You've Reached Sam

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue and Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-18 and Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Background

Literary Context: Magical Realism

The genre of magical realism, a term first coined in 1925, is “a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy,” usually associated with Latin America, where it was first created (“What is Magical Realism?”). In this genre, the world is still grounded, but fantastical elements are added into the normal world. Stories blur the line between reality and fantasy, focusing on “mundane situations with fantastical elements” (“What is Magical Realism?”). Often, authors “deliberately leave the magic in their stories unexplained,” which occurs in You’ve Reached Sam, as Thao never explains how and why the cell phone connects Julie and Sam after his death (“What is Magical Realism?”). Some rules of the phone are established, such as their connection not lasting forever, or Julie needing to pick up if Sam calls her instead. Beyond these few rules that Sam can decipher, their magical phone calls are never clarified. In fact, in response to Julie’s many questions, Sam often repeats that he doesn’t understand how they’re able to talk, but that they should just trust and enjoy their incredible second chance.

Though Julie at first distrusts the phone connection and tries to make sense of it, she finally accepts it. After she shares one of her calls with Mika, she fully understands that she isn’t crazy and the calls are real. To highlight the fact that everything else in Julie’s world is ordinary, Thao has her question if the calls are reality or if she’s hallucinating due to her stressful grief. The novel never reveals logic for the phone calls, instead leaving them a surreal aspect of an otherwise ordinary world, creating a unique premise about communicating with departed loved ones and fitting the genre well.

Authorial Context: Dustin Thao and Cathartic Writing

Thao wrote his debut novel You’ve Reached Sam based on personal experiences. He was inspired by the idea of “getting to speak with someone you’ve loved and lost” and having a “second chance to say goodbye” (Koehler, Mimi. “Q&A: Dustin Thao, Author of ‘You’ve Reached Sam’.” The Nerd Daily, 5 Nov. 2021). Though he doesn’t reveal who he was thinking about, Thao shares he had a specific person in mind from his own life while writing. He grappled with grief over his own “Sam” to help spark his writing: “Since I drew from some of my personal experiences, the writing ended up being cathartic for me” (“Q&A: Dustin Thao…”). Just like his character Julie, the author’s writing was a therapeutic, healing experience for him. He enjoyed writing the flashbacks most, as they linked the past to present, imagining them as movie montages with transitions from memory to memory.

Thao thought this story would be universal, as we’ve all lost people we’ve loved—or will at some point. Because he believes grief is a difficult topic to dissect and describe, he was patient in his writing approach: “It’s a story I kept restarting over and over again. It actually took me a few years to write. I think that gave me a lot of time to think through [Julie’s] emotional journey. [...] I did my best to be as honest as I knew how, and that meant drawing from some of my own experiences of loss” (“Q&A: Dustin Thao…”). He describes Julie’s grieving process as “raw,” “slow,” and “frustrating,” but that the novel explores the ways grief can manifest in different people. For instance, while Julie first withdraws and tries to forget, Mika and Oliver face Sam’s death and actively take steps to remember him, such as planning vigils or visiting his grave. Thao hopes that readers can connect with the characters and understand the various ways they navigate grief, as there isn’t one coping mechanism that works for everyone. Currently revising a sequel, Thao plans to tackle similar themes of love and loss, calling his next book another emotional work with a hint of magic.

You've Reached Sam

Background

Literary Context: Magical Realism

Authorial Context: Dustin Thao and Cathartic Writing

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