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

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

78 reviews

teslis's review against another edition

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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sp1der_gw3n's review

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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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booksanna's review

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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

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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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