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.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

A unique and intriguing concept. I liked how it had both past and present scenes. Full of emotion, really makes you feel for the characters.

You’ve Reached Sam seemed like the kind of book that would rip my heart out and have me sobbing by the end. But I was wrong. This YA contemporary had all the makings of a good emotional read that would break you. But it ruins that by giving you a very unlikeable MC. I immediately disliked Julie, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt since she was grieving. But the flashbacks didn’t help her. It was very frustrating as a reader trying to connect with a character who frustrates you so much. I also would have liked to know more about the phone calls. WHY and HOW would have been some pretty good questions to answer. I don’t like not fully understanding a big part of the plot. While I didn’t care for Julie, I did like Sam. We don’t get a lot of him, but I did like what I saw. The romance in the flashbacks was a bit cheesy, but nothing wrong with a bit of cheesy love. I just wish their relationship was a bit better developed so that maybe I could have been a bit more emotionally invested. Overall, I do really wish I liked this one more. I thought going into it that I was going to love it. Bit disappointed that I didn’t.

Julie and Sam have been together 3 years. Sam dies. Julie shuts down. One night she desperately calls his phone and he answers. To begin with, I need to embrace that I don’t really like most YA romance anymore. This story was cheesy and immature like many YA, and is less romance than grief based. This book was not bad but I personally didn’t enjoy it. I was uninvested in what was happening and just eager to be done. Sam felt very one-dimensional and hard to be invested in. Julie wasn’t overly likable. None of the side characters stood out.

Side note: There were three guys that it felt she could have ended up with as she moved on and found myself distracted trying to figure out who it might be. Which wasn’t the point of the story AT ALL.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

All about grief, pain, and regret after losing a loved one; filled with mourning, yearning, and the longing for a passing presence, this debut almost redefines romance—and sharing anything more can almost take away from the reading experience. In all honestly, this book is very, very sad and definitely guarantees tears but it's almost something still worth picking up for the glimmering stones of happy memories on a tapestry of lost love—like a day of rain you're willing to endure for the tiny glimpse of a rainbow.

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.