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madisone's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Bullying and Racism
shaylee_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ratings:
Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐⭐/5
Sadness:💧💧💧💧/5
Romance:❤️❤️❤️❤️/5
Diversity: Asian MC and Queer SC
Tropes: Right Person Not Enough Time
Content Warnings: Death Of A Partner, Car Accident, Guilt, & Mourning.
You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Theo is about a girl named Julie who's boyfriend Sam recently died in a car accident and one day desperate to hear his voice, Julie calls his phone expecting to get his voicemail but instead Sam ends up picking up the phone.
I am a sucker for books that will destroy your soul and make you bawl your eyes out so when I first heard about this book, you better believe it went straight on my TBR.
I went into this book knowing that it was going to hit hard because of something that happened to me and my best friend in our junior year of highschool and it definitely did. I cried my eyes out when reading this book, it had absolutely destroyed me.
Even though I did enjoy this book, I thought it was really well writing and the romance was extremely cute, it did fall a little bit short for me. I felt as though it was a little bit over hyped and Julie could get on my nerves sometimes, I also felt that I didn't have enough time to truly connect and get to know the characters.
Overall, I did quite enjoy this book. I will never be able to listen to the song Landslide by Fleetwood Mac or look pink flowers without crying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Bullying
nienkedekoster's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved it
I was expecting a very sad ending but that feeling wasn’t really there. This book really showed the process of grieving and moving on in such a beautiful way.
I was expecting a very sad ending but that feeling wasn’t really there. This book really showed the process of grieving and moving on in such a beautiful way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Child death
Minor: Bullying and Racism
maeganmarie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The writing, in my opinion, was beautiful and very descriptive. The book was mainly character driven and not much plot and was sort of dragging since it was just constant phone calls, avoidance, and flashbacks. At first, Julie was quite infuriating! I understand that we may deal with grief much differently from others, but not attending your own boyfriends funeral and avoiding his family? Not so cool :( but i guess also understandable. Oh goodness, when Sam told Jules not to pick up the phone, my soul was crushed. AND THE VOICEMAIL HE LEFT 😭 literally could not stop crying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying
kbairbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I did not like the main character, I did not like the side characters, I didn’t like her relationship a whole bunch I really feel like Sam upheld the majority of it but even then it didn’t feel like there was chemistry. I thought Tristan was a little weird for coming on to her a little bit and man I will say I didn’t get emotional at the end so that must mean that I am connected to the story in someway but I did spend the majority of the book wishing it was over already. But I still didn’t actually cry I teared up and now I have an emotional headache but I didn’t actually cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Car accident, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Racism
missy20's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
beautifully tragic.. and the language that Dustin Thao is really effective and beautiful.. the themes of loss and love and the tragedy that comes with are so well fleshed out and seeing the perspective of the family and his close friends made the book so much more effective and enjoyable to read.. definitely recommend if you want a good cry..
Really the only reason i wouldn’t give this book a higher rating is because of the FMC being so damn annoying, I understand Julie is grieving the loss of sam and she’s written to be like that but it just got frustrating as she was just such an unlikable character.every other character, i thought, was really was written and fleshed out, but julie seemed very one dimensional and incredibly selfish(even before the accident in the flash backs) i feel like if the author had done more to flesh out Julie’s character and not make her a self pitying narcissist who adds very little to the plot and could easily be swapped out for a more likeable supporting character as her being a whiney child really didn’t make a difference to the plot, then i feel the book would’ve been a whole lot better.
All in all this book was heartbreakingly beautiful and tragic and im very glad i picked it up, the world building was top notch,the characters(other than julie whom i’ve made clear i dislike) were well written and thought out and the issues presented in the book were well thought out as well as well represented through the character. also a very simple and cute read Definitely would recommend as long as you can bear to listen to
julie whine for 200 pages
Really the only reason i wouldn’t give this book a higher rating is because of the FMC being so damn annoying, I understand Julie is grieving the loss of sam and she’s written to be like that but it just got frustrating as she was just such an unlikable character.every other character, i thought, was really was written and fleshed out, but julie seemed very one dimensional and incredibly selfish(even before the accident in the flash backs) i feel like if the author had done more to flesh out Julie’s character and not make her a self pitying narcissist who adds very little to the plot and could easily be swapped out for a more likeable supporting character as her being a whiney child really didn’t make a difference to the plot, then i feel the book would’ve been a whole lot better.
All in all this book was heartbreakingly beautiful and tragic and im very glad i picked it up, the world building was top notch,the characters(other than julie whom i’ve made clear i dislike) were well written and thought out and the issues presented in the book were well thought out as well as well represented through the character. also a very simple and cute read Definitely would recommend as long as you can bear to listen to
julie whine for 200 pages
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Car accident, Bullying, Child death, and Racism
m_riaelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book excited me that I pre-ordered it, my first pre-order. If you love this book, look at my star rating before going through my thoughts about it.
Good points:
It has potential. I was going through it negatively until it made me remember Sam and Julie are teens. Co-dependency was a mechanism for peer pressures, especially in school. How lonely it gets when there's no one beside to depend on while it seems like everybody has someone.
