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.

This book is amazing! I adored the way the history was told from the character's perspective. It's a unique. It realy has a beautiful writing. I can't wait to read more works of this author.

This book was one of my most anticipated books last year and it did not disappoint. Although the premise seemed extremely heart-breaking this was a book was heart-warming and this book did everything it promised to do and more. It made my heart ache for all the characters involved within the story, and it made me want to live my life to the fullest.
Julie and Sam have their lives planned out; move away from their town, spend the summer in Japan and then aspire to follow their careers as a writer and musician. Then Sam unexpectedly dies. When she skips the funeral, throws his things out and tries to erase him from her life. When she decides to ring his phone desperate to hear his voice, she does not expect him to pick the phone up.
This novel is not very plot driven however, the characters and the writing make the main part of the book. The writing is beautiful and lyrical and really reflects the feeling of grief throughout. Julie’s self-narrative of tackling her way through her grief throughout and her character came across so believable. Although in some situations she came across as unlikeable, I think that was a accurate portrayal of how people struggle through their grief and how everyone deals with their problems in their own way. Seeing her develop and transform throughout the book and to watch her heal was both beautiful and heart-breaking.
However, another character that’s grief truly was heart-breaking was Mika. Mika makes the reader emphasize with her pain and you just want to hug her because its so painful losing someone that close to you. I feel like Julie felt like the pain was her own, but Sam’s family is also struggling, and it was so important that the book showed the way one person can impact so many people’s lives.
The dual narrative added to the heart-breaking aspect of the story because you got to see how Sam and Julie was and their interactions before Sam’s death. Their relationship was filled out fully within the book because you got to see them at the prime of their relationship and how it developed to that point rather than the reader having to imagine what their relationship was.
This book showed a huge development of the characters, and it was beautiful to see other relationships develop throughout not just the two main character. You hear all the characters and that is beautiful in itself. Even though you do not get to see as much as I wanted, I feel as though Sam’s character was my favourite and I felt connected to him through the beautiful writing of his character.
This book ended up being a four and a half stars for me. I cried, I laughed, I felt every emotion because it all felt very real to me. The cover is beautiful and sums up the story perfectly. I will definitely be picking up more by Dustin Thao in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for a review!

A young adult contemporary that takes a look at loss and grief with a bit of magical object. Julie faces decisions about what her next adventures in life will be after high school, and how those plans might change with Sam's passing. This story also focuses on first love and supportive friendships. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I liked this one. I loved how well Julie and Sam worked together. The book is just about 300 pages, so not very long, yet the author managed to create a believable relationship, which was essential since it is the focus of the story.

While I think the book explored grief and guilt in an interesting way, sadly it never had quite the impact I was hoping for. But grief varies so greatly from one person to another, there’s no wrong way to portray it; it’s simply that I didn’t quite connect with it.

I enjoyed the writing though, and while I don’t read much YA these days, I’ll be curious to see what Dustin Thao comes up with next.

I'm just going to dive right in. I have very mixed feelings about You've Reached Sam. Alone, I'd rate this 3 stars, but I also gave it to my 15 year old to read and it was 5 stars for her. So, I'm going to average those out to 4 stars. So, if you're a teen or thinking about getting this for a teen... I'd say do it. And probably don't read the rest of this. Adult YA lovers... I'd say this review is really more for you.

I think this is one of those times (rare though they may be) that I struggled with this book because of my age. Because of the life experiences I have already amassed in my 37 years. There is a part of me that can understand the confusion and the pain of losing your first love in such a manner. But a larger part of me sees a child who was hurting deeply and who no one truly tried to help. Sees a girl who was actively causing herself and others more pain and no one tried to stop her. Where was her mother? Even her father, though he lived out of town. Or a teacher? Anyone to even attempt to guide a lost and confused 18 year old through her first experience with loss and grief.

Through my teenager's eyes, I can see the beauty in getting to say goodbye in your own time. Of getting to give others the same gift. But through a mother's eyes, I would never want my child to experience grief that way. To be trapped in a past that no longer exists. To continue to hope for a future that can never happen. To refuse to live in the present.

Aside from Julie's grief, there were just some general life things that kept sticking out to me as just not how an 18 year old goes through life. Like the number of times I swear Julie ran from one end of town to the other or how two 18 year olds were planning to get an apartment in Portland right out of high school while one was a college freshman and the other tried to get music gigs or the entire timeline of getting college acceptance letters/rejections and then graduating without having committed to a school. Some of these things just are plausible and many senior year things, like college decisions have known timelines that are adhered to. I get that the book is fiction, but if you're going to be contemporary fiction, please pay attention to how events happen in the real lives of people the same age as your MC.

Like I said, this was just one of those times where my adult years just couldn't mesh with the YA book. I've done grief. Many times. And I just couldn't get behind this portrayal of it.

This truly was a beautiful story, but it didn’t make me cry as I expected to. I don’t really have anything bad to say about this book. I guess my expectations were a bit too high for this one.
At times, I was a bit bored with the story. Near the end, I started to be more aware of the story I guess.
I really wanted to LOVE this one. But I’ll just keep it to: I liked this one :)

God this book was beautiful. I loved it. The growth shown by the mc was inspiring. The ending was bittersweet but sometimes its better to let go than hold on. Loved loved it!

