Customer Reviews

Gimme A Call

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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.

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!

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.

Devi is about to graduate and she's got almost nothing to show for four years at high school except a lengthy failed relationship with her boyfriend, Bryan. Devi's just thinking about how much she'd love to change her past and accomplish something during her school years, when her cell phone falls into a wishing fountain in a mall and suddenly starts dialing only one number: Devi's own number, four years ago. If Senior Devi can only talk Freshman Devi into leaving Bryan alone and spending more time with her friends, their joint future can be fixed. Come to think of it, why shouldn't Senior Devi get Freshman Devi to improve her grades and get herself into a better college? How about about a nice, big scholarship? Why not win the lottery in the past while they're at it? The possibilities are endless, but they're not all the right choices. Senior Devi has to decide just how much of her past she wants or needs to erase.

I love far-out premises when they work, and this one does. Who doesn't long to change some portion of their past, or just tweak it slightly? Devi made one wrong choice, dating Bryan to the exclusion of all else, and it swallowed up a lot of interesting things she might have done. But does avoiding Bryan in the past truly improve her future? Gimme a Call has a dual POV and it does this cool thing where it lets you see Freshman Devi (called "Frosh") in her first young impressions without the weight of disappointment, where Bryan is actually really sweet and fun, not the heartbreaking monster Senior Devi (called "Ivy") makes him out to be. If we were seeing only Frosh POV, Bryan would be the hero/main guy, hands down. But we're getting both ends of the YA spectrum; the "heartbroken girl breaks up with someone and finds new purpose" type story and "enthused girl meets someone special and finds new purpose" story. Both girls are endearing, it it's nice to see their idealism and cynicism set off against each other.

The idea of changing the past is engrossing, and the book deals with the past-future communication time warp with panache that would do a science fiction writer proud. Every decision Frosh makes changes Ivy's reality, but the whole getting-rid-of-Bryan thing is not as easy as is looks. Also, Ivy keeps her original memories and with every change Frosh makes to the past, Ivy is faced with an altered present that she isn't prepared for. The two Devi's struggles also raise some excellent questions about what exactly constitutes wasted time. Yes, Ivy hasn't done any extracurriculars or maintained any hobbies at all, but is it really a good thing for Frosh to over-extend herself trying to cram in a bunch of activities and clubs while still pulling in a high GPA? Add to that, Ivy keeps trying to fix her friends' problems by fixing the past, and she has some friends who will not be fixed: they are going to have serious self-esteem issues no matter what. Some tough issues to mull over, there.

Oh my goodness, this story is enjoyable. It's a straight-up fun read. The two girls learn a lot during the course of the book, particularly Ivy, who can't see beyond her own immediate needs because it's Frosh who has to put in all the effort while Ivy seemingly reaps the benefits. Frosh has a very tender heart and Ivy does too, when she can stop thinking about herself and learn that there are no quick fixes to her troubles. In the end, growth is achieved, balance is struck--and Sarah Mlynowski's on my auto-buy list.

Gimme A Call is a fun read. Devi is coming to the end of her Senior year. She hasn't gotten over the recent breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Bryan, when her phone suddenly allows her to talk with "Frosh," Freshman self. She quickly discovers how mutable past events are and sets her younger self to work "improving" their life, trying to get into a better college. Devi is in constant contact and conflict with Frosh-Devi is adamant about removing Bryan from her life almost as much as he is about keeping himself in it. The littlest changes in Frosh's schedule completely changes Devi's-and everyone else's-reality, but always leaves her memories intact. One minute her family is filthy rich and she has a prom date, then next it is back to normal and she doesn't. When Devi's phone battery begins to die she must learn to relinquish control of the past and her tired Frosh self.

I enjoyed both of the main characters. The dialogue was fresh and the pace smooth. There are no brilliant revelations hidden between these pages, but the concept of contentment and making wise-but-unanxious decisions is reinforced in a unique way. If you're thinking of reading this book, give it a go.

Seventeen-year-old Devi Banks has a whole list of things she'd tell her younger self: do not let Karin Ferris cut your bangs, do not put a marshmallow in the toaster oven and most importantly DO NOT fall for Bryan Sanderson during freshmen year.

And then, the strangest thing happens.

Devi's cell falls into the fountain at the mall - like throwing pennies to make a wish - and after she fishes it out, the phone will only dial one number. Hers. From freshmen year. At first, neither version of Devi can believe what's happening, but once they realize it's real, older-and-supposedly-wiser Devi advises her younger self on how to make important changes to their life.

Gimme a Call is a fun, fast read told in alternating points of view between the older and the younger Devi. Author Sarah Mlynowski adds depth to the story when she shows the repercussions of our actions and choices from those that seem insignificant, like a compliment on your friend's appearance, to more important ones, like how a teen approaches school and studying.

-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

Regrets. Those choices we make in life that we wished would have turned out differently. In high school, there were a lot of those. Wouldn't it be nice if we could tell our younger self not to make certain decisions.

In Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski, Devorah Banks (Devi) gets that chance. High school senior Devi is wallowing in pity following the break up of her four year romance with Bryan. She drops her phone in a fountain and realizes that the only number she can call is herself...three years ago. Devi seizes the opportunity to help her freshman self make different, and supposedly better, decisions. The decisions and choices, of course, have consequences.

As in the Magic in Manhattan series, Mlynowski gives us a fast, entertaining read. The plot is quick moving. It was easy to follow with each chapter alternating between the freshman and senior Devi. Devi (both as a freshman and a senior) is a realistic, mostly likeable character. The supporting cast of characters were believeable and likeable. It is a well written twist on the Back to the Future theme. Young adult readers age 10 and up will appreicate this tale.

Even as a woman ten years out of high school, I enjoyed this YA read. Both senior Devi and freshman Devi are engaging characters, and you are invested in both their lives and see both their points of view. I also liked how the book had an underlying theme about the consequences of messing with the past. Although none of us are actually given the opportunity to turn back the clock, I'm sure I'm not the only person who thinks back on her life and wishes she had done some things differently.

Mlynowski also does a good job creating a believable relationship between the two Devis, and their conversations are hardly ever boring, despite that they are never actually in the same room together and all their conversations happen on the phone. This couldn't have always been an easy feat for the writer.

I thought the book could have been a little shorter, and at times was impatient with Devi & Devi's antics. Near the end, it just felt like the book was dragging on and I was ready for resolution. I had had enough of Ivy's berating of Frosh, to the point where I started to not like her. That complaint said, the book really is a fun read and worthwhile.

GIMME A CALL is a fun, quick read about second chances, learning from your mistakes, and how to not lose yourself in a boy.

There are two main characters, but they're actually the same girl. Devi, the senior, manages to call herself in the past, just as she's starting high school. She's in a rough spot and regrets the choices she's made over the past three years and relishes the chance to change things (via her past self) for her present and future.

I really enjoyed following along with the switches that occurred in the future as a result of younger Devi making changes in the past. Sometimes they were good (like a better prom dress!) and sometimes they weren't good at all (marital trouble for the parents).

GIMME A CALL is a cute, fast-paced story full of well-developed characters and an interesting look at how high school, and what comes after, can turn out very differently with just a few small changes. It would make a fantastic teen movie!

See more of my reviews at StoryboundGirl {dot} com.

I found it in some store for three dollars and didn't really expect much from it. But once I started reading it I could not put it. It is really good and one of the few books I wont mind reading again. Basically it is about a high school senior girl that has screwed up her life and is given a chance to communicate with her freshman self and change her life. After a while the senior girl was getting me annoyed. You would think that since she was talking to herself that she would be kinder and more considerate. Instead she would just yell at her....all the time. However in a way it is to be expected since everything the freshman did changed the life of the senior. There was a part in the story when the Freshman was about to win the lottery and the senior normal house became a mansion in an instant. There are a lot of funny moments, and not to sound cheesy but it actually teaches you a good lesson.

Sorry if the review doesn't make since. It is my first time writing one.