The premise of this book is pretty straightforward. Julie is a senior whose boyfriend Sam suddenly dies and this book tells the aftermath of this tragic event and how Julie deals with everything. But there's a twist: in a moment of sadness Julie calls Sam's phone just to hear his voice through the voicemail, but instead Sam picks up the phone and she gets the chance to talk to him and in a way she also gets him back.

I was immediately intrigued by the magical realism aspect of this novel and I was very curious to see how the author was going to use it to explore the grief and the healing process that Julie is going through. Even though I did appreciate the message that this element of the story was trying to convey, I wanted it to dig deeper. There were some moments where I felt like the plot was dealt with only on surface-level and I found myself hoping for something more.

Still, it's a solid novel about second chances and how to cope after a tragedy and I do recommend it. In the end it just didn't work for me and it did not have the impact I was hoping. However, I'm very curious to read more by Dustin Thao and I'll definitely check out his future works.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

To say I loved this book is an understatement. I knew when I read what the book was about that I had to read it. And boy am I glad I requested an ARC so I can read it months early.

Julie and Sam are enjoying their senior year of high school as a couple. They are making plans for college when Sam dies unexpectedly. Julie is devastated and feels that she can't move on with her life without Sam, until she decides to call him and he answers his phone.

Over the course of the book Sam needs Julie to move on and accept that Sam isn't coming back. She discovers new friends, potential new relationships, and reconnects with people who she lost contact with while dealing with her grief.

Julies ability to speak to Sam one last time is a dream that anyone wishes they could have. The story is super sweet but also a tear jerker. I loved every minute of it.

rating: 3.5★

well. this is a sad book.

it turned out to be harder than i’d expected to write a review for this one as the most coherent i’ve been since i finished this book a few days ago is: ?..!$)&/“?. but a review is finally due.

‘you’ve reached sam’ is a quiet, thunderous exploration of grief and loss and acceptance and so much more.

to start with things i liked, the first and last 20% or so of this book hit a spot for me. i think those parts of the whole novel is where i’ve connected to the story more than the rest. those two beginnings of different ends are what solicited a deeper emotion within me than the rest of the book, and for many reasons.

the heart of it all is, obviously, the story of the main relationship here—sam and julie. at the very beginning, i immediately get the feels of grief and loss and got emotional a couple of times in the first few chapters where we’re just getting introduced to the cast and all. it honestly felt like a 4.5-star book at the very least… until it swerved off that path a little bit.

i’m the biggest fanatic of and all for depressing character-driven stories with almost unmoving plot and nothing going on except: feelings. i adore exploring feelings in fiction novels—especially grief—and some of my favorite books lie in that area so vividly. so having this book, pitched as “‘your name.’ meets ‘if i stay’” with a sprinkle of magical realism to top it all off? it was a dream in the form of a book for me.

sadly, the more i read, the more the narrative got repetitive. narrow-sighted. maybe even unnecessary. our main character and only pov, julie, as well as the story itself, were slowly but surely becoming a little less—impactful? realistic? interesting?—than what it all started out to be. to add to that: though i don’t necessarily agree with how julie grieved for sam and the things she did and didn’t do while coping with losing him—her significant other, closest best friend and only true companion—i can never judge how a person grieves for another’s loss, fictional or not. so even though i understood, i had to grind my teeth a lot while reading the conscious decisions being made, not only by julie but some of the other characters as well. it frustrated me to no ends.

<spoiler> there was a repetitive arc where some of sam’s friends at school decided to start an “asian student club” after his passing and i won’t get into spoilers, even mild, but if you’ve read the book and want to chat about it, please reach out. i’m not sure how i feel about that whole part of the story. just to be clear: i’m not asian. the author of this book is asian. so obviously i cannot speak over anything racial regarding this book, especially that i’ve seen no one talk about it, at least not explicitly. but yes, i guess it just felt weird to me. moving on. </spoiler>

for the most part, the huge chunk in the middle of the story felt like a repetitive filler that did nothing but make the story less and less realistic and believable in my eyes. it started to feel more and more surface-level. more and more like it’s shoving the memories, the flashbacks, the things the characters went through all in my face and almost dictating to me what to feel. and of course, the more and more i felt detached from the characters and the overall story the book was trying too hard to tell. the clichés here were intentional, and they barely worked. some made me roll my eyes, some swoon and most cry my eyes out.

but anyway, as i was nearly losing faith, the ending. made. me. sob. no spoilers of course but i was very anxious about a certain thing throughout the whole book that the ending made very clear and made me feel better about the whole thing. if it weren’t for the ending this book would’ve been closer to 2 stars. it was so heart-wrenching and served somewhat of a final resolution to the story. simply, beautifully tragic.

