TW: death, death of a loved one, grief, racism

You've Reached Sam follows Julie as she learns to live with the loss of her boyfriend Sam, and the repercussions of her choices. Julie doesn't know how to say goodbye or how to grieve the absence in her life.

Until one day she finds Sam, and suddenly she doesn't need to say goodbye.

For a story that aims to be emotional and to carry us on this journey through the last goodbye, it completely failed in its intention. Whilst some readers seem to have found this to be liberating and emotionally impactful, I reached the end of the path without understanding the creative choices behind these words.

Regarding Julie, though she is not one of my favourite characters to read about, I completely disagree that she is annoying and a terrible person. We all make terrible choices while we're grieving and there is no right way to grieve. If I were her friend, there are some things I'd definitely call out (are we seriously going to complain about a gift?) but she is what this book needed in order to reach the climax.

We spend 200 pages avoiding the goodbyes and the ending was anticlimatic. As a Doctor Who fan, I know what the perfect goodbye looks like and this wasn't it. Maybe that was the author's intention but when you have the perfect moment to pull at the heartstrings and you underutilized it... I was left with so much disappointment.

This isn't a terrible book. It was not the book for me and I wish it had been better constructed and achieved with its choices.

This book….. I can’t find the words to describe this book. It made me cry, I cried just reading the first 5 chapters. I think I cried once I read the first page. The synopsis says it all.

Dustin Thao did an amazing job.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

"You are my entire world, Julie. And one day, maybe I’ll only be a small piece of yours. I hope you keep that piece." -Sam Obayashi

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Henlo! I haven’t blogged in months, but I’m still alive! Harhar. Anyway, I really didn’t expect that writing my first book review of 2022 would make me cry. I finished this novel several months ago, so I had to peruse it and find a meaningful quote. Dude, Sam’s words broke my heart. Again.


For a bit of context, I started reading You’ve Reached Sam shortly after Lolo (Grandpa) Cris passed away (Ugh, this is so hard to write). Thus, Julie’s story of magically reconnecting with Sam after his death was very triggering—in a good way. Moreover, the plot was particularly…serendipitous? Like, Julie and Sam’s new conversations were on the phone, while the last talk I had with Lolo was also on mobile. Even though I know that he’s in Paradise, I yearn, almost every day, for another chance to talk to my grandpa. But for the most part, I’m thankful that he no longer has to endure any physical ailment.

I guess this is how grief works. It ebbs and flows depending on the level of love or attachment. The characters in this book exemplify that well. In one chapter, you think they’re okay and finally moving on, but then they suddenly become emotional on the next page or so. Sam had been an essential part of Julie and Mika’s friendship, and now that he was gone, they found themselves in a state of social imbalance, unable to interact without snapping, crying, or saying harsh things they didn’t mean.

I kinda resonated with that feeling of wanting to push others away, but only to the degree that my grief made me value my alone time more. Grieving with your family is indeed beneficial, but what if their faces are so similar to that of the departed because of simple genetics? It’s like a double-edged sword, right? It’s interesting how spending time with your loved ones can simultaneously cause pain and comfort.

The same principle applies to material objects. Julie had a box full of Sam’s signature items, like his denim jacket, CDs, and mixed tapes. Each object spoke volumes about her dead boyfriend, so she eventually got rid of them, hoping to accelerate the healing process. Now, I can’t help but reflect on how Lola (Grandma) Juliet gave me many of Lolo Cris’s things: his silver ring, Samsung laptop bag, collared t-shirts, and more. I love them, and I bet Lola also likes seeing me wear Lolo’s clothes. Not that I’m trying to be a shadow or phantom of my lolo. I just think that somehow, using his old belongings is a way to honor his memory or legacy. Hmm…I wonder what Julie would say about that if she were a real person?


Although I didn’t necessarily approve of how she managed her grief, I liked how she was always humble enough to recognize her mistakes and strive to do better. She was so in tune with her conscience or moral compass that she couldn’t keep her conversations with Sam a secret, especially to their mutual close friends. If I were in her shoes and could talk to Lolo on the phone, I probably wouldn’t be selfless and open up to others if it meant risking the miraculous connection.

