You've Reached Sam

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pacing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



So emotional.

This book deals with grief in such a realistic way.
I lost my father when I was a child. I never got to say goodbye and that eats at me everyday. I still need that closure. I need to speak to him again just like Julie did with Sam in this book. If I could ring my father now just to say the word “goodbye” I would.

I wasn't prepared for this book. It sent me spiralling. It shows how short life is and how at any moment you could just die. What happens when we die? No one knows and that's just so scary to me.
If I were to die young, I would just be a memory to those who loved me. If I were to die right now, I would forever be 22 years old in my loved ones memories for decades. I would be a passing thought in 20 years, I would be somewhat forgotten.

Do we move on and try and stop the grief when someone we loved dies? Or do we carry them with us for the rest of our lives and forever be somewhat sad? Death is natural, just as natural as eating, sleeping, breathing but why is it the hardest thing to deal with?

I lost my father and I'm currently losing my mother to illness and this book just reminded me that I have another chance to say goodbye and spend more time with loved ones. Life happens and its crazy and unpredictable and we could all become Julie one day.

Something to take away from this book is to live everyday without regrets. This is harsh but you could die any minute. LIVE YOUR LIFE.


—

In a less serious topic here, the two main characters share the same name with my pets hahaha
Julie is the name of one of my cats and I have a dog named sam

I was immediately drawn to this book after reading the synopsis and seeing the gorgeous cover, and I had high expectations for this one, but the story didn't quite engross me as I was expecting.

I understand that people have different ways of grieving, but some of her actions just came across as insensitive and selfish? She claims to be close with Sam's family, but she completely stops talking to Sam's mom and brother, who she claims to be very close with, and only talks to his cousin because Mika makes the effort.

The writing was easy to get into, and I did enjoy the flashbacks of how they met and their relationship developing, but I just didn't feel like the characters were fleshed out well. I couldn't empathize with Julie, and I couldn't see Sam beyond a memory. Although we were getting flashbacks, it just seemed like we were seeing a memory, and not Sam actually still alive. (I don't even know if that makes sense to you but I don't know how to explain this any better right now bc I'm running on 3hrs of sleep

I remember what it feels like to be young. I remember what it feels like to be a teenager, to be exact. Every single emotion felt like it was magnified, like my heart and my mind could not contain it. It felt like everything was too much. Like the whole universe was plotting against me.

Why me?

I tried hard to emphatize with Julie. I really did. Her boyfriend died, after all. The love of her young life is lost. I should feel her sadness, her grief, her disappontment, her loss. But I could not find it in myself to feel for Julie. The words are just mere... words. Nothing more, nothing less.

I don't exactly know why I should view the world from Julie's eyes. She's a bit too selfish, self-centered and very, for lack of word, colorless. She is the most boring main character I've ever stumbled upon. She's supposed to be a writer, but she is so lacking in personality it hurts my head.

This book is just not for me, I guess. I'm sure many could identify with the story, but not me. I just don't feel it.

My heart... my soul... I want to give Julie a big hug and hold her close.

While I was reading this book I was thinking of all the stages of grief, of all the different ways a person will grief, and how a simple thing can make you feel guilty for a life for something you never controlled. And the way grief was lived through the phone calls was excellent as an idea, but I wish we had more clear imagine of the two of them together and more plot on Julie's life after.

Its really difficult to put a star rating on this book. I think the idea was good, the writing the same, but the story lacked interest and the way it was written didn't help me love the characters in it. There were moments that I was bored, but I never felt the need to DNF, but it was a slow read.

I have to give it to the author though, that his idea behind the phone calls was excellent and I would love to read more books by him as he grows into his writing style.

“You never said good-bye...”“That's because I never thought I had to...”

I knew going into this book that it would hurt me. What I didn't realise was how profoundly it would touch me, even from the very first chapter.

This story explained grief in a way that I don't see too often in books, especially within the genre of Young Adult. People say that grief is handled differently by everyone but not too often is the truly ugly side of grief that is survivors guilt (even guilt in general) and the anger that comes with losing someone you love is spoken about in such a immeasurable way.

