You've Reached Sam was one of my top anticipated reads, but unfortunately it just didn’t work for me. I never felt invested in Julie and Sam's love story and the plot was often confusing and repetitive. I almost DNF'ed several times, but I held out hope that it would get better and pushed through.

I understand this is a YA novel and the characters aren't going to be models of maturity or sound decision makers, but unfortunately I found Julie really unlikeable. She was so focused on how Sam's death impacted her life and made her sad, that it overshadowed any love or sympathy I might have felt for her. The flashback sequences were sweet at times, but they didn't endear me to Sam and Julie or make me believe in their epic love at all. The dream/memory sequences were an interesting idea, but the execution often left me more confused. Julie and Sam's relationship actually didn't come across very healthy. Julie didn't seem to have any friends besides those that she met through Sam and he apparently abandoned his friends to be with her. I did appreciate the depiction of grief though and the overall message of learning how to hold on while also moving on. I think this novel will resonate with some readers, but unfortunately this was a miss for me.

CW: automobile accident, loss of loved one, grief, divorce/parental abandonment, racism, bullying, depression

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

Seventeen year old Julie knew what her future held- she and her boyfriend, Sam, were getting out of their little town. Sam would play his music, and she’d write. They’d go to college, spend the summer in Japan visiting his family… eventually make a home together. When tragedy struck and Sam passed away her world crumbled. Unable to move forward or even breathe without him, she calls him; only expecting to reach his voicemail and hear his voice one more time.

She never expected him to pick up the phone. Now they have a second chance to say goodbye, they know this won’t last forever. The problem, though, is that she can’t give up this secret connection. She can’t move forward. Instead, she halts life right there, waiting for the next phone call. How is she supposed to let go- again? Why can’t things just stay like this forever?

But keeping this secret isn’t easy, especially when she can see how badly Sam’s family is suffering. Torn between giving them some relief and closure, and keeping her small link to Sam, Julie has a big choice to make…


First, don't read this at school or work. I can’t tell you how many times I started crying. It’s impossible not to care for Julie, the young woman that never really experienced loss and has now had her most precious person taken away. It’s an emotional book. I felt her pain, even when I knew what she was doing- the ways she tried to cope- were wrong. It’s beautifully written, blending memories with dreams and present time to draw a full picture of the young couple and what they meant to one another.

The writing style is a little choppy- the segments are a little disjointed; but I think it plays well with the main character’s head-space. She’s not thinking in a straight line. I did love the magical realism here- their magical connection. It’s an interesting storyline, and the book was well written. I grew to love most of the side characters as well. Mika and Oliver definitely became favorites of mine, but I also loved watched Sam and Jamie interact in her memories. Honestly, I had requested this ARC mostly because I had to know how they were going to tell this story. Part of me loves unique books about loss and coping even as they are really hard for me to read. For me, this was a three star book.

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
As far as the adult content goes, this book was really mild. There was some language, bullying and a little talk about alcohol but none of this was over the top and I would definitely say that this is a story I would give to any age group. Back when my niece was ten and she wanted the more “grown up” books… this would have been about perfect.


I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. My thanks! I can’t wait for the book to come out on November 9th!

How do you move on when someone you love dies? In Julie’s case, not at all. She wants to erase his presence in her life completely. Hurt can do that to you. But her love for Sam spans past the earthly coil, enabling her to communicate with him after he dies. As good as that sounds, it might just be stopping Julie from processing the grief that is swallowing her whole. She’s breaking promises to friends and letting them down. She’s living life for Sam, and it’s downright unhealthy.

As far as characters, Mika is someone special. It can be so hard to reach out to others in the face of your grief, and she’s hurting too. But she wants to help Julie deal with her pain. While I couldn’t connect with the characters overall, I don’t think that’s necessary to enjoy the book. I appreciated Thao’s approach to Julie’s grief. There were quite a few touching moments reading You’ve Reached Sam, making it really special. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.

"But the truth is, no one experiences grief the same way, and we all come out of it differently."

There was a point about 45% of the way through the book that I want sure I would finish it, but I'm so glad I did. This is a beautiful story about trying to navigate life while trying to navigate grief at the same time. It's a beautiful reminder that we make unforgettable marks on others just as they do to us and to cherish the moments we have together.

I think this is a fabulous story for young adults (and adults) alike as it deals with grief in a way that is real and powerful but not overwhelming.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it's been one I've wanted to read for ages now. I was so excited when I got the chance to read it.

