love contemporary books with a speculative twist, and this was a slow-ish yet introspective and gut-wrenching read! I triple dog dare y’all to read this book without at least tearing up a little. Not gonna lie, the ending made me a sniveling mess.

I loved seeing Julie learn to deal with her grief in a more healthy way. I also really appreciated the exploration of how varied different people’s responses to losing a loved one can be.

I thought the flashbacks were incorporated really well into the story, and gave me some good insight into Julie and Sam’s relationship before his death. I personally didn’t connect to Julie and the other characters as much as I would have liked, but I also recognize that perspectives on grief are so varied that what’s not relatable to me might be exactly what someone else was looking for.

Overall, even though I wanted more from the characters, I’m impressed with the somewhat experimental concept and thought the themes were pulled off really well. I look forward to seeing what this author does next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

You’ve Reached Sam was a beautiful debut about grief, acceptance, and everlasting love. I really enjoy this book as the characters and plot focused on all the different emotions and thoughts surrounding the loss of a loved one. This was also just a quick read but I do suggest checking the trigger warnings as well.

The premise of the story was definitely intriguing and had that emotional aspect however, it was a bit hard to connect too as the story felt a bit flat at times. It was also somewhat slow but I will say that the topic regarding grief and moving on were incredibly well written.

The main heroine, Julie was such an interesting character. Her journey towards coming to terms with the loss of her boyfriend, Sam, felt so honest and realistic. Their story was just filled with so many beautiful and heartfelt moments.

The mystery behind Julie being able to communicate with Sam was just perfect and I loved how they were given that second chance to say goodbye.

The voicemail and epilogue were heartbreakingly beautiful and just the perfect conclusion to Julie and Sam’s story. While, I wasn’t that emotionally invested this story will definitely pull on your heart strings.

Overall, just a really good story about how moving on is not about forgetting.

Such a touching and emotional story! Tissues and pen in hand, my thoughts are a mix of warmth, love, empathy, and heartache. You’ve Reached Sam is a heartwrenching tale of having a second chance at goodbyes.

Julie and Sam were just made for each other. It was love at first sight when they encountered each other at the cafe. An aspiring musician, Sam was talented at crafting bewitching melodies that resonated with his listeners. Julie, an aspiring writer could just see herself being Sam’s lyricist, composing songs and recording them with him. Sam and Julie were the perfect couple — always happy together and very much in love. Even though Sam and Julie were seventeen at the time, they both knew what they wanted and they both had plans for their future together.

However, fate had other plans and that dream of forever after abruptly ended when Sam died in a tragic accident. Distraught and overcome with grief, Julie struggles with the loss of the love of her life. In a desperate measure to connect with Sam — to hear his voicemail greeting, Julie calls Sam’s cell phone. Rather than getting his greeting, Julie has reached Sam! Not a recording like she expected, it is the Sam that she knows and loves.

You’ve Reached Sam author, Dustin Thao’s debut novel and what a novel it is! Full of emotion, love, and laughter, Thao has done an amazing job at creating remarkable characters that are so relatable, so raw, and almost too real. Thao’s character development is just solid.

The plot evolves rather slowly combining past and present with a dusting of daydreams and nightmares. There aren’t any twists and turns and the story is pretty much straightforward — having a second chance to temporarily enjoy quality time with a loved one until the time is right to let go.

Filled with moving and poignant moments. You’ve Reached Sam is a novel that will tear at your heartstrings leaving a lasting impression not to be forgotten. Five unforgetable stars.

I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.