Gimme a Call by Sarah Mlynowski

Gimme a Call
Sarah Mlynowski
Delacorte
Fantasy; Chick lit; Young Adult
April 2010

After accidentally dropping her cell phone into a fountain at the mall, fourteen-year-old Devi Banks starts to get phone calls--and an earful of advice on how to live her life to avoid making disastrous choices--from her seventeen-year-old self. (BWI description)

I love the premise of this book. There are times when I would dearly love for my older self to be able to give my younger self advice. Wouldn't you?

As you might expect, however, younger Devi isn't, at first, about to take any advice from anyone, especially the "Crazy Stalker Girl" on her phone. It takes a number of attempts by older Devi before younger Devi actually gets that it's her older self who is magically/mysteriously on the other end of the line.

How does it happen in the first place? Older Devi drops her cell phone into a magical fountain at the same time as she is wishing she could turn back the clock. Why? Devi's boyfriend, Bryan, has just broken up with her--right before the senior prom. But that's not the worst of it by far: for the past four years, she's been devoting her life to him. She's neglected her friends and her studies, and now she doesn't have any girlfriends, and she's being accepted only into mediocre colleges.

It's a fun premise. I loved seeing the differences between younger Devi and older Devi's attitudes, and how things in her life change during the four-year time span. When older Devi convinces younger Devi to change a single, small thing, it often changes older Devi's life in big ways. In the end, both Devis decide that the hassle of cleaning up a mess made as a result of changing fate isn't worth it. Each learns to live in a more balanced way.

I'd recommend this book to teens who are looking for a light, fun read. Bryan may be the cause of all of Devi's troubles, but their "cute meet" at a party is one of the most delightful scenes in the book.