Book Review: You’ve Reached Sam 

By Dustin Thao 

2 Stars 

Dustin Thao’s You’ve Reached Sam revolves around Julie, a senior in high school, grieving the death of her boyfriend, Sam. She feels somewhat guilty for his death and deals with his passing by trying to remove all her memories of him, which leads to her deleting all photos and messages, throwing out belongings and not taking part in memorial events. Julie ultimately forgot herself in her attempt to forget her boyfriend, who can’t seem to leave her mind. When she feels like she’s at rock bottom, she hopelessly gives Sam a call, and to her surprise, he picks up. This book deals with emotional topics, such as grieving losing a loved one. This book is suitable for readers 14 and up. I found that this book was not worthwhile and would not recommend it to others. The book had a consistent negative tone and had several depressing characters. The story was weak and extremely slow. The book lacks the ability to pull readers in and keep them interested. Considering that this book mainly dealt with death and grief, I was expecting a meaningful takeaway. But this book did not leave the readers with anything profound or heartfelt, which was a big disappointment and made the book feel pointless. On the other hand, I commend Thao’s ability to tastefully weave in magical realism in a way that made the book more enjoyable. I like how the author described the relationship between Julie and Sam in a very realistic way. Julie and Sam were both high schoolers, still trying to figure out who they were and their place in the world. So naturally their relationship was awkward, where they both lied that they liked certain bands, uncomfortable at times, and codependent. This brought a realism to the characters that strayed away from the ideal couples we see in the movies. This is for the readers that enjoy books that contain real-life issues, magical realism and believable endings.     

Reviewed by Amiesha as part of the Teen Reviewer, opens a new window program.

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