Julie’s most remarkable quality was her ability to say goodbye. I loved the scene where all of her pending messages flooded into her phone when she finally let go of Sam. The word “goodbye” is simple, but when it comes to family, I suck at saying it. After all, it entails separation, which I’m not very good at. Hahaha. Julie used to be as clingy as me, holding on to Sam for almost 300 pages. Both of us were so invested in their flashbacks and wished that the Sam-and-Julie reel would never end. But then she realized that saying goodbye didn’t strictly mean turning her back and forgetting him. Instead, it meant moving on and enjoying life while thinking of Sam now and then. Rereading the book’s last few pages before writing this not-so-objective review was a bad idea. UwU

Ultimately, I loved reading You’ve Reached Sam because its melancholic yet hopeful narrative changed my perspective on grief for the better. I did say farewell to Lolo Cris last November. However, borrowing Sam’s parting words, my grandpa will forever be a small piece of my world. If you’re planning to pick up this debut novel, be sure to prepare a roll of tissue and find someone to hug.

Grief is something that I could not relate to well and some books are able to bring out that feeling in me. Maybe this is not the best book that could give me that, but the way this is just a debut release? It is very promising! The way the characters are written might be the best part of this book and I can’t wait to read more from Dustin Thao.

This was...fine. It was definitely a lot longer than it needed to be and got repetitive in the middle. I really think this could have been a more emotional and impactful book if there hadn't been so many flashbacks and so many phone calls. It got to the point where I was just waiting for it to end.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, so it ended up being pretty disappointing for me. It wasn't terrible, but it was just meh overall.

This really tugged at all of my emotions! I'm not usually for books in this genre, but I thought the characterization was well done and I couldn't put it down.

The writing was okay but the longer chapters were not for me. You also really have to hype yourself up and prepare to read this book because you know it's super sad so I think that the beginning should start with shorter more gripping chapters. The writing style wasn't my favorite but I am open to trying more books from this author in the future.

I really don’t know how to rate this book to be honest. It broke my heart and made me teary. And it’s also very quick and easy to read. I absolutely adored Sam as a character. He is so kind, sweet and precious. He deserved all the happiness in the world and my heart breaks for him. I fell in love with him right from the first page. On the other hand, the main character Julie was kind of bland and underdeveloped. However, her relationship with Sam was so beautiful and pure. Nothing significant happened in the book other than Julie and Sam’s phone calls and some flashback scenes. It’s a book about grief and loss and about Julie getting a second chance for saying good bye and coming in terms with Sam’s death. But I just wish there was more. Maybe I would have preferred to have an explanation about how the phone calls were possible. I would have also liked more character development. The plot felt very one dimensional to me.

I knew this book was going to wreck me. At its core, this story is about all the different shades of grief and love. The concept is so relatable. What would we all do if we could pick up the phone and call a deceased loved one? How would we cope knowing that would be the last time we could talk to them?

Julie’s grief felt so real. I wish I could hug her through the pages of my book. I would be sad alongside her. Then, I’d read a flashback of her and Sam’s relationship, which put me in my feels. I loved seeing their relationship-- until I remembered Sam was dead, and my heart was broken all over again.

As I mentioned earlier, I knew this book was going to wreck me. And it did. But it was worth it.

*Arc provided by Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review."

"What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye."

Julie Clarke is grieving the sudden death of her boyfriend Sam. She's completely detached from the from everything associated with Sam's death. Skipping his funeral, throwing out his things when she decides to call his voicemail to hear him one last time. To her shock though, Sam answers from the other side giving Julie a second chance to say how she feels and process her grief.

I cried so hard by the time I got to the end of this. Julia and Sam were so well developed and every call I was worried would be their last. I'm pretty sure anyone who's lost someone they loved wishes they'd have just one more interaction with them. It was nice to see Julie have that, but the struggle of if something is hurting more than helping was really clear. Having the story take place over months instead of a few days was nice because it felt like a realistic time frame to process certain things. Overall, really enjoyed this one.

Sweet, tender, and emotional, with a really compelling concept - this is an honest and heartfelt exploration of grief and loss - exploring the different ways they affect us. I appreciated getting to know Oliver and Mika, as well as some of the other characters - but was a bit disappointed at how one dimensional Sam was. I get that we were supposed to see a really one-sided part of the relationship, but he felt like a manic pixie dream boy, and an idealization of a first love, and not like an in-depth, fully realized character. I thought this would be a new favourite, but unfortunately it was. a bit of a letdown. The story moved too slowly, and was in fact a bit boring. I would read more from the author, but unfortunately this wasn’t for me!

this didn't make me as emotional as i expected. even though it's understandable that julie wouldn't be a very likable main character due to her grief over sam's passing, i still couldn't find myself connecting to her. sam was also completely one-dimensional, and i felt like he existed only to support julie. even before he died, i didn't think their relationship was close enough to warrant the amount of grief that julie felt over his death.

