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novelty_reads 's review for:
You've Reached Sam
by Dustin Thao
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
TW: Grief, death (off page but mentioned)
From the blurb alone, I knew this book was going to cause me (the good kind? of) pain. Its whole premise was about grief and what we, as human beings do to keep the memories of our loved ones alive in our hearts and in our minds. This book was about letting go and having the courage to move on after great tragedy. It was raw, it was emotional and it pulled at my heartstrings in a way that got me sobbing at 1 in the morning.
I think the reason why this book's got a lot of buzz is mainly because of the premise. It's what drew me in after all. I was particularly drawn to this book because of its unique idea of metaphysical connection between life and death. There were so many ways this book could've gone, it could've gone in the thriller direction where Sam was actually alive and the death was a hoax or someone was catfishing Julie and pulling a cruel prank on her however, the book always maintained a contemporary and emotional heart. Plot wise, the plot was very loose however, I felt that it suited perfectly with the nature of the story. I felt like the pacing complemented the core of the novel as well. The story, at its core, was about letting go and I felt like every single element of the novel from pacing to characters to story contributed to that.
Sam was by far my favourite character. He seemed sweet and I cherished the flashbacks we got to get a closer look into his and Julie's relationship. You could tell he really cared about her, but yet again, I wanted more emotion between them both and I wanted a bit of a closer glimpse into Sam's emotions. He honestly had a lot more to comprehend than Julie did.
Julie was an okay character in my opinion. I understood why she was angry and I knew that had some relation to her grieving process but at the same time, she wasn't really that likeable either as seen in the book's present and past. I think what would've made this book even better is if there was more of a distinction between "past Julie" and "present Julie" just to highlight how much Sam's death affected her. I believe it would've elevated this story and made it more emotional to read.
It was really the side characters that made up the book and I wish we spent more time with them. Mika, Jay, Rachel, Yuki, Oliver and James. I loved them all and enjoyed their interactions with Julie. My only issue is that there were some scenes that included the side characters that I felt were a tad bit rushed. I believe that if we got more lead up and it was shown throughout the book how the side characters were feeling then some of the subplots would've made more sense. I believe that if the subplots were lead up to more, then the ending (specifically in relation to James) wouldn't have felt as out of the blue as it did.
My main criticism though is more so to do with the timing of the novel. The book started off a week after Sam's death and already the characters' were well into the middle stages of grief. Yes, one may argue that everyone experiences grief differently but for me, it just felt too quick considering the timeframe of events. I felt like if the book started two or three months after Sam's death then it would've made more sense for Julie to get rid of Sam's personal belongings and accept the fact that he is dead.
All in all though, I really enjoyed this debut. For the topics it covered, I can tell it wasn't an easy book to write. It certainly wasn't an easy book to read at times. It was emotional and it reminded me of Your Name and Adam Silvera's books. I highly recommend this gut-wrenching book to anyone who wants an emotional read or a good cry.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.2 STARS
TW: Grief, death (off page but mentioned)
From the blurb alone, I knew this book was going to cause me (the good kind? of) pain. Its whole premise was about grief and what we, as human beings do to keep the memories of our loved ones alive in our hearts and in our minds. This book was about letting go and having the courage to move on after great tragedy. It was raw, it was emotional and it pulled at my heartstrings in a way that got me sobbing at 1 in the morning.
I think the reason why this book's got a lot of buzz is mainly because of the premise. It's what drew me in after all. I was particularly drawn to this book because of its unique idea of metaphysical connection between life and death. There were so many ways this book could've gone, it could've gone in the thriller direction where Sam was actually alive and the death was a hoax or someone was catfishing Julie and pulling a cruel prank on her however, the book always maintained a contemporary and emotional heart. Plot wise, the plot was very loose however, I felt that it suited perfectly with the nature of the story. I felt like the pacing complemented the core of the novel as well. The story, at its core, was about letting go and I felt like every single element of the novel from pacing to characters to story contributed to that.
Sam was by far my favourite character. He seemed sweet and I cherished the flashbacks we got to get a closer look into his and Julie's relationship. You could tell he really cared about her, but yet again, I wanted more emotion between them both and I wanted a bit of a closer glimpse into Sam's emotions. He honestly had a lot more to comprehend than Julie did.
Julie was an okay character in my opinion. I understood why she was angry and I knew that had some relation to her grieving process but at the same time, she wasn't really that likeable either as seen in the book's present and past. I think what would've made this book even better is if there was more of a distinction between "past Julie" and "present Julie" just to highlight how much Sam's death affected her. I believe it would've elevated this story and made it more emotional to read.
It was really the side characters that made up the book and I wish we spent more time with them. Mika, Jay, Rachel, Yuki, Oliver and James. I loved them all and enjoyed their interactions with Julie. My only issue is that there were some scenes that included the side characters that I felt were a tad bit rushed. I believe that if we got more lead up and it was shown throughout the book how the side characters were feeling then some of the subplots would've made more sense. I believe that if the subplots were lead up to more, then the ending (specifically in relation to James) wouldn't have felt as out of the blue as it did.
My main criticism though is more so to do with the timing of the novel. The book started off a week after Sam's death and already the characters' were well into the middle stages of grief. Yes, one may argue that everyone experiences grief differently but for me, it just felt too quick considering the timeframe of events. I felt like if the book started two or three months after Sam's death then it would've made more sense for Julie to get rid of Sam's personal belongings and accept the fact that he is dead.
All in all though, I really enjoyed this debut. For the topics it covered, I can tell it wasn't an easy book to write. It certainly wasn't an easy book to read at times. It was emotional and it reminded me of Your Name and Adam Silvera's books. I highly recommend this gut-wrenching book to anyone who wants an emotional read or a good cry.
ACTUAL RATING: 4.2 STARS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Car accident