Gimme A Call by Sarah Mlynowski

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

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. 

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

Rating: 4 out of 10

When I saw this book in the store, I was definitely intrigued. A picture of a floating wedding dress in the ocean...cool, right? And reading the back cover drew me in even more: A story of the five Taylor sisters, Mimi, Jane, Amelie, Emma, and Blythe, who board the Titanic with hopes of traveling to America. Little did I know, this book is barely about the Titanic. The sisters only get on the Titanic two-thirds of the way into the story. For the rest of the book, Weyn tells the story of their past: they lived in a society of clairvoyants, saw a real time travel machine and met the scientist Nikolas Tesla, as well as many other scientists. Told through Jane perspective, this story was definitely not what I expected. There is some romance involved, but very little, although the image on the front cover connotes that the story revolves around love and marriage. Basically, this is a story of time travel and psychic abilities. Not a tale of the Titanic sinking. Distant Waves is an interesting story, nonetheless. However, I thought it lacked excitement and suspense. Low points for this novel are weak character development and an inability to keep me wanting to read more. However, the historical events and figures are very neat. For example, on the Titanic, the sisters meet the only african american passenger on the boat, Joseph LaRoche. Turns out, Joseph LaRoche was a real guy. When I went to the Titanic exhibit a few years ago, there was information about him there. Also, the romance between Jane and Thad, and Mimi and her fiance is fun and interesting to read about. But that's about it. The story is very far-fetched at some parts, and downright boring at others. Don't let the title cover deceive you - this is not a story about the Titanic. I recommend this story for people interested in clairvoyance and spiritualism, although anyone who wants an imaginative tale, or even a historical fiction tale will enjoy reading it.