also—and i mention this last because i’ve read an uncorrected proof copy of this book but—there were so many unrealistic, contradictory things here and there throughout the book that were most likely the result of poor editing. little things that wouldn’t make sense because they didn’t align with other things in the story. i have to mention this because it took me out of the story way too many times for me to excuse the editing and definitely affected my reflections about the story. i hope by the time this book is released, these faults are straightened out.

even though it may seem like i loathed this book, (i didn’t, i promise!) the fact that it has done the rarity of bringing out some emotions out of me at a time when i needed it sure is something valuable. it is in no way forgettable, nor is it to be taken lightly even with its flaws. it’s a heavy book with characters that i could (sometimes) see myself in and relate to during their time of grief. yes, i wanted more from this book, but it may just be a personal preference as it is a highly personal book with all its heavy themes. i can imagine how some people would absolutely love it and some would despise it; it’s inevitable with every book, really. but maybe it set out to accomplish something else other than what i was looking for and it’d succeeded. what i do know is that, even though it’s not the best thing out there, i still think it’s a book worth reading.

‘you’ve reached sam’ is a beautiful tale full of melancholy, love, longing and friendship. it is full of life and death. it is full of remembrance and joy and depression. it is the art of holding on and that of learning to let go.

tw: death, depictions of grief, loss of loved one, car crash, self-blaming, depression, bullying, manipulation, mental abuse, racism.

— digital arc provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There was a lot to love here, but also a few things that fell flat. I thought sam was wonderful, and so sweet, but Julie as a main character was really flat all the way around even in flashbacks. I didn’t really understand what it was that sam saw in her. I loved that her favorite song was fields of gold, that’s one of my favorites too and I loved when Sam took her to the field via phone. I just wished I loved Julie as much as he did.

I thought that this was a great exploration of grief, it did that super well. However I felt so confused by some of the conversations they would have on the phone. I feel like if I were talking to a love one who had just passed I would want to know more about where they were and how they were feeling, and we never really had Julie asking those questions. It was mostly very awkward. Unless he was sending her on a journey somewhere. Then I enjoyed their conversations.

I enjoyed the side characters, I felt like they were unique and had their own personalities and added very much to the story. I appreciated them being there.

As it got towards the end, I liked the story more and more. I ended up crying at the end. I think this was a good, solid read and a great way for teens to explore grief at this stage of life.
3.5 rounded up

I had seen people talk about this book on Twitter. It was supposed to make you cry but I didn't believe it for one second. When it's in the book description that you're going to deal with a character death, I prepare myself emotionally. And I did this time too. And oh my god, I was not prepared for what happened in this book at all. There were a lot of tears. I adored Sam and Julie and their young love and their young loss. The book was an emotional roller-coaster. I copied Julie's emotions. I will make all my friends who like to read sad-books read this book. It's a definite one of my favourites of this year so far.

This book was one of my most anticipated of this year but ended up being a big disappointment. I was so interested in the idea of Julie being able to communicate with Sam even though he had passed away but around the 14% mark, I could feel my interest waning. I really loved Sam and Julie in the prologue but nothing after that prologue really matched that feeling for me. Instead of feeling the fuzzies or the interest that pushed me to pick this one up, I found myself wondering when the book would be over (even though it was pretty short) and even skipping some parts until I got interested again because I knew I had already been reading it for a month and I wanted to break out of that slump.

I wish we could have seen more of Sam and Julie not fighting or right before he died and I think this could have helped keep my interest because these are the parts I truly loved. I also wish we had gotten less random snapshots of Julie's life and a more focused look at Sam and Julie, whether in the past or reconnecting. I just didn't get the same feeling I did when they were on the phone that I did when they were falling for each other and dating.

Another part that really got me down when reading this book was how negative Sam became towards the end of the book. He became so confrontational and not the Sam we originally came to know. When all was said and done, I actually disliked him and found myself not wanting to read about him calling..

Overall, an interesting and unique book but it was weighed down in daily activities and not so happy interactions between Sam and Julie, especially near the end.

I wanted to read this because I love a ghost story, romance, and YA. However for me this title was just meh. The protagonist, Julie, has had what appears to be a charmed life, but when the novel opens, that has all changed with the tragic death of her boyfriend, Sam. She is paralyzed by her grief and wanting to hear his voice, she calls Sam's cellphone expecting his voicemail- and Sam picks up. This is a really fun idea, with a lot of possibilities to explore - and I guess I felt like it wasn't explored well.. Friends and family notice that her grieving process kind of stops - because she no longer believes she's lost Sam - she just has him differently. She skips memorials, and by doing normal things, people see her as shallow and insincere in her loss. When she shares finally with someone that she's still in touch with Sam, his ghost is confirmed. Personally, I think it would have worked if the reader was left wondering if the conversations with Sam were real or just in Julie's mind. I don't intend this as a harsh review, I think the novel was fine, but it could have been better.

