Book Review: “Gimme a Call”

By Sarah Mylnowski
Delacorte Press, 2010

Reviewed by Danielle Benedetti, 16
California

Devi is completely heartbroken when Bryan, her boyfriend of three years, dumps her. She has no friends (she blew them off to hang out with Bryan all those years), no hobbies (she didn't have time for any, because of Bryan), and no prom date. She feels even worse when she drops her cell phone in a fountain, until she realizes that it can now call her freshman self."  She's sure she can convince her younger self to avoid Bryan at all costs and work twice as hard to keep her friends happy and to get into a good college, but freshman Devi isn't so sure she wants to ignore the advances of the adorable Bryan or spend all her time doing homework. Soon, older Devi begins to feel the same way because as she tells her younger self what to do, her life changes as well.

Once Frosh Devi is convinced the person calling her is, in fact, her future self, Gimme a Call is full of nonstop action and hilarity as a result of all the changes Senior Devi forces Frosh to make. The point-of-view switch between Senior Devi and Frosh can be a bit confusing because they have a similar writing style and tone, but I liked how I was able to see how the changes Frosh makes affected Senior's life. Each time Frosh changes something, Senior's life turns completely upside dow, with wild changes that affect her friends, grades, and parents. I wish there were more time spent on some of the resulting changes, but even where the changes were addressed briefly, they were amusing. I also wish there was more development of some characters because all the changes made it difficult to truly understand their personalities. Luckily, Frosh and Senior Devi were much more believable.

I loved reading about the changes they bring about in each other. Even though they had their own separate thoughts and attitudes, they had a lot to teach each other about friendship, work, and boys. Gimme a Call is a funny, fast, and totally delightful read.