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emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bring tissues. This book made me cry my eyes out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Racism, Car accident
Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment
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
I loved julie. I saw someone pitch this book as having an unlikeable main character and although I can see it, I definitely disagree. This book was such an interesting exploration of not only grief and relationships in every sense of the word, but also a good look into what’s like to be young. How the impact of sams death affected her future and her goals.
I was originally intrigued by this book because of the aspect of reconnection to Sam through phone calls. But that actually turned out to be the least interesting part for most of the book. I really enjoyed when Julie was interacting with other people in sams life much more. I think that’s why I didn’t rate this higher. The phone calls with Sam didn’t get really interesting until about 80%.
The ending did make me cry, although not as much as I was expecting. I also teared up many other times throughout.
So, overall, it’s a pretty solid read and was an interesting book to begin reading to get me back into contemporary. I like the pain.
I was originally intrigued by this book because of the aspect of reconnection to Sam through phone calls. But that actually turned out to be the least interesting part for most of the book. I really enjoyed when Julie was interacting with other people in sams life much more. I think that’s why I didn’t rate this higher. The phone calls with Sam didn’t get really interesting until about 80%.
The ending did make me cry, although not as much as I was expecting. I also teared up many other times throughout.
So, overall, it’s a pretty solid read and was an interesting book to begin reading to get me back into contemporary. I like the pain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident
Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free advance copy of this book.
- Well, you can probably tell from the summary above that this is the book to pick up if you want a good cry, and I can confirm that.
- YOU'VE REACHED SAM perfectly portrays all the confusing ways grief can manifest, ranging from anger to denial, pulling people closer and pushing people away.
- Personally, I don't mind books where the supernatural/magical elements aren't explained in any way: this is just a book that you have to accept the premise going in and simply follow where it takes you. It's worth it, I promise.
- Well, you can probably tell from the summary above that this is the book to pick up if you want a good cry, and I can confirm that.
- YOU'VE REACHED SAM perfectly portrays all the confusing ways grief can manifest, ranging from anger to denial, pulling people closer and pushing people away.
- Personally, I don't mind books where the supernatural/magical elements aren't explained in any way: this is just a book that you have to accept the premise going in and simply follow where it takes you. It's worth it, I promise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Car accident
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
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
This is about teenage girl dealing with guilt, grief, and loss. She's struggling with how her ways of dealing with her grief keep not fitting in with her friends and classmates who are grieving the same person, but not all quite the same loss.
I kept thinking it was going to, at some point, explain how they were able to talk on the phone. The question was raised repeatedly, but Sam doesn't know and Julie never learns how or why it worked. I wish it hadn't felt like maybe the answer would appear, and I hope that anyone planning to read it can have a better experience from knowing not to wait for that reveal which never comes. Setting aside my longing for a literal answer, the way the connection manifested felt like it paralleled (and perhaps reinforced) the shape of Julie’s grief. That resonance was important and worked well in the story. It's very focused on her and her focus on Sam for much of the book, gradually showing more of her other connections and relationships as she's able to start thinking about people other than him and about things other than her loss. The change comes slowly enough to feel real and makes for a thoughtfully done and very poignant portrayal of grief.
I kept thinking it was going to, at some point, explain how they were able to talk on the phone. The question was raised repeatedly, but Sam doesn't know and Julie never learns how or why it worked. I wish it hadn't felt like maybe the answer would appear, and I hope that anyone planning to read it can have a better experience from knowing not to wait for that reveal which never comes. Setting aside my longing for a literal answer, the way the connection manifested felt like it paralleled (and perhaps reinforced) the shape of Julie’s grief. That resonance was important and worked well in the story. It's very focused on her and her focus on Sam for much of the book, gradually showing more of her other connections and relationships as she's able to start thinking about people other than him and about things other than her loss. The change comes slowly enough to feel real and makes for a thoughtfully done and very poignant portrayal of grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Racism, Violence, Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment