Wake-up Call

Sabrina the Teenage Witch #36

by Diana G. Gallagher

Sabrina is thrilled when Salem tells her that her aunts are going to get her a cell phone. Then she discovers that Salem was playing a trick on her, so she checks her magic book and finds an offer for one, complete with service contract for a week's trial. But there's a catch. Every time Sabrina even slightly crosses the line between right and wrong, the phone rings. The contract can't be broken, whenever she tries to 'lose' the phone it finds its way back to her, and all that ringing is driving her crazy. It takes a while, but finally Sabrina gets the message.

Genres: Witches, Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Childrens, Young Adult

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Diana G. Gallagher was an American author who wrote books for children and young adults. She also wrote the space opera The Alien Dark (1990), but was best known for her tie-in work for television properties including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed, Star Trek and The Secret World of Alex Mack, among others.

She was also a prolific filk creator, winning Pegasus Awards in 1986 and ’94. Gallagher won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 1988 under the name Diana Gallagher Wu. She sometimes also wrote under the name Diana Burke.

Born in 1946, in Paterson, New Jersey, she lived in Florida with her husband, the writer Martin R. Burke, who predeceased her in 2011. Gallagher was married four times; her third marriage was to author William F. Wu (divorced 1990).

Gallagher died December 2, 2021 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75 years of age.

Reviews

[Madeleine Knutsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Älskade Sabrina.

[Playground of Randomness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I MIGHT be too old for this book.

But nonetheless I enjoyed it. Mostly.

When Salem "pranks" Sabrina for April Fools by telling her that her aunts are getting her a cellphone, she decides that instead of waiting for their permission, she'd get her own Other Realm cellphone.
The cellphone is great...until it starts ringing non-stop.

What bugged me about this book is I thought it was such bad judgement of both Sabrina and her aunts to involve the Other Realm in their problems (which is why I think I might have outgrown these books).

But I was desperate to return to the nostalgia of my childhood so I enjoyed this books even if the characters annoyed me a little.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this Sabrina the Teenage Witch story, Sabrina is excited when she hears that her aunts are getting her a cell phone. However, she soon realizes that it was a prank by her cat Salem. Later, she discovers an offer for a cell phone with a service contract in her magic book and decides to give it a try. However, there's a catch – whenever Sabrina does something even slightly wrong, the phone starts ringing. She tries to get rid of it, but it keeps coming back. Eventually, Sabrina learns a valuable lesson about right and wrong through her unusual experience with the magical cell phone.

I loved all of the Sabrina tales full of magic. Every story was a different adventure and some new and exciting challenge to overcome. These books made me want to have magical powers too but the ending results were hilarious.

[Lonely Panda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read it at the same time my parents were not sure if I needed a phone or not. It is a question that was recurrent when the book got out. A twist of magic to it and you have a funny story on the dangers of cellphones! Well at least when you don't know how to use it.

[Fiah]

I don't actually remember how the story goes but I did like it and there's a time where I don't like it too, I think~

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was rather dull until the last 30 pages. I had to force myself to finish it.