3.5/5⭐️

This is a debut, and a YA novel with a unique premise.

Julie and Sam are high school seniors who have been together for 3 years. Tragically, Sam’s life is cut short, and Julie is devastated in her grief and guilt. During one of her breakdowns she calls Sam’s cell phone…and he answers. Thus begins a journey through the ultimate catharsis of saying goodbye.

Other than some frustrations with Julie at times and a suspension of disbelief, this was a moving look at loss from a 17-year-old’s perspective, and the sorrow of seeing a talented young life cut short. Also, just an aside, this was a sweet, “innocent” young love.

Nice first effort, and I’d just like to add that the cover art is simply gorgeous.

My thanks to #NetGalley and #WednesdayBooks for providing me the free early arc for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This is a beautiful debut from author Dustin Theo. The writing is so realistic that the characters almost felt real, and the emotions experienced whilst reading were most definitely real. I could feel Julie' grief and sadness throughout.

You've Reached Sam had me captivated from the very first page and held my attention right until the end. I read the entire book in one sitting.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this story.

My thoughts are my own

Thank you Netgalley for this Arc!

This story is a really good look at grief but really, it just didn't work out for me. I had trouble connecting to the characters and I did not love the actual writing itself either.

I still think others may enjoy this. Particularly as a sad story that will give the reader a good idea of what grief is really like.

I'm a huge fan of Kimi No Nawa, so I thought the premise was really intriguing! I really appreciate the representation but unfortunately I found the book to be just okay.

I throughly enjoyed this book. It was full of emotion, and full of purpose. It told an engaging story about grief, and moving on. The characters and the emotion within this novel was the strongest aspect, I think. Each character was written very realistic, and displayed profound emotion. The way the story is told, through flashbacks and present time, was new to me, but I thought it was executed well. The only thing I think this book struggled with was the pacing. It tended to go very fast, and I felt the plot wasn’t as clear at points. Also, I felt it would have been nice if the book included transcripts of the calls. Overall, I adored this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a fast paced, emotional, YA contemporary novel!

I really wanted to like this book. When I requested this so many months ago, it was at the top of my TBR pile because the premise sounded so good! And I was just… disappointed by a pretty stagnant plot.

I’m all for suspending disbelief for a story, especially when well written, but this story had way too many loop holes and contradictions and things that made me annoyed.

I also didn’t love any of the characters. I couldn’t find myself caring for any of them, even though the whole book is based on grief and living through the worst pain you can imagine. Julie is just not super likable to me, even in scenes we see from “before” and her dream sequences. I did like that it showed that everyone grieves differently, but I just didn’t love her.

Ok once again I have a more unpopular opinion of a book. The premise of this book is great and I think Dustin Thao did a great job showing how grief can be shown in so many different ways. From the beginning with Julie being distant from all her family and friends, to not behaving like herself, and especially with her struggle of letting go of Sam. I also loved the diversity of characters in this book (Oliver being my favorite) and enjoyed seeing glimpses of these side characters lives and how they helped Julie through her grief.

OK now for the not so great part... I was looking for more depth within Sam and Julie's relationship. I wanted to fall in love with Sam too and it never really happened. Although their relationship seemed sweet and hopeful there wasn't anything of merit (to me) to make me believe they would have made it if Sam hadn't died. Their phone calls were repetitive and shallow. However, Thao did give me a lump in my throat at the end, so well done there for sure!

Overall I gave this book 3 stars. It didn't blow my mind but wasn't bad either. Thank you to Dustin Thao and St Martin's Press for the chance to read You've Reached Sam in exchange for an honest review

This was an impactful read. Julie and Sam are high school seniors, deeply in love, with many plans for their future life together. But then Sam dies. Julie is consumed with grief and finds it difficult to continue with the routine parts of her life. Wanting to hear Sam's voice, she dials his cell phone to hear his voicemail recording -- and Sam picks him. Julie is overjoyed to be reconnected with Sam and finally have a chance to say goodbye. But Julie finds it is hard to say goodbye when all she wants to maintain some connection to Sam. -- and soon the calls take over her life, raising concerns for her friends, family, and teachers.

Through this interesting concept, the author effectively explores grief, love, friendship, and overcoming loss. Highly recommended!

This book was an entire journey for me. I struggled to get started, it was almost like the anticipation of the story (which I had heard so much about) was overwhelming, like I was ready for all the emotions…but not really.

However once I got going I was completely sucked into the story and couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know where it was going and how it was going to end. It was so well written and, without giving anything away, I felt like we got the ending we needed. I can’t wait for everyone to get to read this one.

I finished the book at 3 am and here I am writing the review because Idk what else to do with my life right now. I am the person who rarely cries while reading books (and by rarely I mean, I last cried when I read The fault in our stars in junior high school so, you know). BUT this was so effing brutal for my soul, like bro cmon, this book made me cry in every damn chapter. The tears fell onto my laptop while reading, I was very shocked to notice it though. I'm not even sure at this point that is this even a review or just a ramble out how this book broke me.