You've Reached Sam is a debut YA contemporary with a little speculative twist, following seventeen-year-old Julie. As high school is coming to an end, she thinks she has her future planned - moving out of her small town with her boyfriend, Sam, attending college in the city taking writing courses, and spending the summer in Japan among the cherry blossom trees. But then Sam dies, and Julie has a hard time coping with her new reality. Heartbroken, Julie deletes all sam's messages, throws out everything that reminds her of him, and avoids his funeral, but a message Sam left in her yearbook causes old memories to come flooding back. Desperate to hear his voice one last time, Julie calls Sam's number, and miraculously he answers. Suddenly, Julie has the chance to say goodbye, but with this restored connection, no matter how temporary, it starts to become even harder to let go.

I was able to get this on NetGalley when it was a Read Now option, and I did truly try to read it before its release. I had probably started it at least three times, but I never felt I was in the right headspace and didn't want my thoughts to be negatively affected. So I took my time, put myself on the waitlist for the audiobook from my library, and picked it up when it was finally my turn to listen. I can definitely see why this book got a lot of hype around its release, it was a great book that explored grief in a very specific way, and how someone might react to getting a second chance to talk to their loved one after they've passed away. Julie holds a lot of guilt at the beginning of the book - Sam dies when driving, on his way to pick her up at a bus stop, and there are times when she replays the events of that day wondering if things would have been different if she hadn't ignored his calls. She blocks everyone out and gets rid of all Sam's things because she thinks it'll make things easier. When Julie witnesses the suffering Sam's family endures after his death, she finds herself wondering if sharing this chance to talk to Sam one last time is worth of risk of possibly severing the connection for good. I'm a bit torn because on one hand, I really would have enjoyed further development for the side characters, like Sam's family and Julie's friends at school, but on the other hand by focusing on Julie it really highlights just how dependent Julie becomes on her calls with Sam, and how instead of helping her heal they seem to further isolate her. I sometimes thought the pacing was a bit off and felt the ending was rushed, but overall I enjoyed my time with this debut and would recommend picking it up if you're interested.

This was a DNF for me - just wasn't my cup of tea at the time. I can't handle sad books right now and this one seems sad! Maybe I will come back to it at another time!

I'll admit when I read the first few chapters that I wasn't sure how to feel about it. After reading it now, I know exactly how I feel about it. This is a beautiful story; it notes the importance of letting go of what or who you've lost, while acknowledging that it's alright to mourn, as well to remember the past you've had with them. I highly recommend everyone read this book.





**I also loved that the book has 18 chapters, as 18 corresponds with חי (life), and in my culture it is a number that represents celebrating someone's life

*This review may contain slight spoilers!*
The emotional impact of this story was insane. Page 10 and I had genuine tears in my eyes. Throughout my reading experience, I would start tearing up at random intervals. Thao’s writing is absolutely beautiful and poetic. He captures grief and love in a way that makes loving someone just to lose them worth it. The entire time I was reading, I kept hoping for some magical intervention that would bring Sam back together with Julie. But the bittersweet ending makes the reader, and Julie, realize that no matter where someone is, they will always be with you as a part of you. No matter how young they are, it is clear that Sam and Julie have left irreversible marks on each other’s souls and Thao illustrates this beautifully. Definitely read this book if you are looking for a good but satisfying cry.

I really liked how grief was approached, because in Julie's journey it is shown in a way full of ups and downs, in addition to being shown in other ways to those around her, and the highlight for me was the developing new connections (as well as reinforcing existing ones) between characters who are dealing with the same things.

Julie's selfishness irritated me at times, but overall I can understand her actions, as in a good portion of the calls Sam's presence seemed to do her a disservice to her moving on.

There is a whole thing about doing readings that match the seasons (like "hot girl summer") and this book gave me the perfect reading mood for winter, a mixture of melancholy with good times and memories worthy of being read under the covers while drinking a hot beverage

I was so excited for this book and that cover is absolutely stunning but unfortunately it just didn’t grab my attention like I had hoped.

This book was unexpected. This story is about loss and the yearning to talk to that person one more time. It is well written and it captures the true sadness of loss. Thank you netgalley for complimentary copy.
While it captures a beautiful love story it alway breaks your heart at the loss of hopes and dreams they once shared.

2.5 stars

Julie can't wait to leave the small town she lives in and go to college with her boyfriend Sam. However, her plans are derailed when Sam dies unexpectedly.
Grief-stricken, Julie shuts herself away from everyone. Then when she calls Sam's phone desperate to hear his voice, the last thing she expects is for Sam to answer.
Julie has the chance to speak to Sam again, but can she let him go?

Going into this book, I was looking forward to reading it as both the cover and blurb intrigued me.
I found Julie quite frustrating at times. While I did feel sorry for her at the beginning, as time went on, I felt less and less sorry for her and instead found her to be selfish and thoughtless.
There were some flashbacks that showed how Julie and Sam's relationship developed, but I couldn't really feel the connection between the two of them, so didn't feel particularly invested or emotional in what happened.
While this was a fast read, the plot didn't grip or surprise me.
My favourite part of the book was probably Julie's character development, but it was too little too late for me.
The writing style wasn't one of my favourites and I found some of the dialogue to be odd and clunky.
This book didn't end up meeting my expectations, unfortunately, despite having a promising premise. But while I found this book underwhelming, I can definitely see other people enjoying it more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.