You've Reached Sam
A Novel
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4.4 • 261 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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 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?
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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Love hurts—and heals—in Dustin Thao’s heartfelt debut. When her boyfriend, Sam, is killed in a car crash, 17-year-old Julie lashes out, trashing all evidence of their love and the future they had planned together. But then a strange, otherworldly connection allows Julie to speak to Sam on the phone, and she discovers how to finally take stock of her complicated emotions and say goodbye. Thao sensitively captures the raw, raging nature of grief and the all-consuming feelings of first love. Through flashbacks of Sam and Julie’s romance, including their super-realistic conversations, the author gives us a strong sense of their life-altering relationship. A powerful tale of teen love and loss, You’ve Reached Sam is a beautiful and cathartic read. Make sure to have a tissue box at hand.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Thao's uneven debut, white high school senior and aspiring writer Julie Clarke must find a way to navigate her future after the death of her Japanese American boyfriend, Sam Obayashi, a big dreamer and music lover who died tragically one night while on his way to pick her up. After skipping his funeral and getting rid of most of his things in an attempt to move forward, she calls his phone one last time—and is stunned when he answers. Though Sam only knows that he's "somewhere," he is sure that if he ever calls Julie and she doesn't pick up, their connection will end forever. Thao smartly keeps the logistics vague, effectively depicting Julie's grieving process and her attempts to balance staying connected to Sam while being present for friends for whom his death is final—including Sam's cousin Mika and best friend Oliver. While some secondary story lines—one exploring Julie's mother's paranoia and another involving Sam's younger brother—are underdeveloped, the unique premise and authentic depiction of grief holds plenty of appeal. Ages 12–up.
Customer Reviews
AMAZINGGG but overhyped!
No matter what you read below just know I love this book! ❤️ I simply thing it’s to overhyped
I need to feel something when I read. If I don’t there is no way I can give a book 5 stars. That’s what happened with this book (kinda) I’ve read countless review over how sad this book was so I got my hopes up (which you shouldn’t do BIG mistake on my part) Anyways this was the only reason why I got disappointed once I finished it. The ending made me shed a singular tear which isn’t a lot saying I cry over the smallest things. This book is still sadder than most books but I think it’s wayy overhyped.
WOW
my friend recommended this book to me, and she’s a very emotional person. so when she said, “i cried over this book” —that’s normal for her— that she was just being dramatic, you know? anyway, the point i’m trying to get to is that, i’ve almost never cried over a book, (except “Trials of Apollo” book 3, “The Burning Maze,” if you know, you know) but this one had me in full on crocodile tears… this book destroyed me and healed me at the same time. ❤️🩹
THE MOST GUT WRENCHING HEART BREAKING WORLD SHATTERING BOOK I HAVE EVER READ
I have read a bunch of books from countless authors and non have made me cry as badly as this book has every other page it was non stop tears. This book is so amazing and really explains the grief and misconceptions of grief and anger and acceptance very well.