It broke my heart. Many, many times. I don't even want to know how many times I teared up over it, though it was one of those books that even though it's sad, you don't want to stop reading it.

This was a book that I simply could not put down. I read it in two sittings, both of which I just read a ton at once. It was one of those things where once you start, you don't want to stop.

As for the characters, I felt like that was where it lacked for me. I felt as though most of the characters didn't have much depth, and I found it really difficult to connect to any of them, even Julie and Sam, who are the main characters. The side characters had their moments when I really liked them, but there was nothing that made me go "Oh my God I would die for them". As someone who will love a book purely for characters, I feel like that changed a lot of what I think about this book.

The writing was beautiful, and there were so many quotes that made me lose my mind. I loved the way the story was told between the past and the present, the way the plot was carried out, and the way the difference between different people's grieving was shone.

All in all, if you have any interest in this book, I would recommend it without blinking an eye. It was an enjoyable and heartbreaking read that I fully intend on buying once it comes out.

4.5/5 stars

Reading this book was an odd experience. I cried so much in the beginning but very little at the end. But nevertheless, I enjoyed it a lot.

I loved the characters so much, especially Mika. Julie was quite an interesting character to read about. When we start off the book, she has lost her boyfriend, Sam, and is dealing with her grief. This book does not shy away from the ugliness of grief and loss and I really liked that. I did think that the ending was a bit abrupt though. It felt like we were building up for a great big climax but it kinda fell flat which affected the ending. However, I would still 100% recommend this book to anyone looking for a ya contemporary that will bring tears to your eyes.

Okay but listen I was crying almost the entire time I read this. Is that because I chose this as my bedrest book and being sick makes me emotional? Maybe. But there's something to be said for the emotional catharsis you get from not only crying about the big obvious sad thing, but from the tiniest acts of kindness and love sprinkled throughout because you have grown so attached to this poor lost protagonist that in her position, those things would have you sobbing on the floor. I loved every minute and every tear I spent reading this book.

"There are so many moments I wish I could relive again. Especially the smaller ones. The quieter ones that we often don't think about."

Synopsis:
Julie's boyfriend Sam dies and she is overcome with grief as she navigates her life without him. She picks up the phone and dials his number so she can listen to his voicemail message. Julie is shocked when he picks up and she is given a second chance to say goodbye.

My Thoughts:
Heartbreaking, beautiful and haunting. This book almost broke me. Thao beautifully writes a story about grief and how everyone handles it differently. The characters are crafted in a way that I could feel their pain and sadness though the words on the page. Each grieving in their own way. I just wanted to crawl into my kindle and hug them all. The characters were raw, poignant, anguished and genuine. I loved the modern day magical realism aspect of this book with the connection Julie has with Sam and their ability to communicate through cell phones. While this book will rip out your soul and tear you to pieces it's one I highly recommend.

You’ve Reached Sam, is a very original heartbreaking story about two people, who were ripped apart by death, right in the middle of their love story. Although Julie is the main focus of the story, I really really loved Sam. I wish we had more about where he was, but I loved the conversations with him, and he even made me tear up. Julie I liked too but she irritated more often than not. I know everyone grieves different but some of her choices made me want to smack my head. Overall though it was a good story.

YOU'VE REACHED SAM is a beautiful book about the journey of grief and how that isn't linear, and how people learn to move on through different methods of realization and understanding. Julie's journey through the book is messy and emotional, and while I could see how others might critique her for her lack of empathy and awareness of the people around her, I saw that as a sign of her grief clouding her ability to see how her friends were grieving with her. The visceral voice and language in the prose is so poignant and makes the emotions leap off the page. I was captivated by scenes of heartbreaking grief that Julie felt and the paranoia and panic she had when she thought she had lost Sam.

I also greatly enjoyed how Julie's arc isn't just about her and Sam and their connection, but rather about her connection with other people as well. I adored getting to see her with her friends and seeing how they interacted and had to come to terms with Sam's absence and live life. I do wish we got to see them more, but again, I saw how it is reflective of Julie's mental state and her inability to move past Sam's death until she finally realized how she was hurting the people around her.

Overall, I found the book beautiful, and definitely worth reading. It's raw and heartbreaking, but healing as well. Dustin Thao's writing is gorgeous, and I would highly recommend this book to others. 4/5 stars.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. The synopsis had me feeling certain this would be a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, ugly cry inducing read and oh man, was I excited for it. I love a good heartbreaker. And the cover?! Beautiful.

