This Magical World: A Guest Post by Dustin Thao

If you shed tears over When Haru Was Here and You’ve Reached Sam, we hope you’ve recharged your tear ducts for You’ve Found Oliver, the latest and most satisfyingly heart-wrenching story from Dustin Thao. Read on for an exclusive essay from Dustin on writing You’ve Found Oliver.

“I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow. Maybe nothing will change at all. But in case I don’t come back, I want you to know something.

I love you.

I wish I had told you in person.”

It’s been three years since You’ve Reached Sam blew up on TikTok. Never could I have imagined that over a million people would connect with the story, and I’d get to return to this magical world with Sam’s best friend, Oliver. The character so many readers fell in love with and messaged me about over the years. Like many of you, I always knew his story was unfinished. 

The idea for this book came to me in an unusual way. I was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for my friends to arrive. These friends happened to be fellow authors, Alex Aster and Chloe Gong. Alex was running a little late. When she finally arrived, she couldn’t find our table. So I told her to meet me up front. Strangely, I didn’t see her anywhere. After some texts back and forth, I decided to call her.  

“I’m inside.”

“I’m inside, too.”

We described the same place, from the decor to the gold letters on the door. It was the strangest feeling. Two people standing at the exact same spot, talking over the phone, but unable to find each other. Turns out, there was a sister restaurant with the same name. But the feeling stayed with me when we finally sat for dinner. At the end of the night, I turned to Alex and Chloe and said, “I know what my next book is about.”

You’ve Found Oliver is a time slip romance about finding the person you’re meant for in every single universe. The story takes place one year after Sam’s death. When Oliver accidentally calls Sam’s number, he is connected to a stranger named Ben who lives a couple hours away. As the two continue texting, they slowly develop a connect and decide to meet in person. But they realize they live six months apart in different timelines. It is a standalone novel that can be read on its own. I hope it gives you a new perspective on love, loss, and the infinite possibilities our lives can take.

—Dustin Thao