Reviews with content warning for Car accident - You've Reached Sam

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao

231 reviews

hello_lovely13's review

emotional 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

3.5

Less than 10 pages in, and I was already crying. This pulls at the heartstrings so completely that, for the first 100 pages, there was rarely a time I wasn't crying. Sam is so unbelievably sweet and it was heartbreaking that he wouldn't go on to live a full life. This was a great depiction of Julie going through her grief and learning to let go and move on while still remembering and holding a piece of Sam with her. The first 100 pages were so strong, and I was definitely hooked. For some reason, I wasn't as attached the next 2/3 of the book. It slightly changed directions at that point, and I think I was expecting a bit more from the actual calls, similar to those in the first third, instead of a closer focus on her current life. Of course, this makes absolute sense for the message of the book, and it was done well. I just wasn't as attached after this shift. I really liked the "before" chapters; I think the vignette suited it very well because we got to see Sam and Julie's relationship (as well as with some other characters) without it feeling forced. I wish we got to see more of Mika,

especially after she discovered the truth and actually got to talk to Sam again

. The final call with Sam wasn't exactly what I expected and didn't hit as hard as I expected it to, but

Sam's voicemail definitely hit the mark

. It was all very sweet and well done. I feel for each of the characters (except for Taylor and Liam, fuck them), but I won't be thinking of them often now that I've finished reading, which is why (along with my shift in attachment during the last 2/3 of the book) my rating is not more towards a 4 star, which it was in the beginning of the book. A lovely and heart-wrenching book.

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shannonvonpesach's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I never cry. But this book made me cry. The emotions were so well written! The acceptance, grief, anger just everything.

The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because of other characters pushing Julie to do things. Or blame her constantly. I really felt for her and sometimes it felt a bit to random as if it was added later. Still a high score because I felt the romance and her pain and just...this book made me freaking cry!

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dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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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

this book shows the importance of saying goodbye to those we love, and why it's important to find a way move forward without them

thoughts while reading
p40: what is going on?? like what??
p43: I don't care what sam says, this has to be a dream
p57: sam's family are probably gonna come back and find julie sleeping on his bed, and I'm really curious to read their reactions
p75: oh my gosh, sam must have done something to her phone! it's a ghost phone now! oh dear, i bet when oliver tries to text her it won't work and he'll be upset
p98: i predict that julie and oliver will end up together
p101: what did i say? as cool as it is that she gets to talk to sam, how much longer can she keep it up? basically she's gonna have to ignore everyone else for however long she keeps talking to him.
p102: wait, what if what oliver wants to say to sam is that he'll take care of julie for him. cause that would be sweet as heck, and back up my prediction that they end up together
p116: no! don't tell me she's missed the vigil again! mika will be heartbroken if she's missed it 💔
p130: mika has to be the most patient disappointed person ever. she's communicating her feelings to julie pretty well without being cruel
p135: i don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed that she's taking advantage of oliver's generosity like that
p153: prediction – sam knows that julie and oliver will end up together now that he's gone, and he's gonna find a way to push them together, like in Life As We Know It
p162: wow this makes sense now, no wonder oliver was so cold with julie when sam was alive
p215: oof, girlie has someone interested
p225: of course the lantern hovers in place, that makes so much sense
p281: oh gosh, help i'm gonna cry now.

julie's gonna dial sam and he'll talk to james and then julie's gonna have to say goodbye 🥺

p289: i'm starting to think that maybe

julie and oliver won't end up together

after all. it probably wouldn't make sense for the plot
p292: no! don't tell me she figures out where sam is and meets him there to say goodbye! cause i will actually sob 💔

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pheenyreads's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was a hard one for me to face. Since I've lost someone close to me reading about grief brings up a lot of hurt, but this book might've helped me in a big way in regards to my grieving process. It's taught me not to cling on the hope that things to go back to how they were before because they wont, that person isn't coming back. However, that doesn't mean I can't live my life and be happy while making new memories and having fun because being angry at everyone and the world may seem okay at first, but it drags you down over time and the last thing any of us need after loosing someone dear to us is to be dragged down. So I think this book is so important in the fact that it shows that it's okay to move on and that to move on doesn't mean to forget but instead it means to not let your life sit on pause forever.

Also, one thing I would like to say about this book is that it has one of the most beautifully written prologues I have ever read. The way we get a glance into some of the core moments in Sam and Julie's relationship feels as if I were watching them play by on a film strip and the way the memories fade into one another so seamlessly just makes the whole thing satisfying to read. By the end of the prologue I truly felt as if I understood there connection so much.

Overall, I would say this book is a must read but just make sure you have several boxes of tissues on standby.

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