Rating 3

I'm on the fence about this book. There are things I loved and things I could have seriously gone without. From the synopsis the reader learns that this book is going to be filled with emotion. At least that's what I expected from reading that and in the first few chapters I could feel it. However, towards the middle I could no longer feel the emotion from the characters and was instead being told how they were feeling. I couldn't connect to the main character because she made odd decisions and overall was just blah. I understand people grieve in different ways but how she was written didn't help her character. The pacing was slow moving and the main character contemplated the same thing over and over. I did enjoy the interactions with the side characters however, there weren't too many of those. Honestly, I think I was let down mostly because I had such high expectations for this book. The cover is beautiful and the synopsis makes one think they are in for a heartbreaking story. Even though this book didn't do it for me I do think it will be enjoyed by others. Also, this book does a great job of showing how life will move on without you if you let it.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Bland and boring. Interesting secondary characters left unexploited. An interesting premise that fell flat as I could not emotionally connect with the main characters. A rather slow story that take its time unfolding.

Disclaimer: I was given this copy in exchange for an honest review.

WOW - this book was everything I was hoping it would be ever since I hear Hailey from booktube talk about it!! This book is PERFECT for fans of Your Name and If I Stay. I cried while reading this book and it just left me in awe. Sam and Julie's story is so heartbreaking and beautiful and I absolutely loved them!! I'm very excited to read any of Dustin's future books.

You've Reached Sam was one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I went into this book looking for a heart-wrecking & emotional read. I was prepared to be sad. Unfortunately, You've Reached Sam did not make me feel anything. I really think this is more about me and the book not fitting my personal tastes. So, before I go ahead, I should mention that I do not believe I was the right audience for this book.

That being said, my gripe with this book was that the characters did not resonate with me. The writing fell too flat at points that the emotions the author tried to convey fell flat. Dustin Thao's writing was okay but for a book tackling grief, I had expected more. Even Julie's relationship with the secondary characters did not seem to have much substance. I did love Julie's moment with Oliver, and with Mika. But then the characters would end up fading out of the scene which made it hard for me to get invested in their relationships.

I did like the way our main character, Julie, was written. Grief touches people in different ways. You cannot blame a person for wanting to step out of the world and cling to the person they loved. You've Reached Sam shows how unhealthy this can be, and how this attachment hurts our own lives.

Although this book was not for me, I would recommend it to others who enjoy magic realism books and movies like Your Name. I believe this is an important book that needs to be shared.

I don't think I got what I needed from this book. I believe that the potential was there and the synopsis set my expectations really high, however...

they felt short? this book was a bit forgettable. There's a quote that goes, "No tears in the author, no tears in the reader".

I wonder if Dustin cried while reading this, cause I sure didn't.

While I’ve technically finished a few other books from the Made series first, I’ve been reading this ARC (thanks, NetGalley) for quite a while now. It’s the book I’ve picked up when I just needed a break from other books for a moment in the hopes that it would eventually pick up enough to make me want to focus all of my attention on it. Unfortunately… that didn’t quite happen here. But before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you what it’s about. And even before that, look at that beautiful cover art.

What if you could talk to someone you loved after they died? No, really. You could call them whenever you wanted. Hear their voice. Have new conversations. And say goodbye, on your terms. After Julie’s boyfriend Sam dies in a car accident, she calls his phone one day just because she misses him. What she doesn’t expect is for him to actually answer.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I gravitate toward books about people dealing with grief and loss. Grief is a different process for everyone and comes in so many different packages. For Julie, grief came in the form of putting her life on pause, essentially. She withdrew from everything and didn’t interact with anyone from Sam’s family or from school or even her own family. So when she gets the chance to talk to Sam again whenever she wants, it’s expected that she wraps herself up in that experience.

Now, like I said, I gravitate toward these types of books. I hoped that I would be able to love Julie and cry my eyes out. I really wanted to. But it just never came. I couldn’t help but find her to be annoying. Anyone who ever wanted to help her, she pushed away. She was so wrapped up in her own grief, she pushed away everyone else who was also grieving. She didn’t realize that other people had lost Sam, too. Like his mom and dad, his cousin, his brother, his friends. She didn’t even bother to say a word to them that entire time. I don’t want to say that she was obligated to do so but...I mean it would’ve been nice.

One of my biggest issues was pacing. It felt very slow to me and maybe that was intentional to mirror how slow the grieving process is, especially of a partner. But it just wasn’t done in a way that kept my attention captured. Despite this, there were some great lines in there about grief that really spoke to me. One of my favorite quotes comes toward the end, when Julie is learning about letting go, for the final time:

“Letting go isn’t about forgetting. It’s balancing moving forward with life, and looking back from time to time, remembering the people in it.”

I think I was on the train when I read this and reading it made me feel like I was in a coming-of-age indie movie. While I don’t know if I would read it again, I can’t deny that there were some parts that really hurt the heart. 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Interested in reading this book? Mark your calendars for November 2, 2021!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me an E-ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I was a bit sad when I finished. But I was even more saddened by the fact that I wasn't able to connect with the mc more. I didn't feel that shattering emotion that everyone else seems to have felt while reading You've Reached Sam and Julie's lack of development is part of the reason.

But also - I feel the need to point out how people call Julie "annoying" or "unlikeable" when she was just grieving in her own way. All symptoms of grief are valid, not just the ones you can relate too/see in the media. Many thoughts about that.

It has taken me a few days since finishing You've Reached Sam to prepare my thoughts and feelings in order to share. This is definitely one of "those" books that will grip your heart and not let go even after finished. And every single moment is absolutely worth it..

You've Reached Sam follows Julie, a teen suddenly faced with the pain and guilt of the sudden loss of her boyfriend, Sam. This book follows the pain, the grief, the guilt and regrets that come along with losing a loved one. Julie is not sure how she's going to survive without Sam until one day out of desperation she calls his phone and the most miraculous thing happens...Sam somehow answers. She suddenly has the chance we all long for after a sudden death, a second chance at saying goodbye. It feels unreal and like a dream come true, but what will hanging on cost her?

Heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful Dustin Thao has managed to weave a brilliantly written tear jerker that leaves you feeling so many things all at once, while also posing interesting questions about life, death, and how to move on in a way that the reader is not completely aware of the questions until after the story ends, ensuring that this story will stay with readers and demands a second, third, tenth reading.

For fans of If I Stay and similar contemporary real life YA situations. For every one who has ever lost anyone, wished for a second chance, wondered what if...You've Reached Sam will fill a part of yourself you may not even have known was missing.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Dustin Thao for providing me with an advance ecopy for me to fall in love with, cry my eyes out, and share my honest unfiltered opinions to all of you. Thank you, Dustin Thao for writing the book we didn't realize we needed.

The premise of this book was so appealing, but the slow pacing and light tone left me wanting more. I was ambivalent about Julie, Sam, and their relationship dynamic. This will doubtlessly appeal to a certain bracket of YA heartbreak-seeking readers, but it wasn't a hit with me.

This book was pretty good! I found it super easy to read and also enjoyable. I think the book does a good job of using the phone calls between Julie and Sam to show a representation of going through grief.
Considering the topic this is definitely a sad book but I didn’t find it too heavy.
Reviewed at, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3924255558?book_show_action=false

The story follows Julie, who is your typical teenage girl. Nice boyfriend, plans to attend college, friends, and getting ready for the next phase in her life. That is until her boyfriend dies and her whole world flips upside down. She tries to move on in her own way, which was harshly judged, but she isn’t able to shake her grief. Deep in her nostalgia she decides to call Sam and much to her surprise he answers! They are allotted a temporary chance to communicate with each other but then don’t know when their channel to each other will be cut off. This actually makes things harder for Julie, who now seems to revolve her thoughts and life around when she will get to talk to him next and passes on chance after chance to engage with people who are still alive and present in her life. One thing is certain....if she tells anyone about her little secret of being able to talk to Sam still, she may have to face saying goodbye to him...forever. She seeks to be understood, which never seems to go right. She grapples with the decision to risk it all and tell his loved ones that she still has a connection with him or keep him all to herself.

This story was okay. It lacked a lot of depth and wasn’t very engaging. I feel like the plot dragged and it could have been a lot shorter. After reading the synopsis, I was hoping this would tug on my heart strings and be an emotional journey, but I was left feeling disappointed. There were some beautiful passages and the premise was interesting, but overall it just left a lot to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the ARC!

This was beautifully written and so full of emotions. Getting a second chance to talk to someone and say goodbye. I couldn't stop myself and finished this book in one go, stayed up all night to finish it and was in tears by the end of it. Worth it though.

Will write a full review on my blog, thank you for the chance to read this. Honestly loved it.

You've reached Sam is a comtemporary YA novel about a love and loss. The story focuses on Jullie, who has recently loss her boyfriend, Sam. In her grief, she doesn't want to face reality that Sam is actually is gone. For those who have ever loss someone precious to them, you can most likely relate to Julie as she has one last chance to speak to Sam one last time. I don't read to many stories focused on death and grief in YA, but I really think that Dustin Thao did a wonderful job writing about something that hits so close to home for many readers.
I really enjoyed the flashbback of Julie and Sam that are peppered throughout the novel, from their first meeting, first date, first kiss and so on. It might seem on the slow side for some, but I think the pacing is just right.

Overall I found this book to be a remakrably beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.