Reviews with content warning for Grief - You've Reached Sam

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

285 reviews

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

this review might contain minor spoilers.

i feel absolutely terrible for saying this, but you've reached sam was one of the worst books i have read in a while.

so i want to preface this by saying that i don't wanna shit on the author or anything, and it's just my personal opinion and i am someone who's not too fond of young adult books in general, so take all of this as you will.

the characters were a bloody mess.

not all of them, but very (un)conveniently only the ones that mattered - namely the main characters.

i don't think i've ever met anyone who's more unlikeable and frustrating and selfish than julie: skipping her boyfriend's funeral, ignoring her friends, and meanwhile it's all just me me me me. "i feel so horrible", "i want him back", "i can't let go". fuck you.

she's mean to everyone and has no personality whatsoever. whatever she says, it's bland and icky and she acts like she's the victim all of the time when she's really not.

she was also just a bad friend and a bad person in general, imo.

especially the thing with tristan. like?? are you insane??

(if you didn’t want this to be a date, that’s fine, but then just bloody tell him maybe, instead of telling him you won’t come, even though it means the world to him?? not because he loves you but because you’re supposed to be his god damn friend.)

her whole character was asking how 'all of this is possible' and 'where are you' and 'i can't let go' and 'i wanted to but i didn't' and 'i'm sorry' and 'i feel guilty' and 'i don't know what to write about'. endless whining and endless repetitions. if i had a dime for every time she said the same phrase or asked the same question over and over again, i'd be rich enough to go back to the book store and buy a different book.

and sam wasn't much better either. he wasn't as annoying, but definitely as bland. there was no personality in his speech, in his words, only in his actions. playing a round of 'who said what?' with the cast of this book would be a herculean task.

and the "bullies", or "mean girls" or whatever you wanna call them in that pretty little unconvincing high school setting, were atrociously written.

they were supposedly friends with sam, which poses the questions: why was sam friends with people who behave like this? and why did they behave like this in the first place?

they had no redeeming qualities. they were simply there to be mean, and to piss of the characters that were supposed to be the more 'favorable' ones (which they weren't).

i suppose the author wrote one of the bullies to be racist? which didn't make any sense at all because they were friends with sam and sam is japanese.

also, they were portrayed to be the bad guys, but they weren't even that evil?

yuki wanted to create the 'asian study group' thing, and one of the bullies asked why she named it the 'asian study group' when everyone was allowed to join, not just asians.

the main cast was all pissed at him, though that's a perfectly valid question, isn't it?

at one point the main girl and one of the bullies get into a verbal argument. and mika goes out of her way to make the VERBAL fight physical. she literally slaps a bitch. and then proceeds to use her SELF-DEFENCE moves to mess up the two bullies. the author portrayed it to be a #girlboss and #badass move, which it wasn't at all?? mika wasn't being badass, she was aggressive and violent and it's glossed over and portrayed as something heroic. starting fights and using your superior fighting knowledge to win against some inexperienced, weak high school kids is - controversial take, i know - not okay?

so at that point i was already pretty pissed, right. well, i'm not done yet.

the mindless clichés that were put into this book made me wanna slam my head against the wall. because it's got everything. and with 'everything' i also mean, among other things, inconsequential sexual harassment at a bar. why?

it's always good to talk about stuff like this, because it happens, of course, but this kind of representation isn't helping the cause. the sexual assault was solely used to establish mika's character - that she does self-defence and stuff. that's it. no consequences, nothing. it makes sexual harassment seem like a joke, like something that happens and can be easily forgotten. not cool.

and by the time they boarded the ferris wheel in one of the flashbacks at the end of the book, i was utterly done with all the sweetly sickening tropes - and with the story in general.

man, the story. what a nothingburger. such an interesting concept, and 300 pages that could be compressed into 5 well-structured sentences. and the ending? with the magical crystal and shit? i felt like i was reading a children's fantasy book. goofy.

needless to say, i didn't cry. the ending was okay though. julie realized some of her mistakes and character flaws and there was a bit of character development. i think i would've enjoyed the book more if the character development had hit a bit earlier and not in the last two chapters when it didn't matter anyway and the metaphorical lake that's my opinion of julie had long frozen over.

if you like young adult and the utter perfection that is peak melodramatic teenage behavior, you might like this.

if you like clichés and overused tropes, you also might like this.

but, uh, proceed with caution.