“Letting go isn't about forgetting. It's balancing moving forward with life, and looking back from time to time, remembering the people in it”

I've struggled with grief a lot in my life and I truly believe that this quote and the lesson that it teaches is something that we all need to hear. Making yourself feel numb and not allowing yourself to actually feel what's happening is so much easier than opening yourself up to the pain of what occurred. It's taken me years to understand that the pain is just a reminder that what we lost existed in the first place.

I haven't cried as hard as I have reading this book for a very long time. This was everything to me. I can't express how much I love this.

I haven't written a review quite this long in a while but I couldn't help myself. I needed to write down the intense feelings that this book made me feel. I was genuinely so surprised to learn that this was Dustin Thao's debut. I am so excited to read what comes next from this author.

”I miss you infinity.”

It had everything to be a good book but for me the ending ruined it, they didn't give answers to the questions that I'm sure a lot of people, including me, wanted to know
Like how did Sam call her?
Where was he?
Why did she not receive notification while having the connection with him?
Good book but disappointed

[MY RATING] 8.9/10
[SOME SPOILERS AHEAD IN CHARACTER + OVERALL SECTION]
[PLOT, WRITING, WORLD-BUILDING & PACING]
- GAH THIS WAS SO GOOD AND IT MADE ME SOB SO MUCH bc i was imagining myself in her shoes and sobbing because if this happened to me and my boyfriend i'd probably be worse than her when it comes to grieving and just imagining him picking up the phone would never ever let me get over his death so JSBGSKRGAEWGEG
- i dont remember much bc i read this in 2022 but am writing the review only now but YEA ALL I RECALL WAS THAT I SOBBED ALOT AND I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK and loved following the main character's grief journey while crying along with her.
- it was refreshing and great and overall i would reread this book whenever i feel like i need to cry and imagine that it's my boyfriend and I instead to cry more HAHAH

Julie and Sam have planned everything. Where they will live, where they will go to college, and all the little details that go into building a future. But the night Sam dies in a car accident, Julie gives up all hope for any future without Sam. Drowning in grief, Julie refuses to attend his funeral and sets herself on a path to forget everything. Until one night Julie calls Sam, desperate to hear his voice once more. And he picks up.

You’ve Reached Sam has the potential to be a powerful story about overcoming the loss of a loved one. And at the start of the novel, I loved the concept of Sam and Julie maintaining their connection beyond the grave. But the emotional connection wasn’t always present for me. Julie’s relationship with Sam is shown through flashbacks and moments where Sam and Julie reminisce over the phone. I wish there had been more of a foundation for their relationship. Watching the slow build-up of love and the sudden loss of it would have made a heavier impact.

However, the repercussions of Julie missing Sam’s funeral and the subsequent memorials for him made a huge impact on the story. Every character who had a connection to the couple shared their various opinions on Julie’s actions. And many in their own grief mistook her suffering as negligence. Witnessing Julie navigate through her various relationships and struggle to come to terms with her impact on them was complex and well done.

Sam’s phone calls showed firsthand how Julie was in denial over his death. How she wanted so desperately to never lose him. But the magical realism of the phone calls didn’t follow the flow of the story. It wasn’t just Julie’s progression through grief influencing them. Sharing her secret seemed to have the greater impact. Each time she gave a piece of her secret conversation away, it became harder to reach out to Sam. And yet Julie wasn’t moving forward to closure as quickly as the phone calls were. The ending left me wanting for more, and wishing for a tidier closure.

If you are looking to see if this type of fiction is right for you, pick up You’ve Reached Sam. It does not go as deeply into the stages of grief as some other YA novels, and you’ll be able to see if it is something you’d like to continue reading.

3.25 / the ending felt a tad bit rushed but it made me tear up nonetheless, although the ending is the only part out of the entire book that made me feel some sort of emotion

maybe it's just be though, books about grief don't really affect me much, i'm not sure why because it's not like i can't relate in some sort of aspect, it's just not as hard hitting is all.

It was a sweet book and I'm appreciative of the focus on grief but I was so bored for like 90% of the book. I knew a lot of people love it so I wanted to finish it but I was somewhat disappointed because it was not nearly as emotionally intense as I expected... I didn't shed a single tear. I liked seeing the characters connect and grow together but it wasn't a huge selling point for me. The writing was overall good but it was just too dense in some points and the chapters were way too long. I also think that if the book had started earlier in the characters timeline I would've enjoyed it more because I would've been able to feel the devastation myself.

