Review: From What I Remember by Stacey Kramer & Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember Stacey Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: May 15th 2012
My rating: 4.5 stars

KYLIE: MEXICO WHAT? I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY, and is this a wedding band on my finger.

MAX: It all started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics. Okay, it was kind of hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded in Tijuana. With less than twenty-four hours before graduation. Awesome. 

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border -- but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started. 

LILY: I just walked in on my boyfriend, Max Langston, canoodling with Kylie Flores, freak of the century. Still, I can't completely hold it against him. He NEEDS me. It's even clearer now. And I'm not giving him up without a fight.

Stranded in Mexico with no passports and just a few hours from their graduation is the situation Max and Kylie find themselves in. Kylie’s adamant that if Max had agreed to do their partnered assignment yesterday as planned, they wouldn’t find themselves in this mess in the first place. But if Kylie hadn’t gone sprinting off after two scary thugs who had her laptop Max would have been enjoying his last ever day at school and not be stuck here, that’s what he keeps telling himself. But Max and Kylie ended up getting a bit more than they bargained for when they ended up stuck together. They’ve never said more than five words to each in the last six years they’ve spent at school together, with Max being the school’s hottest jerk and Kylie considered a social geek their social circles never mixed, that’s until they’re forced to partner up for an assignment on the penultimate day of school. Kylie needs to get it done, she’s school valedictorian and has always handed every piece of work on time, so she’s not going to stop now for all she knows it could affect her GPA. Whereas Max is the complete opposite, he doesn’t give a damn. So both you can say are thrilled to be partnered together.

From What I Remember was a book full of misunderstandings and misconceptions. A lot of the characters went into situations thinking they knew what to expect or what a person was like but time and time again they were proven wrong. I liked the fact that we were treated to five separate pov’s, initially I found myself wanting to zip through the pov’s of certain characters and get back to the pov’s where the real action was happening. But then as the book progressed I found myself warming to all the pov’s, they provided great insights into the characters and proved me wrong in a lot of assumptions I’d made of them too.

Max and Kylie were an unlikely pair, but the more time they were forced to spend together, the more they realised how much they had in common. Kylie’s initial character reminded me a lot of myself. I was always pre-occupied or stressed out about studying and just never had or made the time to sit back and have fun. And so I liked how in Mexico, Kylie was a lot less uptight, she was able to let her hair down and finally have fun. Max also had initially come across as a jerk, but in Mexico he was able to open up a bit more. He was genuinely a sincere and nice character, I may have also been a bit biased towards him because of his floppy hair (this does me in every time) I just loved getting into his head. The secondary characters Lily, Will and Charlie also brought so much fun to the story. When together with their high speed car chase, unexpected announcements and try as they might to make it to graduation on time, made their escapades so much fun. I would have loved to be part of their group!

Stacey Kramer and Valerie Thomas did a brilliant job with From What I Remember. I loved the unusual premise they provided us with, the fun loving characters and the endless banter along the way. I especially loved how the characters were able to take the mick out of themselves from time to time and not take each other so seriously.

“we both smile at the classic misunderstanding.

It’s all so cliché-ridden, it’s embarrassing. I wish

our stay could have some more original twists

and turns. Maybe one of us will turn into a

vampire or something.”

From What I Remember was a fun adorable adventurous read.  If you’re looking for something to kick back with over the summer I definitely recommend picking this up.