How do you let go of someone when you don't know how to say goodbye? Julie is a senior in high school and had just experienced the loss of her boyfriend Sam. You experience multiple flashbacks of their journey as she learns to move on but letting go is hard when you can still call each other. How do you let go of someone who doesn't feel gone?

The story didn't grab my attention and pull me in but still left me feeling vulnerable in moments. Overall a good read

“We are two parts of a song. He is the music. I am the words.”

The fact that I didn't love this book is kinda my fault. I don't like the way this was written and it's totally on me.
The way the scenes jumped in time confused me.
Otherwise I liked the characters and the story.

“You called me.” His voice is as calm as water. “And I picked up. Like I always do.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC of You’ve Reached Sam in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this book absolutely broke me. I knew it would, I was preparing myself for it, but it was still painful. You’ve Reached Sam begins with Julie, who is mourning the loss of her boyfriend Sam, who tragically passes away.

She becomes isolated, and misses his funeral. She decides to call his phone number, just one last time. To her surprise, he picks up the phone.

Communicating through phone calls, Julie keeps in touch with Sam for as long as she can. She is not ready to say goodbye, just yet. But Julie has other things to worry about as well. Her future, graduating high school, where she will go to college, and trying to maintain friendships. Trying, in some capacity, to move on, or at least to be okay, somehow.

But Sam is still there, on the phone, with more things to tell her. His life was cut short, but he is there with her to pick up the pieces and to listen.

This book tackles hard topics of grief, in a way that is heart wrenching, but in such a powerful way. As someone who loves a hard hitting contemporary YA book, this is one of my favorites I have read this year.

Thao’s writing was poetic and beautiful. I highlighted so many different passages that were absolutely stunning. The magical realism was such a unique way of writing a story like this.The writing captures these feelings Julie is trying to process in such an important way. Overall, if you want a book that makes you feel something, pick this one up.

This was such a beautifully written, heartbreaking and healing read… Oh my goodness!

Julie and Sam were everything to one another, but when Sam dies and Julie can’t really cope, a phone call from beyond the grave brings him back to her… sort of. Somehow, some way, they can connect through the phone. She can talk to him. And it’s wonderful and sad and emotional.

This book is all about grief and loss and Julie learning to come accept losing a loved one in the way that SHE needs to. There is no right or wrong way to grieve someone who was so important to you. And this book does a beautiful job of demonstrating it in the other end, too. Perhaps the people who leave us aren’t ready to let go either and they just need to hold on to the ones they loved a little bit longer.

I also loved the new friendships made in the wake of Sam’s death. The discoveries about those who also loved him and weren’t able to express it properly. This was just such a heartfelt book and I loved it.

Let me start off by saying that I really loved the premise of this book. Who hasn't wanted to talk to a loved one that they have lost one last time? I think that the idea for this book is really unique and one that I have not really seen before. Now, where this book fell a bit flat for me was in the execution. The book is written from Julie's POV, and to be quite honest, I found it hard to connect with her at times. I felt that she came off as a bit selfish and rude throughout the entire novel. I think that if the story had alternating POVs I may have enjoyed it more. I feel like I was supposed to read this novel and be upset because admittedly what has happened to Sam and the effect that it has had on others is really sad, but I found that I just couldn't be sad because of Julie. I also found it strange that everyone was really pressuring her to move on so soon after Sam had died. I think that this author will get better with time, and I am excited to see what he comes up with next because I think that he does have a ton of potential. Overall, this was a decent YA read, but not one I am likely to come back to.

I think this was a good teen book, but because of this is lacked a certain intensity. From the synopsis I was expecting to find the story really emotional, I tend to cry often at books, but for me it didn't quite hit the mark.

