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A review by plumpaperbacks
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
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
5.0
I started reading this on a whim while waiting for The Sims 4 to load so I could spend my evening playing. I was only on chapter two when the main menu appeared, but was already so engrossed that I turned the game off without doing literally anything in it and proceeded to do absolutely nothing else until finishing the book. Reading it only took about three, maybe three and a half hours, and I honestly don’t remember the last time I marathoned a book without even stopping to check Instagram.
You’ve Reached Sam is a book that’s gotten a lot of hype around the online book community both for being an amazing debut and an extremely heartbreaking book that caused a lot of tears. As someone that has yet to actually cry over a book, I wondered if this would be the one to finally make me shed tears; while that wasn’t the case, I came very close, particularly in the prologue and again in the final chapter. And even though I didn’t cry, I can confidently say that this is one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve read, second only to Starworld; if not for my personal connection to that book, this one would likely have claimed the top spot.
Despite not ever personally experiencing the degree of loss that Julie is in this book, I felt her pain in every page. I empathized with her and with those around her, grieving in their own ways but still trying to support each other. Dustin Thao did a brilliant job describing the uncertainty that follows losing someone you thought you’d have so much more time with, how isolating it can be when you grieve differently than those around you, and how impossible it seems that other people are continuing their lives when yours seems to have veered irreparably off-course.
I know I briefly mentioned the final chapter already, but I’d like to return to that, to reiterate just how much it broke my heart. You know that lump in your throat you get when you’re about to cry? That’s what I had going on as I read the last few pages of the book. And yet, despite that, despite how bittersweet the ending is, it’s also undeniably hopeful, and I think that it’s incredibly impressive for Thao to fit all of that into his debut novel. I can’t wait to read more from him in the future.
Representation
You’ve Reached Sam is a book that’s gotten a lot of hype around the online book community both for being an amazing debut and an extremely heartbreaking book that caused a lot of tears. As someone that has yet to actually cry over a book, I wondered if this would be the one to finally make me shed tears; while that wasn’t the case, I came very close, particularly in the prologue and again in the final chapter. And even though I didn’t cry, I can confidently say that this is one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve read, second only to Starworld; if not for my personal connection to that book, this one would likely have claimed the top spot.
Despite not ever personally experiencing the degree of loss that Julie is in this book, I felt her pain in every page. I empathized with her and with those around her, grieving in their own ways but still trying to support each other. Dustin Thao did a brilliant job describing the uncertainty that follows losing someone you thought you’d have so much more time with, how isolating it can be when you grieve differently than those around you, and how impossible it seems that other people are continuing their lives when yours seems to have veered irreparably off-course.
I know I briefly mentioned the final chapter already, but I’d like to return to that, to reiterate just how much it broke my heart. You know that lump in your throat you get when you’re about to cry? That’s what I had going on as I read the last few pages of the book. And yet, despite that, despite how bittersweet the ending is, it’s also undeniably hopeful, and I think that it’s incredibly impressive for Thao to fit all of that into his debut novel. I can’t wait to read more from him in the future.
Representation
- Japanese love interest and side characters
- Vietnamese side character
- Thai queer side character
- queer side character
- achillean side couple
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Grief
Sam, the protagonist’s boyfriend, died in a car accident prior to the story. It’s mentioned throughout, but there are no graphic/gory details.