"But the truth is, no one experiences grief the same way, and we all come out of it differently. It’s okay to wish for those things and even imagine him here with you. Because those moments inside our heads are just as real as anything else.” She taps her forehead. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise ”

ANDD it's not over yet, the moment I finally felt the whole agony ending, THE FINAL CHAPTER- if you're reading the book while thinking it is painful, let me tell you best friend, I didn't know what pain was until I read the last chapter. THE TEARS JUST WON'T STOP, LIKE EXCUSE ME? I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS? (or maybe I did)

Except my getting emotionally devastated, I think the book was brilliant for me, though I'd like the mention the repetition and loss of pace in the middle of the book, but IT DID wrapped up quite well. I'm still feeling high and numb with whatever I finished right now.

I really liked the premise of YOU'VE REACHED SAM, but the writing was disappointing and really let the story down. Julie and Sam didn't feel well-developed enough, and Sam and various characters felt like therapist mouthpieces too often.
I did like some of the ideas around putting Julie in a place where she was forced to choose between holding on to Sam and connecting with the other people in her life, but because of the weak character development, this didn't have as much of an impact as it should have been.
The epilogue felt very repetitive.

Hoping I'll like the author's future books better!

Wow! What an amazing debut novel. Reading this book was an emotional journey from start to finish. The narrative is beautifully written, and the earnest depiction of grief and the path to healing is authentic. I would definitely recommend this book to any reader who enjoys YA.

usually i love these kind of shapeless grief-driven books but this was just okay. i was expecting more based on the synopsis and the characters felt kinda one-dimensional which is why this didn't work. the last chapter and epilogue did make me cry though because of how "and so i be kind to everything i see and in everything i see i see him" it was

The writing is beautiful!
This book is quite honestly a hit or miss. There were some parts within it where I thought to myself about how I wish it was different. But my opinion was that I liked it. I gave it 5 stars because, despite the times where Julie did not pique my interest, I enjoyed getting to learn more about her. I enjoyed the plot, but the book was not as sad as I thought. Overall I recommend this book to anyone interested in it; I thought it was a good read. Can we also talk about how beautiful the cover is!!

This book is the epitome of heartbreak, mental health, and a want to never let go. I wanted a sad read but this book rips your heart out, drives over it and makes you go get your heart back. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Julie has lost her boyfriend Sam to a car accident, for which she feels she's partially to blame. Right as she's trying to get rid of all of their memories together, her phone suddenly connects to Sam. They'll be able to talk for some time he can't inform how long, so it's her chance to actually say goodbye to him. However, the more they talk, the less she feels ready for it.

It's a beautiful story about grieving and trying to move on. And it really made me cry at some points that weren't the ending. The journey was so beautiful, when it was the end of the book, I just felt fulfilled. It's a quick book, I haven't been able to read much and yet I think I finished this in two or three days. Though emotional, it won't feel too much. At the same time, I'm not sure it is recommended to those not ready to deal with heavy themes like the death of a beloved one, or if it could be exactly what the person needs.

I can't say I was in love with Julie, the main character. We get to enjoy the beginning of their romance even before we know he'll die (though it's obvious from the title, the cover, the summary... lol), but that beginning was weak, in my opinion. I'm really not sure the two had that much chemistry. Luckily, one, the book doesn't waste much time on that, and two, romance is not the point. While Julie's love for Sam and vice-versa felt shallow from what we read, her grief made me wonder if the book itself wasn't some therapy for the writer. I have no information to know, but it all read very real, it felt personal enough. This is not a story that used death as a plot device, like it was the trend some years ago with books made just for you to cry a lot. It's focused on the steps of grieving, which sometimes are forward and others, backward.

In all, yes, it could have been better, there could have been more interesting events. But the writing, the feeling of development were already beautiful enough. I think this is the kind of YA that can easily be read by all ages, even if you're not the usual fan of the read.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Ever Since I saw the cover I was drawn in, I cried reading the synopsis. How many of us have lost someone and would do anything to have another chance to talk to them.

To tell them how we feel, this book got me right in the heart. Grief is an on going thing and it was beautiful written.

i really enjoyed this read! While i typically stick to LGBTQ+ books, i was happy to step out of that box for this one. You’ve Reached Sam was emotional and beautifully written

Sam and Julie are making plans for after high school and getting out of their town, together. When one fateful night leaves Julie alone, trying to make it, and wondering what she will do now. All their plans are gone and Julie wishes she could just talk to Sam again, if nothing else, to say "goodbye". When she just dials his number to just hear his voicemail message, he picks up. Have you ever thought about what you would say to a loved one after they have died and you never got to say goodbye? This book hit lots of spots for me as I have lost so many loved ones suddenly and wish we could talk at least one more time to let them know how much they meant to me and how much I love them. I will be recommending to school librarians to add to our shelves. Thanks to Dustin Thao, St. Martin's Press (Wednesdays Books), and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This novel was absolutely stunning from beggining to end! I could not put this down. It was a struggle waiting to get home to read this! Thats how good it was.