The premise is great & the story is well told but I didn't feel connected with the characters loss & their speed at wanting to move on which left it a little flat.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!
When I finished this book, I had tears mixed with snot sliding down my face. I plan on reading and reviewing the finished book come November, but here are my preliminary thoughts:
- The book really resonated with me because one of my most intense fears is losing someone I love. And this book is that fear in book form. For Julie, this fear becomes a reality - and it follows how she grapples with his death.
- Fans of Your Name/Kimi No Na Wa, I think you'll love this. The fabulism mixed with its very real and genuine portrayal of grief, love, and the connection that we have with others is beautiful.
- You will probably cry. and cry. and cry. just like I did. Because death is unimaginable, but letting go is impossible. And if you've ever lost someone, this book is for you.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for allowing me to read and review this book! all thoughts and opinions are my own.

You've Reached Sam is about Julie, a girl who meets Sam, they know each other for 3 years and in those 3 years they date and struggle with normal teenage love and high school issues. One night when Julie is coming back from a trip Sam had forgotten to pick her up and was killed in an accident. While in grief, Julie calls his phone to try to stay connected to him and to her surprise he answers beyond the grave....

I won't say anymore without spoiling the book but Sam is the sweetest and deserved so much better and more from Julie, but you gotta keep in mind they are all teenagers. People deal with situations so much differently than others do and especially at that age. I wasn't crazy about Julie as a main character but I was able to get through the book fine.

When I first heard of this book I thought I would fall in love with it. I was super excited to get this as an ARC and greatly appreciate it but the story fell short of my expectations. I will still look for more Dustin Thao books in the future but I don't think I'll read this again.

Not bad, just not as great as I wished it was going to be.

Overall I would still recommend giving it a shot.

Side note: the cover is so beautiful!

3.5 stars.

I feel like this book let me down somehow even though I liked it. The writing was mostly simplistic with a few beautiful quotes and use of prose sprinkled in. The plot was emotional and painful, but also seemed like it was going nowhere. I feel like this book could've really benefited from a solid sub-plot that continued alongside the phone calls. Instead of that, there were a bunch of mini plots scattered along that seemed to not make a lot of sense. I also hated the dream sequences but that's just about my taste. Overall I did like the book, but it felt like something was missing.

I loved this book. It was a quick read, and I was absolutely hooked by the premise of losing a loved one, calling their voicemail, only for them to pick up. I may have gasped out loud when I read that. It was a wonderful journey of overcoming grief and finding one's path. I was so curious to know more about how the connection had been forged, but looking back, it didn't really matter. The story wasn't about the mechanics of the connection, it was the fact that Julie was given a chance to process her grief and to find her way out into the world through this special opportunity.

Wow, this is an incredibly sad book about dealing with loss. We are following a teenager girl Julie dealing with the unexpected lost of her boyfriend Sam. They were just about to start their college education and la tragic car accident takes Sam away from. But, Julie has some how given the opportunity to talk to Sam one last time by phone messages/calls. To be honest this reminds me something similar to what I read from Rainbow Rowe. Not as tragic but similar concept. aches fo
for Julie and how she was dealing with her loss. I guess, everyone deals with loss differently. How she threw out his things so it doesn't remind her of him. No memories to quickly link to him and her loss. But, not realizing how Sam's family was dealing with their loss and how they could benefit to talk to Sam one last time. To help all with their grief. I am glad I was able to read this arc and had some mixed feelings. But, I think this is worth reading if you are ready to read about a tragic loss, emotional and definitely fantasy. Like how is it possible to get phone messages from the dead?

I was really excited for concept of this book, but the execution fell flat for me. I thought this book was going to be an amazing romance to coming of age novel, but it was very much a stream of consciousness book. It was a very short read, and I flew through it because not much was happening. There are so many moving parts and separate elements, and you would expect some of them to connect at some point, but they don't connect at all. The main character was really difficult to empathize with. Her actions are not explained or given much though. For a book about working through grief, I feel like the book follows her life but doesn't truly explore her life. I was interested in how the phone would be the source of connection for the main couple. The phone connection was extremely cheesy! The reason for the phone connection was never explained, so this was yet another plot point that never got fleshed out. Overall, I'm just really disappointed with this book.

