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Wildfire #45
Phone Calls
Juliet struggles to discover which of her friends is responsible for a series of anonymous romantic telephone calls
Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 24, 2012
I found a copy of this as an impressionable middle schooler (as we were reading Shakespeare in English, no less) and young Wendy was swept away by the romantic idea of an unknown boy calling and quoting Romeo and Juliet. I was reading something else recently that talked about the color lilac and I suddenly had a vivid memory of a lilac dress that was super important to a story, and I remembered that it was this book and had to reread it.
As an adult, I can see how mannered some of this was, but also have an appreciation for the warm relationship Juli has with her grandma, the complicated one with her widowed mom, the exasperated affectionate one with her sister, and the straight-talking supportive one with her best friend. There are a lot of boys in this book, but not in an icky way--all are friends that she starts to look upon with potential interest and the author uses them to show the different parts of Juliet's personality. I liked that when all those boys ask why she finally chose the one she chose, she answers that he doesn't like her because she likes sports or reading or whatever, or expects anything from her--he just likes her for being her. It's a reminder of the importance of self-acceptance as well.
If this all sounds a bit after-school special, well, it is. It was published around that same era. While I'm guessing modern teens will find this pretty old-fashioned, time hasn't spoiled my affection for the story and the sheer romantic fantasy of it at all. This is one of those books that launched my love of romances and now I have an urge to find other ones from this series!
As an adult, I can see how mannered some of this was, but also have an appreciation for the warm relationship Juli has with her grandma, the complicated one with her widowed mom, the exasperated affectionate one with her sister, and the straight-talking supportive one with her best friend. There are a lot of boys in this book, but not in an icky way--all are friends that she starts to look upon with potential interest and the author uses them to show the different parts of Juliet's personality. I liked that when all those boys ask why she finally chose the one she chose, she answers that he doesn't like her because she likes sports or reading or whatever, or expects anything from her--he just likes her for being her. It's a reminder of the importance of self-acceptance as well.
If this all sounds a bit after-school special, well, it is. It was published around that same era. While I'm guessing modern teens will find this pretty old-fashioned, time hasn't spoiled my affection for the story and the sheer romantic fantasy of it at all. This is one of those books that launched my love of romances and now I have an urge to find other ones from this series!
January 28, 2012
I read this book when I was an extremely precocious middle-schooler (back in the early Jurassic period), and I have an irrational amount of love for it to this day. Juliet keeps getting phone calls from a secret admirer! But is it the guy she secretly admires? Oh, the suspense!
Some day I will find all of the books in this series and reread them for great justice. You read it here first.
Some day I will find all of the books in this series and reread them for great justice. You read it here first.
October 26, 2016
Two stars for the story, five stars for the cover!
I want to recreate that cover myself some day. I can just see myself taking the book into the hairdresser and saying: "I want to look like this!" Then I'd have to find an old-fashioned landline phone. I'm sure it's doable.
The story? Oh yeah. Juliet gets mysterious romantic phone calls that eventually give her the courage to grow out her hair and wear pink sweaters. It's sweet and predictable.
I want to recreate that cover myself some day. I can just see myself taking the book into the hairdresser and saying: "I want to look like this!" Then I'd have to find an old-fashioned landline phone. I'm sure it's doable.
The story? Oh yeah. Juliet gets mysterious romantic phone calls that eventually give her the courage to grow out her hair and wear pink sweaters. It's sweet and predictable.
January 26, 2026
Picked for the cover, obvs, but it’s a pretty great coming-of-age drama, peppered with good messages but never pandering.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews