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A review by abookandchai
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
3.0
"Letting go isn’t about forgetting. It’s balancing moving forward with life, and looking back from time to time, remembering the people in it.”
i still remember reading the synopsis and looking at the cover for the first time and feeling a sharp tug of pain in my heart, hoping this book would make me shed tears throughout.
you've reached sam started off well, hitting me with the emotions, as julie feels sam's absence and then is connected to him through one fortunate call. i loved the realistic portrayal of grief, how its not one, right way to grieve your loved one and how you can hurt others in the process. julie's character doesn't become annoying at all, its just her wanting to hold onto sam while also learning to live without him. thao showed us the different ways people around sam grieved aptly. the brief glances into asian culture were a great inclusion as well.
my problem was with the middle, where things got bland and repetitive. maybe its because we only get to know of their relationship in pieces and flashbacks. i felt there could've been more happening in this stretch. i had questions that i wanted answers to but didn't get even as i flipped to the last page and i didn't feel anything for sam because well, the book is in 1st person. so i guess that hindered me from being invested in their relationship and reconnection.
of course, the last chapter is a total tear jerker. even though i didn't get my answers but the conclusion and their conversation moved me. but then again, that's the only time i was remotely emotional while reading the entire book.
you've reached sam is great for a debut novel, the writing easy to follow and i see the potential but it didn't turn out to be as sentimental or developed as i thought it would be. its a sweet story about grief, saying goodbyes and coming to terms with reality.
thank you netgalley and wednesday books for the arc!
i still remember reading the synopsis and looking at the cover for the first time and feeling a sharp tug of pain in my heart, hoping this book would make me shed tears throughout.
you've reached sam started off well, hitting me with the emotions, as julie feels sam's absence and then is connected to him through one fortunate call. i loved the realistic portrayal of grief, how its not one, right way to grieve your loved one and how you can hurt others in the process. julie's character doesn't become annoying at all, its just her wanting to hold onto sam while also learning to live without him. thao showed us the different ways people around sam grieved aptly. the brief glances into asian culture were a great inclusion as well.
my problem was with the middle, where things got bland and repetitive. maybe its because we only get to know of their relationship in pieces and flashbacks. i felt there could've been more happening in this stretch. i had questions that i wanted answers to but didn't get even as i flipped to the last page and i didn't feel anything for sam because well, the book is in 1st person. so i guess that hindered me from being invested in their relationship and reconnection.
of course, the last chapter is a total tear jerker. even though i didn't get my answers but the conclusion and their conversation moved me. but then again, that's the only time i was remotely emotional while reading the entire book.
you've reached sam is great for a debut novel, the writing easy to follow and i see the potential but it didn't turn out to be as sentimental or developed as i thought it would be. its a sweet story about grief, saying goodbyes and coming to terms with reality.
thank you netgalley and wednesday books for the arc!