You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is a definite tear-jerker that many will likely relate to. Oftentimes, we've had those moments where we wish we could have shared a proper goodbye with someone who's unexpectedly lost and Thao certainly gets that with You've Reached Sam.

3.5/5

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

The premise of the novel gave me everything I wanted and more. However, I am disappointed with the execution. Everyone processes their grief in many ways, and I am not judging Julie's grief. I am disappointed at how she acted and how one-sided all her relationships were. She was the person who would always take and never give, I found it difficult to connect with her.
Overall, I am quite disappointed with this book because it was highly anticipated but I may read Thao's other works.

You've Reached Sam follows Julie who loses her boyfriend suddenly. She somehow manages to reach Sam through the phone, but with this second chance to talk to Sam again, will she be able to say goodbye?

You've Reached Sam is a very sad book about death and loss, but considering it carries these heavy and sad topics it manages to be about life as well. And it is really beautiful! It explores how people react differently when they lose someone, as well as the guilt of being alive while someone else is dead. Overall, I think the book managed to do exactly what it wanted. 4/5 stars.

You've Reached Sam sounds like a great story. But it definitely isn't for me. I tried and I gave up. Sorry.

what a push-and-pull experience this book was for me. i spent half the time with my heart torn up from julie's grief and the other frustrated with her as an MC. firstly, i loved the way this book focuses on showing a different side of mourning: the uglier side where you sometimes turn selfish because all you can think about is what you've lost. and while it doesn't make for a very likeable MC, it does make for a realistic one. secondly, the prose is great. it has an almost poetic vibe which fits the magical realism themes. the premise is so intriguing in getting to speak to someone who has passed on and its execution is just as good. i also thought the pacing was really well done and didn't feel that the book lagged in any particular spot. however, i just had a rough time with julie sometimes. the way she repeatedly hurt others around her who had lost just as much as she had rubbed me the wrong way. and the way she disrespected sam's wishes and boundaries a few times was also a disappointment to me. regardless, i did enjoy this book for what it was: a character-driven novel about the ugly side of mourning and learning to let go. i'm definitely going to give dustin thao's future books a try.

What would you do if you were given a second chance to say goodbye someone who died?

Julie is devastated when her boyfriend Sam tragically dies. Even worse, the kids at her school are blaming her for his death. Julie and Sam had big plans together, from going to the same college, to moving out of town and living together. But now, Julie is left alone with her plans and she never even got a chance to say goodbye.

Julie calls Sam's phone one night, just to hear his voicemail recording, and she gets the surprise of a lifetime. Sam answers her call. Neither one of them really know why or how they are able to talk, or for how long, but it is Julie's chance to get some of the answers and closure she didn't get surrounding Sam's unexpected death.

This book has so many mixed reviews and I am very surprised. I loved this book and all of the emotions it made me feel. I thought the story line was interesting, I liked the characters, and I wanted Sam and Julie to fulfill all of the plans they had made.

I can't tell you the last time I cried because of a book. I think it has happened MAYBE twice before, and it was many, many years ago while reading a Nicholas Sparks novel. This book was beautiful but it destroyed my heart. It seemed so authentic and pure and sincere that I wonder if the author had experienced a situation similar to this and dreamed the outcome of this book could be real.

I can't praise this book highly enough. I am sorry that I didn't read it sooner, and I'm also mourning the ending and the story being over. 5 stars, a wonderful, yet tragic, read.

Well-written and full of emotion. I do wish the "before" chapter was longer -- you get most through flashbacks but I would have liked to feel a little more invested. In love with the cover art!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

You've Reached Sam was a touching and heartfelt look at young love and grief. Dustin Thao's writing is lush, and the characters in You've Reached Sam are written wonderfully.

This book was good, but not as amazing as everyone was saying it is. I liked it, but the writing was a little choppy in a lot of places. A lot of room for improvement, but I enjoyed it enough for 4 stars.

This book was sad and attempted to tackle some heavy themes. I had some issues with the magical phone. I feel like there was just something off about this story, and I recently read another book that did something similar and was able to do it better.