Unfortunately, You've Reached Sam didn't deliver for me. It is a sad book, but I didn't feel very strongly and I only got watery-eyed at the end. I really wanted to connect with it more, but it wasn't there. I got 60% of the way through and it began to feel like it was dragging and I couldn't wait to be done. It's a slow read and there was a lot of parts that felt unnecessary or at least not fleshed out.

I had a hard time with Julie. I don't know if it was that I was frustrated with the way she was grieving (or not grieving) or if it was that even in flashback scenes she didn't come across as likeable. I didn't feel like the loss of Sam is to blame for her being prickly and selfish. I sympathize with Julie's loss — I just didn't care about her. I also didn't care about Sam, which was especially disappointing. I honestly didn't care about any of the characters, but I was pleased with the diversity of the characters.

We aren't given any lead up to Sam's death, which is something I think hurt the story. There was not much chemistry between Sam and Julie in their phone calls and the flashback scenes. I would have loved to have alternating perspectives, with Sam covering the "before" scenes. The moments between them were bland and I couldn't believe that they spent three years together.

Dustin Thao is a talented writer and I would read his work again in the future. I can see this book doing well with some readers, but it won't be at the top of my recommended reading lists.

2.75 stars, rounded up to 3.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

This isn't your typical YA young love read. You've Reached Sam is heavy with loss and explores the different ways people grieve.

I thought it was really beautiful to see Julie's messy journey throughout this story. She grapples with this "gift" to be able to talk with Sam and is faced with some tough decisions as a part of that.

While not an easy read, I only cried once at the end. If you're a bit sensitive to grief and loss (and like me, maybe put off reading this a bit knowing these stories can be tough to navigate) know that author Dustin Thao does a great job making you feel the loss as well as the connection and hope for the future. That I especially loved.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!

Hm. Okay.

The synopsis sounded like it was promising a heart-wrenching sobfest that would leave me wrecked and in tears. It didn’t.

Sure, it was sad. It made me feel emotions. But they weren’t very strong emotions. I wanted a screaming-and-crying heartbreak type of thing, and what I got was me staring at my tablet thinking “well that was sad”, frowning out the window, and then continuing like nothing had happened.

The plot was pretty good. After her boyfriend Sam dies in a car crash, Julie doesn’t know how to cope with her loss. In desperation, she calls Sam’s phone. And Sam picks up. Their connection is temporary, but Sam assures her that it won’t end until she agrees to say goodbye for the final time.

For me, it felt a little bit repetitive. The plot was Julie’s flashbacks about their romance, her conversations with Sam, and how the people around her were reacting to Sam’s death. There didn’t feel like there was a lot of direction except for their “final call” deadline. It just didn’t feel like there was enough happening to fill the book.

I wasn’t bored, exactly. It’s just that there could have been more that happened in this amount of pages. For example, in the beginning when Julie is running around (or something like that) - was it really necessary? I was questioning what happened when Julie ran to the cemetery and then back home again.

It’s an accurate portrayal of grief to feel emotions that make you desperate for something, or make you do things that don’t seem rational, but I don’t know how much of that was really significant. There’s a balance between showing Julie’s emotions to contribute to the plot and showing Julie’s emotions as something that takes up space in the book.

The grief representation was overall done pretty well, but some of it didn’t feel right to me. I know that everyone grieves differently, but that was actually one of the problems - it felt like all of the other characters were grieving in the same way, and Julie was the only one feeling different.

Julie handled her shock and grief by giving away all of Sam’s things and staying inside on her own, skipping his funeral, etc. She basically locked herself away from everyone and everything in order to cope. And then everyone else got mad at her for not being with them and “not caring about Sam.”

She was asked things like “Do you know how alone I was? Do you know how much I needed you? Why didn’t you go to the funeral, don’t you care?” by all the other characters - so she was basically guilt-tripped about the way she grieved. Which is...wonderful. It’s not like it’s incredibly fucking hard to face your grief and acknowledge a death.

This wasn’t anything wrong with the book itself, it just didn’t feel right to me as someone who still has trouble dealing with grief. It didn’t sit right when Julie had to apologize to everyone for not being there for them, when it’s perfectly valid to need some time to yourself to figure things out and cope.

The romance felt a little bit cliché, but it was pretty nice. Julie and Sam were a nice couple. I can’t say I shipped them, but the romance was the core of the plot and it did work, so it was good. The execution was done well (again, kinda the same thing as any other romance, but still).