I SOBBED LIKE A BITCH!!!!! I CRIED SINCE I OPENED THE BOOK...HOW CAN A BOOK MAKE U CRY THIS MUCH!!! THIS BOOK HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART❤️❤️ LITERALLY!!! I WAS SCREAMING CRYING LIKE SOMEBODY DIED!!! I DONT THINK ANOTHER BOOK CAN TOP SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!! THE MESSAGE WAS BEAUTIFUL...THE ENDING WAS BEAUTIFUL... THIS WHOLE FUCKING BOOK WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!! P.S. I CRIED 500 TIMES!! FROM THE BEGINNING, THE MIDDLE, THEN THE END!!! SOBBED THROUGHOUT THE BOOK!!!! IF ONLY THIS CAN HAPPEN IN RL SO WE CAN SAY GOODBYE TO THE PERSON FOR THE FINAL TIME❤️... I recently lost my cat 4 days after my birthday.. ya I understand she not a person but she was my best friend the only think that kept me alive when I was going through hard times!! But the thing was she was coming to me in the middle of the night to sleep in my bed... To sleep on my body but she collapsed on my bedroom floor!! This book was hard to read so if u lost somebody please be careful ❤️

“Sam's voice comes through the phone. “Hey—so, I'm not sure if I should do this ... Or if it will even work. I probably should have said this to you over the phone, but we ran out of time. Or maybe, the truth is, I was scared you would think of me differently ... That is, if you knew why I picked up the phone that first time—” He pauses. “Before we hung up, you said something that made me feel a bit guilty. You said I picked up your call that night because you needed me. I guess part of that is true. But that isn't the reason I answered.” A long pause. “The truth is ... I picked up because—because I needed you. I needed to hear your voice again, Julie. Because I wanted to make sure you didn't forget me. You see, I took you to all those places—like the fields, to see the stars that night—so that you'd always remember. So that whenever you looked up at the sky at night, you'd think of me. Because I didn't want to let you go yet. I never wanted to say good-bye, Jules. And I never wanted you to, either. That's why I stayed as long as I could. So don't blame yourself for anything. It was me that was keeping you from your life. Maybe it was a bit selfish of me. But I was just so scared you'd forget. I realize now I made it a lot harder for you to move on. And I hope you forgive me for that.” Sam pauses again. “Remember back in the fields, when I asked what you wanted ... if you could have anything? Well—I want those things, too, Jules. I want to be there with you. I want to graduate with you guys. I want to move out of Ellensburg, and live with you, and grow old together. But I can't.” Another pause. “But you still can. You can still have all those things, Julie. Because you deserve them. And you deserve to fall in love a dozen times, because you are kind and beautiful, and who wouldn't fall in love with you? You're one of the best things to ever happen to me. And when I think about my life, I think of you in it. 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.” Static comes through the line. “I love you more than you can ever know, Julie. I'll never forget the time we had together. So please don't forget me, okay? Try to think of me from time to time. Even if it's only for a moment. It would mean so much. You have no idea.” A long pause, followed by static. “I should go now. Thank you ... for not picking up the phone this time. Good-bye, Julie.”

^^that fucked me up BIG TIME!! A BITCH WAS HEARTBROKEN ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽

Will I read this again?? HELL NAH WELL MAYBE

This book and it's characters fell flat for me, I was annoyed at the main character and I really didn't like the way the emotions between Sam and Julie were explained and not shown.
I guess I now know that I don't like romance books where there are no possible outcome in which the characters in love could end up together (when one is dead). This feeling of dullness also showed it's face when I read another book of the same type(If I stay), although this one had a chance of recovery because the “dead” character was in a coma. The same memory based love story didn't engage me at all and I couldn't feel the emotions of the characters in both this book and If I stay. Towards the end, I was so annoyed I had to force myself to finish it even though I was reading it in the audiobook version.
So I guess maybe I would recommend this book to someone who also loved If I stay.
Meanwhile one of my favorite book is PS:I Love You from Cecelia Ahern which treats of a similar subject but in a way that I really felt deeply for in every bone of my body.
Either way I didn't like this book and after all the hype it received I was expecting a lot more...