The cover on this one completely drew my attention and shoved this book right onto my TBR before I could stop it. It’s a GREAT cover.

Unfortunately, the story itself fell flat for me. As much as I wanted to love this story, it failed to connect with my emotions. I fully expected emotional depth and teen angst (and buckets of tears), but I never felt either one was very present (and remained dry-eyed throughout). This prevented me from connecting well with the characters or the plot.

I didn’t understand the rules for the magical jumping around from scene to scene, and some felt quite jarring from one location to the next right in the middle of a key moment. It felt like the characters were time jumpers, but there was no indication that this was true in the story’s context.

I wasn’t sure why the leads had a scene of moving in together since during the whole story, each lead lived with their parents and were still in high school (when one of them wasn’t dead, that is).

The Eastern exchange students (from Vietnam and Thailand) had Westernized names (Rachel and Jay). My grandparents and my family had exchange students from all over Europe and Asia for years and years, and none of the Asian ones I remember had Westernized names. Maybe things are different now in the 2020s than they were in the 1990s and 2000s, but this felt unusual from my experience with dozens of exchange students. Also, in the various sports that I currently watch, Asian athletes tend to have more traditional names unless they were born and raised in Western countries (such as United States, England, etc.).

Are Green Tea KitKats a thing? I’ve never heard of these or seen them in any of the 48 Contiguous United States. Maybe they’re sold in Washington (the locale of the story) now, but they weren’t the last time I was there a few years back. Very interesting!

Are exchange student programs now longer than one year? My, how things change!

Why do characters tend to think Facebook and Twitter are as obsolete as MySpace these days? I realize TikTok is trendy at the moment, but I still see loads of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram users in my circles of writing buddies, followers, and friends, which ranges from young teens to folks in their seventies or older.

The environmental propaganda in this book was stereotypical for the West Coast. I’d love to see a fresh take on otherwise stereotypical topics like this one in fictional stories.

There was quite an excessive use of italics in this story. It drove the editing and writing sides of my brain wild, as Writing 101 and the most popular style manuals that such font styling ought to be used very sparingly and only for emphasis.

I so wanted to love this story, because its cover and back-cover blurb so intrigued me. The character of Yuki, from Japan, was my favorite. She felt the most realistic to me. I also loved that she had a traditional name and tried to be there for her friends in their time of need. Such a great character.

Content: alcohol, replacement expletives, replacement profanity, profanity, expletives, crude sexual terms, sexual perversion, mythology, superstition, skinny-dipping

This story has my whole heart. I loved getting to experience Julie's grieving process and her relationship with her friends while also living through some of her relationship with Sam. I cried and laughed and smiled while reading this book. The writing was beautiful and the concept was amazing. I really enjoyed this.

A thoughtful and unique premise, though I was not as emotionally touched by this because of the main character, who I felt was unlikeable.

This book was so heartwarming and heartrenching. I love how you got to see glimpses of Julie and Sams relationship back in the beginning of it all and then how it how progressed and straightened in the present. I hate how short the book was because I got so attached to both of the characters in such a short amount of time, I just wanted more of them.
My heart ached with Julie’s. I think the author did an amazing job at writing grief in such a strong, emotional, and believable way.

From the promising synopsis to the stunning cover, I really wanted to love this book. But I just did not like Julie. And while the book was certainly sad, it was not heartbreaking for me.

This was good! It was sweet and sad and bitter. Not a book to put you in a good mood. Which is fine! I thought the theme of death and all the weirdness of talking to her dead boyfriend was very well done. It wasn't strange, it was normal. You wonder what's happening, but in an intriguing way, not in a weird way. I liked it, but I don't think it reached the level I wanted it to reach.

I was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint. The novel really did a good job of portraying how everyone copes with the loss of a loved one in different ways and how alienated it can make someone feel. The pace of the novel was perfect, there was never a dull moment but it wasn’t too fast-paced either which gave the story time to breathe. I thought some of the phone calls could’ve been a little less repetitive, with Sam repeating the same things to Julie multiple times. The character of Julie was also sometimes annoying because of how stubborn she was but it did come from a good place most of the time. Overall it’s a fantastic debut novel from Dustin Thao and I already can’t wait to read his next project!

Thanks St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the digital copy in exchange of my honest feedback.