Some of the 'Before' had me smiling because I know those things happen when you want to impress someone. And I get why Julie only ever interact with Sam's family and friends as they're living in a small town, and again because they're teens. That's when I realized they don't develop when they're together.
I like Mika, James, and Oliver.
Bad points:
The phone call was supposed to be an unfinished business, the goodbye, but it turns out to be 'call me as if I'm not dead, so you look crazy.' But then, I let this one go because grief is something that could make you go crazy or nothing at all (I've been there). Julie was almost ready to move on, but the phone call happened. I thought it was closure, but it was a path Julie should not have taken because she depended on the phone calls to keep herself together. Yet again, I let this go because grief is a whole new level that people go through differently no matter how you know their story. After all, we're just looking from a third-person point of view.
Moreover, Sam kept answering Julie's calls because somehow he's still 'processing' that he's dead. It seems selfish for Sam to do this to Julie, but Sam abruptly lost his life and can't accept it that easily. And as they always do, they depend on each other. In conclusion, they're both humanely toxic for each other if grief isn't part of the context.
I can't seem to like the main characters.
Then, the reason I kept pacing back and forth, thinking what doesn't sit right while reading this is the execution of the plot itself. I get it. Contemporary with a dash of fantasy. But all this makes Julie look like she needs professional help as this coping mechanism is delusions or something like that. I've read and watched countless books and movies or shows that centre on grief, and mostly, it's illusions and how they asked for help when it's almost ending. But, Julie didn't reach out for help. Until the end, she believed it was Sam. I guess that's what makes me not feel connected to the character because I would've ended the phone call halfway through the story. The fear of going crazy and isolating myself will make me drop the call and wish for someone to help me. Additionally, the story itself, the phone call; just made it slower for Julie to move on. The plot wasn't it for me.
But damn, Sam's will to live hurts me soo much.
I'll be giving this a generous 2.75 stars because it made me smile, and mostly it's because of James, Mika and Oliver. The author has potential, and I will still give his future books a gamble.
TW: Death, Car Accident, Grief, Sexual Harassment (not by any known character), Bullying, and Racism (search it up for more specifics or correct TW as mine is what I thought is TW while I read it)
Good points:
It has potential. I was going through it negatively until it made me remember Sam and Julie are teens. Co-dependency was a mechanism for peer pressures, especially in school. How lonely it gets when there's no one beside to depend on while it seems like everybody has someone.
Some of the 'Before' had me smiling because I know those things happen when you want to impress someone. And I get why Julie only ever interact with Sam's family and friends as they're living in a small town, and again because they're teens. That's when I realized they don't develop when they're together.
I like Mika, James, and Oliver.
Bad points:
The phone call was supposed to be an unfinished business, the goodbye, but it turns out to be 'call me as if I'm not dead, so you look crazy.' But then, I let this one go because grief is something that could make you go crazy or nothing at all (I've been there). Julie was almost ready to move on, but the phone call happened. I thought it was closure, but it was a path Julie should not have taken because she depended on the phone calls to keep herself together. Yet again, I let this go because grief is a whole new level that people go through differently no matter how you know their story. After all, we're just looking from a third-person point of view.
Moreover, Sam kept answering Julie's calls because somehow he's still 'processing' that he's dead. It seems selfish for Sam to do this to Julie, but Sam abruptly lost his life and can't accept it that easily. And as they always do, they depend on each other. In conclusion, they're both humanely toxic for each other if grief isn't part of the context.
I can't seem to like the main characters.
Then, the reason I kept pacing back and forth, thinking what doesn't sit right while reading this is the execution of the plot itself. I get it. Contemporary with a dash of fantasy. But all this makes Julie look like she needs professional help as this coping mechanism is delusions or something like that. I've read and watched countless books and movies or shows that centre on grief, and mostly, it's illusions and how they asked for help when it's almost ending. But, Julie didn't reach out for help. Until the end, she believed it was Sam. I guess that's what makes me not feel connected to the character because I would've ended the phone call halfway through the story. The fear of going crazy and isolating myself will make me drop the call and wish for someone to help me. Additionally, the story itself, the phone call; just made it slower for Julie to move on. The plot wasn't it for me.
But damn, Sam's will to live hurts me soo much.
I'll be giving this a generous 2.75 stars because it made me smile, and mostly it's because of James, Mika and Oliver. The author has potential, and I will still give his future books a gamble.
TW: Death, Car Accident, Grief, Sexual Harassment (not by any known character), Bullying, and Racism (search it up for more specifics or correct TW as mine is what I thought is TW while I read it)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Sexual harassment
haley49's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
definitely made me cry so pick it up if you are in the mood to do so. I cried nearly every chapter—not always small tears but also some snot-nosed crys and a few weeping sessions. This book was such a powerful book on grief, the importance of a life, and moving on without forgetting. I’m tearing up thinking about it. I especially appreciated the metaphor of the phone calls to show the power of grief to isolate you and keep you from maintaining the important relationships you still have in this life. It really hurt but in a make you feel something worth feeling way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Car accident, and Racism
Minor: Sexual harassment
booksargram's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Minor: Bullying
yogyaa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying and Xenophobia