Back of Book: 

A heartfelt novel about love and loss and what it means to say goodbye. 

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 belongings, and tries everything to forget him. But a message Sam left behind in her yearbook forces memories to return. Desperate to hear him one more time, Julie calls Sam's cell just to listen to his voice mail recording. And Sam picks up the phone. 

The connection is temporary. But hearing Sam's voice makes Julie fall for him all over again, and, with each call, it becomes harder to let him go. 

What would you do if you had a second chance at goodbye? 

Book Number: One

Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Magical Realism 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

A new story, a new love, an impossible divide. The much-awaited companion to the New York Times bestselling You’ve Reached Sam will break your heart open.

I’ve missed you every day since you left. But I’m sure you already knew that. It’s time to let you go now. I’ll miss you all the time, Sam.

It’s been a year since his best friend, Sam, died. Even though Oliver knows he won’t get a response, he can’t stop texting Sam’s number, especially as the anniversary of his death approaches.

Then one day he accidentally hits the call button, and someone picks up.

The voice on the other end isn’t Sam. Sam’s number was reassigned and a stranger has been receiving Oliver’s private and vulnerable messages for months. But Ben, a college student in Seattle, won’t remain a stranger for long. Oliver knows he should stop communicating now that he knows the truth—but he can’t get Ben out of his head. 

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary | Romance | LGBTQIA+ | Magical Realism 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An alternate universe romance featuring two grieving boys living in separate timelines who somehow come together just as they need each other most. 

It's been a year since Oliver's best friend, Sam, died in a tragic car accident. Even now, Oliver texts Sam when he misses him most. Oliver knows that his friend is gone and Sam will never respond to him. When Oliver accidentally hits the call button, someone picks up the phone. It's not Sam, but rather a stranger that has been receiving Oliver's personal messages for months. It turns out that Ben is just the person to help Oliver through his grief. Oliver will always miss Sam, but meeting someone like Ben helps relieve the daily pain. Oliver knows that he should leave Ben alone, but he just can't seem to help himself...

I have long been awaiting the sequel to "You've Reached Sam," so it's no surprise that I finished this one in a single day. Oliver was one of my favorite characters from the original book, so I was stoked to learn more about him in this one. And honestly, Julie has come a long way in a year as she is a much more likeable human in this one. 

Similar to "You've Reached Sam," "You've Found Oliver" features a hint of magical realism. This one still has a hint of mystery and magic surrounding Sam's phone, but it also plays with alternate universes and splitting timelines. I personally find these topics to be fascinating to consider, so I was very intrigued by Oliver and Ben's entire situation. It turns out that Oliver is living six months in the future compared to Ben and happens to find himself returning to the previous fall (i.e. Ben's timeline). This obviously adds a complex part to their relationship; these two individuals exist in separate timelines or alternate universes. Tension is thrown into the story due to this conundrum, and I feared that Thao wouldn't allow these two the happy ending they deserve. Luckily, Thao didn't absolutely crush my soul with this novel. 

Much like "Sam," "Oliver" is a novel that dives deep into the throngs of grief. Yes, it has been a year since Sam died, but Oliver still mourns his loss every single day. I'm happy to report that this one has a much lighter tone compared to "Sam," but it does a great job at showcasing the fact that grief never truly goes away. 

Oliver is definitely one of those kids who is going to college just because he has no idea what to do with himself. He hasn't found anything he is truly passionate about and he struggles to find meaning in the life that Sam left him with. He always thought that he would go to college with his best friend and get the chance to travel the world with him. Now, he feels stuck in his hometown with few ambitions. As this story progresses, Ben shows Oliver his passion for astronomy and inspires Oliver in various ways. Oliver also reflects on his time spent with Sam and realizes that Sam was a dreamer who never got to achieve his dreams. Oliver recognizes that he doesn't have to live out Sam's dreams in his stead, but that he should seize the opportunities that life offers him. 

It was also really cool to see how far Julie has come. I alluded to the fact that she is more palatable as a person, but she is also going places. She's studying abroad, chasing her dreams as an author, and living her life as best as she can, even though Sam is gone. I also found it comical the way that she reacted to Oliver's big reveal. Obviously, Julie has lived through some pretty crazy stuff herself with her dead boyfriend talking to her for months, so she certainly suspects some things when Oliver starts acting strange. 

I actually really enjoyed the ending of this one. Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of books that end sort of like this one does, but this ending is filled with such hope that I actually really enjoyed it. Also, the Barnes & Noble exclusive bonus chapter from Ben's PoV wasn't Earth shattering, but it was sweet to see him realizing that everything was going to be okay in the end. 

Overall, "You've Found Oliver" was a stellar follow up to "You've Reached Sam." It isn't nearly as emotional as its predecessor, but this contemporary romance certainly is doused in magical realism, too. I really like Oliver as a person and feel that Ben has a lot to offer also. This one leans a bit into the New Adult category now that the characters are going to college, which I think is great. Seeing how Oliver and Julie's lives have progressed is really cool and I think fans of the first will love to see how they've grown. Thao's third published work was awesome, and I look forward to seeing what he writes next!