Review: Gimme a Call

"A new life is just a phone call away!
Devi's life isn't turning out at all like she wanted. She wasted the past three years going out with Bryan—cute, adorable, break-your-heart Bryan. Devi let her friendships fade, blew off studying, didn't join any clubs . . . and now that Bryan has broken up with her, she has nothing left.
Not even her stupid cell phone—she dropped it in the mall fountain. Now it only calls one number . . . hers. At age fourteen, three years ago!
Once Devi gets over the shock—and convinces her younger self that she isn't some wacko—she realizes that she's been given an awesome gift. She can tell herself all the right things to do . . . because she's already done all the wrong ones! Who better to take advice from than your future self?
Except . . .what if getting what you think you want changes everything?"
-Good Reads

Stats:

• Publisher: Delacorte Books
• Release date: April 27, 2010
• Page count: 301 paperback/320 harcover
• Unique elements: Each chapter told from alternating views- Senior self then freshman self
• Would appeal to: Anyone who likes a cool concept, really

Favorite Quotes:
"If you kiss a boy and he doesn't remember, did it really happen? If it didn't happen, why do the memories still hurt?"

"'I guess that means you don't want to come outside with me and enjoy the gorgeous day? I have my very own bench that I'd be happy to introduce you to.'" (Bryan)

"'Oh, don't worry,' he says. 'I'm not doing that badly in American history. In fact, I don't even have Fungas.' 'Really? So why did you sign up for tutoring?' 'I wanted to spend time with the tutor.'"

"What if Bryan doesn't cheat on me this time?...I swallow hard. Yeah, I know, every Lifetime movie would tell me otherwise."

"Just because a relationship ends, it doesn't mean it's not worth having."

This may be my last review in a while since I start teaching school on Friday! Yikes! Anyway, it was a fun read. I'm glad we don't have professional development until 12:30 today because I got to sleep in after staying up to finish it.

The concept is quirky and cute. What would you tell your younger self if your older self had already experienced her own decisions/mistakes? It's pretty cool when the two versions of Devi figure it out together...as soon as freshman Devi does (or even thinks) a new plan, it usually happens and immediately impacts senior Devi's life. I love that her college acceptance letter pinned to her bulletin board keeps changing. It shows where younger Devi's at as far as academics go.

It all begins because Devi knows she's wasted her entire high school life on Bryan. She tells "frosh" everything to do to avoid dating Bryan and the things that will help her get into a good college. But when her friends change (sometimes for the worse) and Bryan doesn't even remember his connection with Devi and the time they dated, senior Devi begins to wonder: is it all worth changing?

The catch of it all is that even though freshman Devi changes parts of their life, senior Devi is stuck with the old memories. She remembers what no one around her does. It's even pretty weird when one minute her mom is asking about Bryan, the next, she has no recollection of who he is.

But all good things come to an end, and senior Devi's cell is on low battery. Will it die before the two versions of herself can create the ultimate life?

I hated the fact that senior Devi always turned statements into a question by adding "no?" onto the end. Like We could do that later, no? I made that one up, but it happened a lot. It makes sense when freshman Devi finds out why, but it was a little annoying. I appreciated the author making up terms that all the friends used, like "fabo" or Devi's "That's so dimples." Not phrases I've heard from teens, but it just illustrates the fact that they have their own expressions.

I liked the message that every action has a consequence. The people who gave reviews of the book said it was so wonderful and laugh out loud crazy. I didn't laugh as much as I thought I would. In fact, it was pretty slow until the last third of the book. I loved the ending though. I will read Mlynowski's book Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have). It looks great.

So, in the end, amazing concept, good characters, but needed a faster pace for me at the beginning.