You've Reached Sam
BY DUSTIN THAO
An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
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 has her future all planned out-move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend asummer in Japan.
But then Sam dies. And everything changes.
Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam's cellphone just to listen to his voicemail.
And Sam picks up the phone.
In a miraculous turn of events, Julie's been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam's voice makes her fall for him all over again and, with each call, it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn't easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam's family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever.
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
A Cosmo.com Best YA Book Of 2021
A Buzzfeed Best Book Of November
A Goodreads Most Anticipated Book
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Praise for You've Reached Sam:
"You've Reached Sam is a hauntingly remarkable debut. Dustin Thao gently weaves grief, regret, second chances, and the honestly beautiful moments we carry from a first love. Every tear you will shed reading this book will be worth it. --Julian Winters, award-winning author of Running With Lions
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If you like your contemporaries with a tiny piece of magic, this emotional YA is perfect for you. --BuzzFeed
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"Thao skillfully marries a quiet, elegiac novel about grief with a provocative sf conceit. A poignant and moving read." —Booklist
My Review:
3 Stars: Dustin Thao's writing style is a unique experience to read. We have all had a dream where someone we know dies, and we call their cellphone hoping they will answer, and they do. This story is just that. Julie, in her senior year, loses her boyfriend, Sam. While dealing with the struggling of the loss and pushing her friends and family away, Julie calls Sams's cellphone, and to her surprise, he answers. The story goes through flashbacks that Julie has before Sam's death and deals with overcoming the overwhelming amount of grief of losing your high school boyfriend. Throughout the book, Julie calls Sam, and he helps her navigate life without him. Even after death, he is still carrying her. I really wanted to feel more emotions during the read; however, it fell just short. Some of the stories repeat themselves a lot, and it took a while for me to finish the book; I had to keep putting it down—a great story for someone in high school dealing with loss.
⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to netgally and St. Martin Press Wednesday Books for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
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DUSTIN THAO
AUTHOR
Dustin Thao is a Vietnamese American writer based in New York City. He graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science, and is currently in a PhD program at Northwestern University where he studies critical media literacy. He writes contemporary fiction, and his debut novel You’ve Reached Sam is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller.
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“You’ve Reached Sam is a hauntingly remarkable debut. Dustin Thao gently weaves grief, regret, second chances, and the honestly beautiful moments we carry from a first love. Every tear you will shed reading this book will be worth it." —Julian Winters, award-winning author of Running With Lions
"You’ve Reached Sam is a quiet exploration of grief and the ways in which we cope with losing the ones we love too soon. If you’re in need of a good, cathartic crying session, this one’s for you!" —The Nerd Daily
"The writing is captivating and beautifully done, immediately drawing readers into imaginative and well-developed scenes. [A] beautifully written exploration of grief... You’ve Reached Sam is an impactful debut. The question at the center of the book and the paranormal premise combine to create a narrative full of heart." —The Young Folks
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