She "charmed" us with the famous Magic in Manhattan series and has now managed to steal reader's hearts once again, this time through the story of a new fresh character, Devi. When she was a freshman, Devi fell head over heels for Bryan, and stayed with him for the rest of high school. She ditched her friends, let her grades drop, and focused all of her attention on this one boy. Unfortunately for Devi, Bryan breaks up with her at the end of senior year and Devi is left with absolutely nothing.
And then she drops her phone in the fountain. Luckily, it seemed to be working. However, Devi can only call one number - her younger frosh self! Older Devi guides 14 year old Devi through her freshman year of high school.
Her criteria: get amazing grades, participate in boatloads of extracurriculurs, focus on her friends, and completely avoid Bryan. Which is easier said than done for young Devi.
This book was great for a fresh plot and interesting twists. Mlynowski excellently constructed a story with a great climax, a few unexpected wrong turns for Devi, and what I enjoyed most was their alternating viewpoints. It was really interesting to see old Devi tell young Devi what to do, and then go back and see how it affected old Devi's life.
And if you think that last sentence was confusing, welcome to the world of Gimme A Call. One major downside was the confusion presented with the alternating narrators. Several times I was forced to reread chapters because I was interpreting it for the wrong Devi.
However, Mlynowski definitely makes up for this drawback. The character's voice is witty, quirky, and very humorous. It makes the story so fun to read, you never know exactly what Devi will say or do next that will actually have you laughing out loud.
My favorite aspect of this story, besides the voice, is the epilogue, as weird as that seems. If there was ever an appropriate moment for the expression omg, which I doubt there is, this would be it.
This story, although lacking in clarity and excitement, depicts the interesting and fresh tale of Devi's self-discovery and conveys a very important message to readers as well about the meaning of having fun, living in the present, but always keeping an eye on the future.
I recommend this book to any reader, but those who enjoyed Mlynowski's Magic In Manhattan series, or the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter - which shares a similar narrative voice - will especially like Gimme A Call.
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