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.

You've Reached Sam is a story about love, loss, and what it means to say goodbye.

CW: Racism, grief, death of a boyfriend, car accident

This book gave me all the feels. My best friend lost her boyfriend our senior year of high school and the feelings Julie experienced took me back to my discussions with my friend. Especially feeling like others blamed you for what happened, when the ones that really matter, like family, never did.

You've Reached Sam made me cry, it made me think about what would happen if I lost my partner. I loved the concept of Sam being able to contact Julie because they're still connected on their phones. I love that this book discussed how healing takes time and sometimes you really need the chance to say goodbye.

I enjoyed watching the past unfold so that we could understand Julie and Sam's relationship. I also appreciated how Dustin Thao discussed how Sam's death affected everyone around him, not just Julie.

If you're ready to be have all the feels, read this book.

We follow Julie in her senior year as she grapples with the loss of her boyfriend. The prologue was beautifully written detailing how she met Sam and his importance in her young life. Julie tries to forget about Sam at first, seemingly throwing away everything and everyone who became a part of her through Sam. We follow her as she tries to understand how to deal with her grief and the reminders of him in her life.

I thought this was well written and an engaging story. I think it details an important lesson Julie is learning through her grief that life can go on and everything will be ok. I did think the ending was a little rushed and some aspects might have been too ‘happy’ for me. Nobody gets this many chances with the people they lost. Julie can learn, and the readers through her, that she may have to find her own closure without Sam handing it to her. I’d be interested in that story as a truthful recount of people who have lost their beloved so young.

This was exactly the bittersweet, painful, healing novel I needed. We almost all go through grief right now and this book helped me face mine. Julie wasn't always a character I could relate to, but I know that everyone faces death and grief differently, so it didn't bother me too much and didn't hinder my enjoyment of the book. Please be careful: this book will make you cry, and I suggest being in the right mood for it before reading it.

This story will break your heart and then put it back together, piece by piece. Great characters and spin on the question we all ask ourselves when dealing with loss: what would you say if you got to speak to that person one more time?

I’m not much of a contemporary fiction reader, but I decided to request for an ARC of this novel because the plot sounded interesting and there was an amount of hype going around for it. However, for me, this story just missed on everything I was looking forward for.

The plot felt a little slow at times, and I felt like most of it never moved forward enough, with too much of a focus on characters and not enough on the world and how they interacted with it. The number of flashbacks used, while understandable considering this book was about Julie dealing with the passing of Sam, just felt like a drag, and brought down the level of excitement to the story.

The characters on the other hand, felt a lot more vivid and drawn out, and were the only thing that got me through. Julie and her grief were excellently written, and the prose at times felt heart wrenching, drawing me in, but ultimately failing to capture me due to the slow movement of the plot.

Overall, this wasn’t an awful book, I just don’t think it was one for me and I definitely would recommend for any contemporary fans out there!

*I received a free e-book through Netgalley, this in no way influenced my review*

This book was simply beautiful.
I don’t have many words to talk about this book without spoiling things for other readers, but I just can say that any person who already has had to deal with grief in their life, should pick up this book.

I, personally, never had a close relative die on me before and certainly not in the situation in this book.
Our main character gets a second chance to talk to Sam by calling him on their phone.

You’ve Reached Sam is a story about moving on, letting go, but also being allowed to look back from time to time.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc

I usually separate my reviews into plot and character, but the plot and characters are intertwined here as the plot is about the main character, Julie, overcoming the grief of her boyfriend passing and still talking to him on the phone.

I definitely teared up at times reading this, as by premise alone it's pretty emotional. I wish I felt more connected to Julie and Sam while reading, but their characters alone didn't particularly draw me to the story.

I think the point of this story is how our lives are made up of more than just one person, and that their are lots of important relationships in our (or at least Julie's life) and while I thought there was a lot of potential in all of the relationships Julie had with the characters beyond Sam, I felt we only got to a surface level in all of them. I would've preferred this novel if we'd delved into a few characters intensely instead a lot of characters briefly.

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

4.5 stars

"You won't just leave again?" "I promise, Julie. I'll stay as long as I can."

You've Reached Sam was a story of grief and growth. I wasn't expecting to come out of this crying, but those last two chapters hit me really hard. Over the course of the story, I fell in love with both Julie and Sam. These are two characters that I'm sure will stick with me for a very long time. Their dreams for each other felt so natural and I found myself dreaming alongside them.

I'll definitely be rereading this book once it is published if only to relive the beautiful imagery throughout the story. All in all it was an amazing book and I'm excited to see what others think.

