Gimme a Call tells the story of eighteen-year-old Devi Banks, who wastes her entire high school career in blind devotion to her boyfriend, Bryan. She ditches her girlfriends and slacks off in her classes---all because her main focus is their relationship. Right before senior prom though, Bryan breaks up with Devi, leaving her heartbroken and bitter and, well, really pissed.
But things start looking up for Devi when she accidentally drops her phone into a fountain. When she retrieves her phone out of the muck, she discovers something weird---the only person she can call is her fourteen-year-old self. Pretty cool, right? After she recovers from the craziness of it all, Devi sets out to make things right. She forces her younger self to hit the books, to join the yearbook staff, to try out for sports, and to stay away from Bryan. But...things never go as planned...
It's a fast read and vastly entertaining. I even found myself laughing out loud at a few parts of the book. Granted, Devi can get a bit grating in her endeavor to make herself over, but I really did love this book.
After I finished the last page, I couldn't help but wonder about my own high school years and how I would change things if given the chance. Here are a few things I would say to my younger self:
To twelve-year-old Caroline: "Do NOT use the hair brush you find in the hotel bathroom at Matt Slevin's bar mitzvah. It will give you lice and you will be horrendously embarassed. HORRENDOUSLY EMBARASSED!"
To fourteen-year-old Caroline: "Get thee to a dermatologist! Please, ask Dad to make an appointment for you. (Mom will just give you strange home remedies to cure acne.) Save yourself from years of torture!"
To sixteen-year-old Caroline: "Take showers more often. For the love of God..."
To eighteen-year-old Caroline: "Um, yeah, stop obsessing over boys so much. Sorry to break it to you, but Dan doesn't like you and neither does Nick or Matt. I'm sorry for being so harsh, but it's true! You're wasting your time, honey bun."
To twenty-year-old Caroline: "When you encounter Yorkshire pudding for the first time in London, keep in mind that this is not a dessert. Repeat: do not pour peaches and cream over this salty concoction. It will make you look like a stupid American."
What about you? What would you say to your younger self if you had a magical cell phone?
