My letter “Y” pick for the 2023 A to Z Reading Challenge was YOU’VE REACHED SAM by Dustin Thao.

This book was an emotionally eviscerating journey into grief and loss as we follow seventeen year old Julie. She has great plans for her life and is looking forward to sharing all of them with her boyfriend Sam. She tragically loses him, and in pure, grieving desperation a week or so after he dies, she calls his cellphone – and Sam picks up.

The “how” of this is never explained – we just sort of go with it and the story doesn’t suffer for that. The “why” of this is simple and heartfelt. Sam, while acknowledging their great love for each other, wants Julie to move on with her life.

This book was a very fast read but no less impactful for it. The kind of book that stays with you long after you close it. I adored the character of Sam. I fell hard for this book boyfriend and mourned him right along with Julie. This would have been a five star read for me but there were a few flaws. The plot and dialogue at times felt forced, and Julie was hard to connect with due to her being scatterbrained and forgetful a lot. I also had a really hard time with the way she treated Sam’s family and friends at first, compounded by everyone’s insistence that she just get over it and move on already. She and Sam dated for three years and it was only a couple of weeks since he died, for creep’s sake. Despite all this, I still couldn’t put the book down.

All in all, a very good read. Four stars.