21 exciting YA book releases we can’t wait to read in Fall 2021
By Lacy Baugher
Fall 2021 release: You’ve Reached Sam – Dustin Thao
A heartfelt story about love, loss, and grief, Dustin Thao’s bittersweet novel You’ve Reached Sam will likely make you shed some tears this Fall.
The story follows Julie, a seventeen-year-old small-town girl who’s ready for her life to change. She is about to graduate and head off to college with her longtime boyfriend Sam. They’ve even planned a summer abroad together first. But then Sam dies and everything does change – but not in the way Julie would have ever asked for.
Desperate to move on from the pain she feels, Julie tries her hardest to forget her grief. She skips Sam’s funeral, she throws out his things. She refuses to talk about the way he died. But when she calls his phone to hear his voicemail one last time something strange happens – Sam answers.
What would you do if you got one last chance to say goodbye to someone you loved?
The official synopsis offers more details about the story.
"Seventeen-year-old Julie has her future all planned out—move out of her small town with her boyfriend Sam, attend college in the city, spend a summer in Japan. But then Sam dies. And everything changes. Heartbroken, Julie skips his funeral, throws out his things, and tries everything to forget him and the tragic way he died. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces back memories. Desperate to hear his voice one more time, Julie calls Sam’s cellphone just to listen to his voicemail. And Sam picks up the phone. In a miraculous turn of events, Julie’s been given a second chance at goodbye. The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam’s voice makes her fall for him all over again, and with each call it becomes harder to let him go. However, keeping her otherworldly calls with Sam a secret isn’t easy, especially when Julie witnesses the suffering Sam’s family is going through. Unable to stand by the sidelines and watch their shared loved ones in pain, Julie is torn between spilling the truth about her calls with Sam and risking their connection and losing him forever."
You’ve Reached Sam is available on November 2.