Stunning, touching, and heartbreaking. There was no way I couldn't love it! Most of the characters were stunningly done, and very engaging. Some parts were a bit boring, but the ending tied everything together very well. The author did an amazing job of making you feel how the character was feeling, and it was stunning from start to finish. The main character seemed a bit unlikable, and though I liked her at first, I slowly began to dislike her more and more as the story went on. I felt sympathetic to her at first because grieving is different for everyone, and losing someone you love is very hard, but when the flashbacks were first beginning to show up in the book, and she was acting the same, even when Sam was still alive, I began to dislike her more. Overall, I think this book was a 4/5 out of 5 stars.

Let me start off by saying thank you to Netgalley for letting me review this!

I honestly don’t know what to say. Throughout this book there were times when I was interested and times when I wasn’t. But I still thought this book was pretty good especially the end. The characters were okay, they weren’t that memorable except of course Sam. It literally hurt every time I read about him and Julie. The ending honestly saved the book for me, it was so sad. Overall, though this is a beautiful story and I hope that whoever else reads this likes it more than I did. 3/5 stars :)

First off, the cover is so gorgeous and that was initially what got me interested in this book. Grief and loss and coping with that loss are important topics and I think this really hit the nail on the head with that. I won't lie, I did cry at least an entire ocean while reading this. There are lighter moments but the the book overall does have a heavier feel to it. It is definitely worth the ride though. I really enjoyed the characters and can see this becoming a movie.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this title!*

This book captivated me with all my emotions. It was heart wrenching at times to feel what th characters were going through and you really feel for them.

When I picked You've Reached Sam I was ready to be emotionally wracked. Just reading the premise I expected to be at least touched with the story, if not literally crying (because I don't do that often).
Instead, most of the time, this book made me feel... confused.

It had original part: the phone calls between late boyfriend and alive girlfriend, and I do appreciate it's uniqueness, but if I am being completely honest, after a while I just didn't see the point.
I blame the execution for that part. The idea was good.

I also blame the main character who seriously lacked manners and empathy.

I also didn't understand how she, and people around her, acted as if everyone should move on so quickly. She getting rid of all of her stuff, her mother advising her and people in school in general. One would say it's been 6 months since Sam's accident, not a week.

The book was written in first person, following Julie's POV.
The author's voice was good and I believe with time it will improve with time.

In my opinion this was a solid ya book with magical elements that made it unique, and it was good for entertainment purpose.

Reading this book was an experience, it got too sad for me to handle at times, and sometimes it was equally heartwarming. it reminded me of P.S I Love You a lot and I loved the characters. the book starts with past and present two changing time periods alternatively but I like how the author has dealt with it and it fits with the theme of the book. How every person deals with their grief and loss is portrayed well in the book.

A really sweet, sentimental story that is dampened by an unlikable main character.

I honestly wanted to cut Julie some slack in the beginning. Grieving is an incredibly personal process and everyone handles it differently, so I was willing to tolerate a lot of her anger. But then I realised she's just as selfish and rude in the flashbacks. So it's not her grief and sorrow that's making her lash out and treat everyone like crap, that's just who she is and it makes for a very frustrating and unenjoyable book.

Which is such a shame because I think the story, at it's heart, is a really good one and one I think will resonate with any reader who has ever struggled with letting someone go and moving on. The last chapter and epilogue are really quite touching, it's just that I know I would have felt more emotionally if I had cared about Julie. But I didn't. And Sam deserved better, quite honestly.

But overall, still a decent debut and I'm interested in seeing what DT comes up with next!

This book is so emotional, and I loved every word of it. Sam is Julie’s boyfriend who passes away their senior year of high school. I hate giving away spoilers in reviews, but let’s just say this is the story of not only Julie healing, but Sam’s family and other friends. So incredibly well written.