I always, always shy away from books where I know a character dies. But considering I knew Sam was dead before the book began I figured I would be able to handle it. And this book still brought me to tears (in a great way!) several times over. All of the characters felt real and each their own. The flashbacks as dream sequences were so fluid that it never took me out of staying in the present. All of the characters held a maturity and immaturity to them that was so realistic to the situation and their place in life. I was left feeling wrung dry but highly satisfied. Absolutely a five star read.

This. was. so. GOOD. I expected this to break my heart, and it definitely delivered on that front. I loved that book when I read it so that left me really excited for this one. I loved how it jumped between then and now so there was a full look at Sam and Julie's relationship. It was really intense for how short it was but I found their love super believable, which made it all the more heartbreaking.
I think Julie's struggles with grief seemed like an accurate depiction to me, and one that you don't see often in books. It makes her a bit of an unlikeable character which was an interesting twist. Seeing her transformation throughout the book
made me root for her all the more.

While I was reading this book I was sure I would cry my eyes out and guess what?? I was right!!! the book isn't perfect and it feel a bit off sometimes, but overall I loved it. I honestly don't know what I would do on a similar situation and the thought of losing a loved one makes me want to cry, so yeah. Emotions all over the place! I will definitely more books from this author.

I really loved this book. It a quick read and you're 100% in it. The writing style was good I experienced the emotions of the characters

Julie was an interesting character to follow, and though I didn’t quite love her specifically, I did love what Thao explored with her. To me, it was not an issue that she was “unlikeable” or “annoying” as other readers might call her, because her story was about working through her grief in whatever forms it might have been, whether or not it was kind to herself or others. Her character development was a beautiful examination of learning how to hold on to people after they have gone, without holding them or herself back. The fact that Julie becomes a bit insensitive and prickly is a testament to the exceptional ways a loss of a loved one can affect people, especially when juxtaposed with how others grieve for Sam.

In fact, if you’re not emotionally invested in this book, you probably will not enjoy it, because the plot is a bit repetitive (and the beginning is particularly stagnant). Though Thao explores the relationships Julie has with other people, mainly those also affected by Sam’s death, this is more the story of Julie’s personal growth in relation to grief and letting go. And since I lacked a strong connection to the story most of the time, the book felt dragged out even though I knew the character development that was taking place. There really isn’t much else to latch on to as an uninvested reader; the writing is sometimes beautiful with its imagery, and other times leaves much to be desired with its clunkiness and lack of emotion. And though the other side characters and the way their grieving intersects with Julie’s are interesting, they aren’t given a lot of page time in favor of focusing on Julie’s arc.

You've Reached Sam was such a beautiful and poignant story about what it means to be afraid to move on and that same fear keeping you from living a fulfilling life. I felt like this story was a great balance of heartbreak and healing. Julie has to find a way to move on after a fatal accident that takes Sam away from her. One day she calls Sam's phone and he answers. No one understands how or why it's possible, but over a string of events, we start to uncover what really happened the night of Sam's death and why it's so difficult for Julie to move on. I think the part I loved the most about this book was the message that sometimes holding on to the things that have pained us the most in life, keeps us from experiencing new and loving moments. The pacing was my only issue, as I felt like we kind of flew through some of the memories that I think would have helped establish a better foundation for their love and their relationship. Overall, still, an extremely solid story that I would recommend to readers of any age.

I love a good book that destroys you emotionally! This was excellent in every way. The characters' emotions came across the page so well. I appreciated the way this book dealt with grief in a real way. It was a real treat to read!

You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is an interesting book that I’m sure many will enjoy. However, this one was not for me. It took me an extremely long time to get through and I was left not really caring about details and just wondering what was going on.

Again, I am sure this book will be more enjoyable to others so I do not want to discredit the author and the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You’ve Reached Sam is a magical realism portrayal of grief and loss, and it hit hard. As someone who’s been through grief — though not of a boyfriend — the portrayal struck me as very real and heart wrenching.