Content Warnings

thiamoorhouse's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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teslis's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I was so hyped for this book! The concept was so cool, her boyfriend had died, but she could still reach him by calling his phone! I also hade hopes because I had heard so much good about this book, but sadly I can't say the same :(

The main character Julie were the main problem with why I didn't like this book. I did understand her in the beginning, how she is all shut down and couldn't do anything because of what had happened to her boyfriend Sam. The problems started when she called him for the first time. When Julie realize that she can talk to Sam over the phone her emotions just flips. From one second to another she is all fine and can't comprehend that the people around her is mourning Sam. All she can think about is to talking to Sam which leads to her hurting everyone around her over and over. I just got mad at Julie about how she didn't listen to her friends and just kept thinking about herself or even not that. She just did nothing :( She was not understanding of the others in her surrounding and about them felling sad. Thats the main part of the book that I couldn't see past which gave it the low points.

This book took me 7 hours and 10 minuts to read.

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lydiaelyse's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

This book was beautiful. Not many books make me cry, but this one definitely did. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a sad but hopeful book.

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sp1der_gw3n's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

All characters are alright, like Sam but the main character (in my opinion) ruins EVERYTHING.

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thepaperbackqueen's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I’m not gonna lie I was pretty frustrated for majority of this book.<I wondered constantly if Julie picking up the phone was just re traumatising her and causing her unnecessary pain but in the last 2 chapters it seems like the calls helped her confront the very person she wanted to forget because it was too painful for her to think about him as dead.> So even though the concept was not for me I’m glad that it ends on a hopeful note

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izzymannellasbookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing sad slow-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

3.5

This book was pretty good. My expectations were extremely high because of tiktok, and it didn't live up to those expectations, but the book wasn't bad at all. It was super wholesome and gentle. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would, but I definitely felt it at the end.

The characters were all so lovable and generally diverse, and this isn't going to make sense, but the book reads like an anime movie. I don't know how else to explain it.

The book was short, but it didn't have much of a plot. Don't go into the book thinking otherwise, or you will be disappointed. It's a quick, wholesome, soft, and easy read with a slow pace and not much in terms of description. Other than that, it was, for lack of a better word, good.

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booksanna's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.75

Wow. This was such a wild read. The emotions of sadness I felt were so raw and deep. Although I never experienced grief in my life, this is the closest I have come to it. I truly find that this book is perfect for expressing the emotions of grief. Everyone expresses it diferently, and it’s important to represent that in literature as well. Julie has a very intricate and intimate way of feeling grief. To, me this made her characters seem very real and human. Little details of her coping will connect with someone, even if not me. Not only that, I also loved the way other characters were potrayed in their copying with grief. Oliver’s and Mika’s griefs were very different, and felt even more connecting to the characters.
I loved the setting of the town and glimpse of the high school life of a senior. It felt realistic and so fitting with the little town of Ellensburgh. All of these places that were connectiin sto Sam and Julie really drove the plot forward.
Lastly, the depiction of desire for the future is arguably the best part of the book. Life is not perfect: you make plans and they don’t work out. And that is tottaly fine. You’ve Reached Sam perfectly depicts how living in the moment is just as important as planning for the future. The path you take is not the same one you will end up on. Julie had to rework her life and struggle with her passion, but she eventually got there. This is healing from mistakes and coping with the world. So many people I know(inclusing myself) have prioritized the future over our current lives. ACT,PSAT, essays, homework, extra-curriculars, life balance, carreer, colllege, town, job, passion. Whatever it is, we have always planned ahead, but this book teaches you to prioritize your present. Even if you plan the perfect future, you have to learn when to let go of it when another opens in your life. It does not mean abandoning your values, passions and goals, instead, it means achieving them in a different way. A lovely story about healing.

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thefairfae's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-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

4/5

⚠️CW/TW: Death, Grief, Bullying, Xenophobia, Racism⚠️

This book was beautifully written! I've always been a fan of any piece of media that comments on greif and loss and this book is one of the best I've ever come across. There are so many things I want to talk about that happened in this book. From Mika, Julie, and Sam's relationship to Oliver and his relationship with Sam and Julie. Not to mention the way this book shows how Julie deals with the grief. One of the best scenes that I can't stop thinking about is when Julie tries to give the manager a copy of Sam's songs and she drops Tristans rose. It's just so symbolic and an amazing scene. I've seen many people say that Julie is an "unlikeable mc" but I actually really liked that. I liked that her way of dealing with grief was selfish. It made you feel happy to see her grow as she realizes that she isn't the only one struggling and how her isolating herself was hurting others. There were so scene were she did really annoy me and there were some scenes I wished were longer but at the end of the day I would definitely recommend reading this book!

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goldenelegy's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-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

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