The plot...honestly could have been done better, in my opinion. There were so many questions that could have been answered. I loved the idea of the storyline, but it left a lot to be desired. I had a lot of questions. Actually, they were questions stated in the book that were never answered.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with how this book turned out. I wasn't very invested into the story or the characters. I do think Dustin Thao is a new talent in the industry, and I'll be looking out for more books by him soon. Thank you for the chance to read this early.

- Well, you can probably tell from the summary above that this is the book to pick up if you want a good cry, and I can confirm that.
- YOU'VE REACHED SAM perfectly portrays all the confusing ways grief can manifest, ranging from anger to denial, pulling people closer and pushing people away.
- Personally, I don't mind books where the supernatural/magical elements aren't explained in any way: this is just a book that you have to accept the premise going in and simply follow where it takes you. It's worth it, I promise.

Julie moves to a small town from Seattle. Immediately she meets Sam and they end up dating for three years before Sam dies.

Being in total shock, Julie isolates and blames herself. He was on his way to pick her up. She doesn't even go to his funeral. She decides to call his number to hear his voicemail and he actually picks up.

I thought this was a cute story. I keep thinking it reminded me of a John Green story for some reason. My only complaint was Julie's name. I just feel like that is a 1950s name and this is a YA book in 2021.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Julie and Sam are head over heels in love, and Julie can't wait to graduate high school and leave small town Ellenberg for the city with Sam to start on their life together. Then, the unthinkable happens. Sam is killed two months before graduation, and Julie is left angry, guilty because she erroneously blames herself for Sam's car accident, and unable to feel much else. In a fit of fury, she gathers all his things in her room and throws them out. She also refuses to attend any of the memorial activities, including Sam's funeral, and isolates herself from everyone. When she finally hits bottom, she calls Sam's cell, and to her utter astonishment and joy, he answers. And the two spend days talking together, helping Julie slowly accustom herself to his absence from her future.

This book was an emotional roller coaster! I felt Julie’s grief so well. I felt her shattered, angry, guilty, and choked with so much emotion, even though to others she appeared untouched by her first love's death.
When Sam first replied to Julie’s desperate call, I was reminded of a Stephen King story, "Mr. Harrigan's Phone", about a young man talking to his mentor for years after the older guy died.
Similarly, Julie reconnects with Sam, and the two relive important moments in their relationships, and Julie begins to really grieve over several weeks. She also, more worryingly, seems to use their conversations to hold onto Sam even more tightly.
Thao's writing had me grieving for the wonderful Sam, and for the destruction of all of Julie's dreams with him. I liked how others in their circle also could not imagine that there could be different ways to grieve, and how many of Julie's peers hated her seeming stoicism.
I also totally loved Sam's final message to Julie -- it's heartbreaking and so full of love. Let's just say I got teary.

Definitely keep some kleenex with you when you read this story.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC of this book!

You've Reached Same is the emotional journey of Julie, a high school senior trying to live her life after her boyfriend Sam dies. She throws out his things, deletes his texts, and shuts out the world in an attempt to make herself forget. But when she calls his phone just to hear his voicemail, she gets more than she could ever hope. Sam picks up, and they've connected again somehow. The connection is temporary, but Julie doesn't care. Holding on to Sam is what she needs right now, but it might just make the letting go too hard.

This book was incredibly heart-wrenching. Everyone handles grief differently, and we see Julie shun her entire world in order to avoid anything that makes her think of Sam. There's a back and forth narrative of then and now, adding depth to the book and relationship that really made everything more emotional.

We get to see Julie, through this connection with sam, really take stock of how everyone else around her is feeling. It's not just her that's grieving and heartbroken, there's a world out there where Sam took up space, and they're grieving, too. Julie has to take a journey through other people's pain to really get to the root of hers.

Overall, a really great emotional read.

Let's take a moment to admire how stunning this cover is! I was so excited to have been able to score this one on NetGalley without having zero idea what it was about - solely based on the cover.

While I was reading this one, I teared up a few times. Just the context of following someone as they grieve for someone they love can be such a difficult read. I really liked the connection that Julie and Sam had with each other. I just wish we had received a bit more context about the phone calls. I had some questions I wish has been answered; such as why was the connection even there? Where was Sam actually? Why did Julie's phone not work while the connection with Sam was there?

I decided to give this one 3 stars, mostly because it became pretty repetitive with Julie having the same conversations again and again. It seemed like there was no true plot in this book. And yeah, sometimes that works really great because it's supposed to be all about the feelings and being in the moment but this one left me wanting.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an e-ARC Wednesday Books!

unexpectedly emotional. i usually don't cry while reading books but this was so moving i really couldn't help myself. really compelling portrait of grief