Thoroughly immersive and moving, You’ve Reached Sam will connect with a wide variety of YA readers. Emotional and heart-breaking, the narrative is still quick paced enough to engage even reluctant readers. Perfect for fans of emotional, character-driven stories. Highly recommended.

This book wasn’t bad but was not what I wanted or expected. I was mostly bored throughout the reading experience. The characters didn’t feel realistic and I didn’t connect with them separately or as a couple. The writing felt basic and didn’t do anything to keep me interested. I might read the final version since I got such an early copy but overall this was pretty disappointing.

There is a lot I like about this book but there were also some things that I didn’t care for. This book is about loss. Seventeen year old Julie is struggling with the sudden death of her boyfriend, Sam. She is so consumed by grief that she shuts everyone and everything out.

Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone. Sam tells her that their phones have a connection and he is only able to talk to her. He also tells her their time is limited. What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye?

The book goes back and forth before Sams death and after. I didn’t enjoy the way the story played out that way. I felt like it was choppy. There were also a lot of characters who didn’t do anything for the storyline. The main characters were well thought out and written. There was also a lot of different things going on in the book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the story I just wish it wasn’t so choppy. It was a quick and touching read.

I’m actually not sure what made me request this ARC, but I’m so happy I did. This story was beautiful and painful and far more profound than its Young Adult label will ever get credit for. I’m not going to lie; both husband and dog came into the bedroom to check on me when they heard how loudly I was sobbing at this story.

In this poignant novel, high school senior Julie has her entire future planned out - leaving her small town behind to attend college in the city with her boyfriend, Sam. But when Sam dies, everything changes. In her grief, she calls Sam’s phone to hear his voicemail, only to find herself actually talking to Sam. Somehow, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. But when does the process of saying goodbye turn into holding on to something she can never have? The opening sentence grabbed me right away, even if I was slightly confused about what was happening at first. I deeply appreciate the respect Dustin Thao has for his characters. Sometimes I feel like YA novels (or society in general) don’t take teenagers seriously and minimize their pain. Julie’s profound sense of loss is represented with the depth of emotions it deserves, and, as an adult reader, I felt it hard.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

I had a hard time following the timeline of flashbacks. I agree with Thao’s choice to not let the reader follow the love story first and then rip it away, but by showing random moments out of order was confusing for me. If he had shown them in order or maybe even given some dates, it would have been a lot easier to follow.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is the novel you didn’t know you needed to read, until you’ve read it.

I don’t have enough words to describe how beautiful this novel is. It absolutely broke my heart, and I honestly which I would have been able to read it in one sitting because I truly did not want to put it down. Grief is a very difficult thing, I wish I would have been given the chance to speak to someone on the phone too. It’s a beautiful novel about friendship, love, life, death, grief and learning to move on. Julie being given the chance to talk on the phone to Sam is a way to help her say goodbye and move on with her life, but also for Sam to be able to move on too even though moving on doesn’t mean you have to forget the person. But before they both get to actually move on, Sam still has presents to give to Julie and things to show her and Julie still wants to get to make sure Sam will be remembered and that is dream about his music will come true.

You can feel the pain that every characters feels. You get to know so many of them, and how they were connected to Sam. I wish we could have known more about some of them, like more memories connected to Sam (for example for Oliver, I truly wished we would have seen more of him and Sam and even him and Julie).

This book is about grief and about moving on after losing someone. Even though I liked the premise of the book, there were 2 aspects that I didn’t quite enjoy: first, I particularly disliked the MC, not because the way she was grieving, because each person griefs differently, but by the way she was before the tragedy - she came across as rude and sometimes entitled (to a point I wish she was the one who died); the second aspect is the magic realism itself. I don’t feel it was explored enough and we don’t really understand how it works/is possible, and leaves us completely blind to the “rules”.⁣ In the end, even though it’s a pretty fast book to read, I couldn’t get past these two aspects.

Thank you to St Martins Press, Wednesday books and of course Dustin Thao for the ARC of this book. You've Reached Sam is a Young Adult Contemporary Fiction Noval, aimed at the Teen/YA crowd.

This book covers the teenage love story of Julie and Sam, and the gaping hole left in her life when he passes away unexpectedly. Julie is heartbroken at the loss copes the only way she knows how, by trying to forget. But Sam doesn't let her.

Despite being a book about death and grief it is actually surprisingly light and refreshing. It flicks back and forwards to before the accident and after the accident.

A pleasant read.