You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

You've Reached Sam

by Dustin Thao

Published by Wednesday Books on June 25, 2024
Setting: Ellensburg, Washington
Genres: YA Romance Fantasy
Pages: 303
Format: Audible Audiobook, Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback
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If I Stay meets Your Name in Dustin Thao's You've Reached Sam , a heartfelt novel about love and loss and what it means to say goodbye.

Seventeen-year-old Julie Clarke has her future all planned out―move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city; spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes.

Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his belongings, and tries everything to forget him. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces memories to return. Desperate to hear him one more time, Julie calls Sam's cell phone just to listen to his voice mail recording. And Sam picks up the phone.

The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam's voice makes Julie fall for him all over again and with each call, it becomes harder to let him go.

What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye?

You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is all about grieving someone and something that shouldn’t have been taken so soon.

Can Julie move on from losing Sam?

Julie

Julie Clark had been in Ellensburg, Washington, for three years when her boyfriend, Sam, died. I like Julie a lot, and I totally connect with her. I’ve never had a boyfriend die (friends pining the blame on me), but I have known loss and not knowing what to do about it. Julie is a writer and is trying to figure out if she still wants to go on with the plans she and Sam made for when they graduate from high school. I enjoyed seeing things from Julie’s perspective and how hearing from Sam helped her, even if it also didn’t for a bit.

The Romance

Julie and Sam have been together for three years and have had a fantastic relationship. Mr. Thao shows this when he does a chapter on Julie’s life before Sam died, showing how much they loved each other. The author shows that the two of them might be one of those relationships that started in high school and could continue beyond, that Julie and Sam could make it. These chapters are the ones that made me all happy for how Sam and Julie loved each other and how they were excited about getting out of their small Central Washington town.

The Grief

The chapters that take place in the now part of Julie’s life, with how she’s grieving for Sam, are the ones that make me teary-eyed. They also frustrate me with the way some other characters are toward her, especially those who say they were Sam’s friends. I liked seeing how slowly but surely Julie started to get better and how she wanted to let Sam leave his mark on the world, even if Sam, on the phone, knows it’s too late.

Five Stars

My rating for You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao is five stars. I recommend this book, but you should have a box of tissues and something that brings you comfort. Mr. Thao brought all the emotions out with this one. He did a fantastic job of getting everything to light, and how it doesn’t matter what age you are, but that grief is always complicated.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2025 Alphabet Soup-Author Edition-RC
• 2025 Goodreads RC
• 2025 Romance Book Reading Challenge
• 2025 TBR Jar RC
• 2025 Young Adult Book RC

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