A review by girlonbooks
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

☕☕☕☕(four stars as rated in cups of coffee from the shop where our love story began)

I was given a free review copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's been only a few days since Sam died just weeks before his high school graduation. Julie, his bereaved girlfriend, can not cope. Really, she refuses to cope. Beside herself with grief - and guilt surrounding the circumstances of his death - Julie retreats into herself in the days that following the accident that changed her life. She is determined to push it all away; to block everyone and everything out. That is until one night she breaks down and calls Sam's phone just to listen to his voicemail one last time. She knows she shouldn't. She knows it won't help her heal. And she knows she must be losing it when Sam picks up the phone.

“Who are you writing for again?" Mr. Lee asks, arching a brow. He asked me this before. I know the answer he wants to hear. I write for myself. I'm not sure what this really means, though. I can't help caring about what people think, especially about my writing. "We have too many voices inside our heads. You have to pick out the ones that mean something to you. What story do you want to tell?”

This book is a treasure from SO many different angles. The unhelpful and unwarranted manifestations of Julie's grief was especially palpable to me personally. We get to see all these layers of her mourning process - starting with denial and even bargaining - that ultimately lead her to a place of reluctant acceptance. When my dad died I remember my friend telling me, "It's ok if you grieve now or if you grive in six months. There really is no schedule and however you do it is okay." I certainly needed to hear that at the time because there is absolutely nothing graceful about bereavement. Loss is a messy process. Watching Julie sabotage herself with a deep and desperate sadness that bordered on frustrating for me as a reader, was honestly a brilliant move by Thao. You've Reached Sam will speak to anyone that has had to say goodbye to a loved one or, honestly, anyone that has watched someone else have to do the same. In my experience, it can be nearly as devastating to witness someone tearing them-self apart with anguish as it can be to experience it personally.

✨ Rep in this book: Multiple East Asian characters, gay supporting character

✨ Content warnings for this book: car accident, divorce, death of a partner, trauma, grief, racism, bullying
Expand filter menu Content Warnings