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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If only..., June 16, 2010
Have you ever wished you could change your future by correcting a mistake of the past? If so, you're not alone. Meet Devi Banks. She's weeks away from graduating high school and prom is around the corner. It's her senior year and she should be happy, right? Well, she's not.
You see, her boyfriend, Bryan, of three plus years just broke up with her. Technically, they're not broken up yet, but they will be when college starts in the fall. Devi heads to the mall to return a present she just purchased for him prior his decision to end their relationship. Angry, confused and hurt she listens (yet again) to his voice message to her. She begins thinking if only she never met Bryan. If only they never were a couple, then she wouldn't feel so miserable right now. It's at that very moment, Devi accidentally drops her cell phone in the fountain and her life changes.
When she recovers her wet phone, at first glance it appears to be working, however when she tries to dial a number it flashes her number on the screen. Devi soon realizes she's able to talk to her freshman self, days before she meets Bryan.
Devi, as a freshman, is skeptical when she receives her first phone call from Devi, as a senior. After several conversations, she realizes she's speaking to her future self. Too make things less confusing, senior Devi is known as "Ivy" and freshman Devi is known as "Frosh". Ivy is able to persuade Frosh into not agreeing to go out with Bryan when he first asks her out. As a result, Ivy begins to notice changes in her life and begins having Frosh alter other areas as well. Finally, Ivy is free of Bryan and their relationship. But is that a good thing? Or what she truly wants?
Gimme a Call is a fun read. It brought back high school memories and made me think about what I would have changed in my senior year based on my decisions I made as a freshman. Mlynowski did a fantastic job of setting up the plot and never once confusing the reader. It was entertaining to see how much Ivy altered her life through her conversations with Frosh.
Although Gimme a Call is classified as young adult fiction, I think adults would also enjoy this one. It's a good pick for those lazy, summer days. Fans of Mlynowski's previous novels will not be disappointed.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A highly entertaining, humorous, and fun read that will leave you flying through the pages, June 10, 2010
In Sarah Mlynowski's latest young adult novel, GIMME A CALL, 18-year-old Devi Banks thinks she is given a golden opportunity when she has a freak accident with her cell phone. After dropping it into a fountain at the mall, the phone calls only one person --- herself. At age 14. Senior year Devi is in agony over a recent breakup with Bryan, her boyfriend throughout high school. She devoted all her time and energy to him, and after the separation finds herself alone with no friends, no boyfriend, and an acceptance letter to a crummy college nicknamed "Stupid State."
After her phone starts malfunctioning, Devi has to convince both versions of herself about what happened. "Hah --- maybe I did just call my freshman self by accident. Yeah, right. Not possible. My neck begins to tingle again. What is up with that? Maybe I'm not such a good judge about what's possible and what's not. I never thought it possible that Bryan and I would break up. So who knows what's possible? Maybe I did make a wish. Maybe it did come true. Maybe I did call myself in the past. Maybe I can keep calling myself in the past...Maybe I'm losing my mind."
Finally, with some more phone calls between the two Devis, an exchange of information, and a couple of experiments, future Devi gets through to her 14-year-old self that it really is her --- past and future. And now is the time to make changes. First up? Bryan. If she had never dated Bryan, she would've spared herself the heartbreak. "The breakup. The breakup that breaks your heart. That's what I want to save her from. I want to wrap her up in a fuzzy coat of denial and protect her. `You fall in love with the wrong guy,' I say carefully...Don't go out with Bryan Sanderson."
Senior year Devi also has a lot of other requests for her freshman self. She wants her to overload in extracurricular activities so she can get into a better college. She wants her to study, study, study. She wants her to remain close to her friends and bond more with her parents. But will freshman year Devi listen to senior year Devi? And what happens when her future self becomes a too-demanding control freak?
GIMME A CALL is a highly entertaining, humorous, and fun read that will leave you flying through the pages and glancing curiously at your own cell phone from time to time. The light fantasy and time-traveling elements add a truly unique twist --- not to mention that both the protagonist and antagonist are the same character!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A refreshing glass of lemonade, May 9, 2010
After wasting four years of high school slacking off with her boyfriend, Devi Banks wishes for a second chance. She never took academics seriously, let old friendships drift away, and didn't get involved with any of the school's extracurriculars. Her boyfriend, Bryan, dumped her before college, so now Devi has nothing meaningful left, except a life at Stulen State College, a.k.a. "Stupid State". Devi desperately wishes to redo the past four years. Her wish is miraculously granted when she accidentally drops her cell phone in the fountain, and now, the only number it can call is her own, three and a half years ago on the first day of freshman year.
Once she gets over her initial incredulity and convinces her younger self what's happening, Devi realizes that she can use this situation to her advantage - the chance of redoing her life that she's been dreaming for is literally sitting in her hands. She now has the ability to tell the younger Devi what to do - after all, what better advisor is there than your future self?
I won an ARC copy of Gimme a Call from a Random Buzzer's giveaway and was anticipating its arrival. Sarah Mlynowski's Magic in Manhattan series was superb, so this book was bound to be good! The sypnosis looked quite original, and when it came, I immediately buried my nose between the pages. This fun novel has a great barrel-ahead momentum, which is refreshing, and like most Sarah Mlynoski books, I finished it in one sitting. It was funny, crazy, sad, and downright entertaining - everything any chicklit novel should be. Yet even with the interesting premise, I felt that this novel had unfulfilled its potential and my expectations.
The author should have elaborated on some of the themes hidden beneath the cheery surface of this book. The more serious theme of making good decisions is partially smothered beneath the book's fluff, and at the end, I wasn't sure whether the older Devi learns her lesson properly. The two main characters, older Devi and younger Devi, seem like completely different people, even though they are technically the same. Younger Devi is likable, witty, and intelligent, and it seems as if she doesn't need older Devi to help her. Older Devi has a personality that is selfish and boring, and she keeps bossing her younger self around. Throughout the novel, I found myself rooting for the younger Devi, which is quite strange, since older Devi is the same person.
If this novel was a drink, it would be sweet and refreshing lemonade, but a little too watery to make an impression on my taste buds. Any girl who is over the age of eleven will enjoy this quick read.
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