You've Reached Sam: A Heartbreaking YA Romance with a Touch of Magic

For some reason, I love sad and tragic books, and this book definitely was tragic. I was really connected to the two main characters and I really felt like I was Julie at some points, and feeling the emotions with her. I loved the character of Sam and reading them talking on the phone together was heartbreaking.I loved the flashback scenes of their relationship, and the way that each scene tranforms into another scene. I thought it was quite unique and conveys the sense that it's a flashback, with different images constantly flashing through her mind.The ending is great but so so sad. You kind of know the ending from the beginning, it's set up so you know what will happen, and the more you read the book, and the ckoser it comes to the ending, the harder it was to read. I was definitely crying during the last few chapters of the book.There are some great messages and inspiring quotes in this book too so it's not completely depressing.Spoilers below:If I was to change anything in the book, I have two little issues:I liked the build up of Julie listening and then working on Sam's music and how she met the ex producer of Sam's favourite band. I kind of get why it ended with the email that he had forwarded the music on to the band members, but I wish there was a better outcome, like they worked on a song and released it, so Sam would have something to hold onto, and it would be good for those who lived him too, to feel close to him.Another thing, during their phone calls, Julie always asks Sam questions about where he is, why this is happening, etc, and Sam always replies with the sams vague answers and says he can't tell her that yet. The way I interpreted that was by the end of it, we'd learn more about what's going on. Where is he? Where is he going next? But we never really find out. Why does their connection fizzle out? But I'm not too bothered about it because I guess in a way, it's realistic. Nobody knows where you go or what happens to you. But it would have been nice to use the opportunity to create something there.Anyway, great read, highly recommend!!

Lovely storyline. I did find it quite sad but also reminded me to appreciate what I have as you never know when it can be taken away.Being an avid reader though, I found I didn’t get on so well with the writing style

TL;DR: I sobbed for 296 pages x“I missed you. I missed you infinity.”A really beautiful story showing how grief affects everyone differently, and how letting go and saying goodbye truly is the hardest part.For how much I cried, I really did enjoy this. I've had it on my shelf for a while, but finally felt like it was time to give it a read (my subconscious must have known that I needed a really good cry).The representation of Julie's grief was really well done. I think the way she was written was really reflective of how a 17 year-old may react to a loss like that. It's such a delicate age (as much as I may have thought I was a grown-up at 17, I look back and realise that was definitely not the case) where there are so many major life changes happening all at once.I felt really connected to both Julie and Sam. While sometimes frustrated by their communication, I found it all very believable. There's no single emotion with grief, and I'm glad that Julie and Sam both got to explore multiple emotions during this book.Some slight spoilery thoughts that keep me awake at night. ✨I can't stop thinking about the metaphor around her phone/messages and the idea of letting go. Am I reading into this too much? Probably. Julie wasn't receiving any messages on her phone when she's really latching onto her connection with Sam at the start of all this. When she begins to reconnect with those around her in the real world, she started to receive more messages?? That thought had me spiralling for a good while and make me think about how isolating grief can be, and how (at least in my experience) we only begin to truly grieve when we are able to let go a little and reconnect with those in the present.If you want a good cry, pick this one up. I'm sure I'll think about this book a lot.

This was an enjoyable debut novel. An easy read with lots of emotion and inspirational insights surrounding grief and coping with loss.I did struggle to connect with the characters, particularly Julie. I struggled to relate with her actions and personality which I feel took a lot away from the story. I also felt that the relationship between Sam and Julie fell a little flat too. Perhaps if I felt a little more attached to their story and the characters themselves, then I would have felt the heart break I was expecting, but while it was definitely sad at times, I just felt a little underwhelmed.It was a nice story, with an intriguing premise and I did find it entertaining. I'm glad I read it. I'm not normally a big fan of YA, but it was an interesting read.⭐️⭐️⭐️

beautiful story cried so much though

Finally ordered it and it came today can't wait to read it I've heard so many good things about it

This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read.Grief is so powerful and I love how the author was able to show us so many different stages and processes of grief.I’m usually a fantasy smut girlie but I’m so grateful to have bought this book and read it.Sometimes you just need a great book to tear you up and make you cry. I feel like this book helped heal me from my own troubles and past traumas and grief I went through. It felt so good to cry and read such a beautiful book. I am definitely checking out more Dustin Thao books 🫶

Aún no he leído el libro, sin embargo. Debo decir que llegó en tiempo y forma.La edición es preciosa, parece una libreta 😽.Amamos <3

Very well written book and that's coming from a guy that rarely reads books. I couldn't put this one down and already recommended it to others. Thanks for a great read, Dustin!

The book itself is so pretty, the cover has cherry blossom petals and it's so delicate. It's worth the hard cover.But skipping to the storyline: please don't read it in public if you've a soft heart cuz from the page 1 until the end you'll be crying your eyes out, trust me. Even though it's a sad story, you still able to find comfort and feel love. I really rlly rlly recommend this book if u like me enjoy a good romance but not so cliche... plus ASIAN REPRESENTATIVE!!! ❤️❤️ Hoping for the author to writte more.

I like how emotional and clear it is with no nonsense scene or dialogue....the package was in good condition but i would have LOVED it if a bookmark would've been there