Monday 3 September 2012

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. 


16 comments:

Unknown said...

From What I Remember seems like such a fun read! I actually had forgotten all about it, b/c t had been a while since I'd read a review. So I'm really happy to have found this. Nice review, I'm glad you enjoyed FWIr!

Jessica@Booked Up! said...

No matter how many times I see this, that blurb continues to make me smile. It's just such a brilliant way to grab your attention, and straight away you know what personality all four of the characters have.

Wonderful review! This book does sound like a fun, summer read full of humour and romance. The five POV's sound really interesting. I've only ever read one other book with so many POV's (Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater), and would love to try another. :) xxx

Eunice said...

Eeeep! I'm so glad you enjoyed this, Jasprit! I so loved this book, Max, Kylie and Will!!! Their unexpected journey was so much fun to read and how their characters and the romance developed is just so fantastic. Brilliant review, Jasprit. :)

Anna said...

This book sounds like a fun read! I've heard lots of great things about this book, I'll definitely have to give it a chance. Great review!

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

Ohh, this does sound like the perfect summer read! Not what I'd normally pick up, but ideal for lazy days on the beach. I am worried about multiple POVs though. It's not a technique I'm comfortable with, unless it's really well done, and the fact that you wanted to skip some makes me think it's not.
Such a wonderful review, Japrit. *sigh* How I'll miss summer.

Keertana said...

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! I had a ton of fun reading it and was surprised by the amount of depth that the characters had, not to mention the incredible romance build-up! Fantastic review, Jasprit! :D

~Keertana
Ivy Book Bindings

Jenny said...

"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."

That's usually exactly what happens to me with multiple POVs - I have favorites and I want to skim the other characters' POVs to get back to the ones I love. So glad that's not the case with this one though! I've heard nothing but great things about this book, I can't wait to read it. Yay for characters who don't take themselves so seriously:)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I grabbed this off NG and I haven't gotten to it, yet. I have read nothing but glowing reviews. I love good characters and fun banter so this should be right up my alley. I can't wait to read it!

Aneeqah said...

This looks like so much fun! I think my library just got a copy of this one, so I'll have to check it out. The 5 POVs sounds really cool, you usually don't get to see that in books! I think I'll enjoy that though. =)

Fabulous review, Jasprit! <3 I will definitely be checking this book out, even though summer just ended for me. =P

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I hope I can read this soon - preferably before the summer is up! The characters sound like a fun group of friends and I'm looking forward to enjoying some of that banter you mentioned. Brilliant review, Jasprit. :)

Aa'Ishah said...

I'm glad that so many POVs managed to work and that you could warm up to all of them! I remember being so uncertain when I first saw this ages ago, and then it changed and now thanks to your review all I want is to read it! Beautifully written as always, Jasprit. :)

Jen (Books and Other Happy Ever Afters) said...

Great review, Jasprit! I wish that I had picked this one up during the summer, it sounds great and hilarious! I have a hard time focusing on books with too many POVs, so I'll definitely have to see how that plays out. But it just sounds too great to pass up! And floppy hair gets me every time, too. ;) Thanks for the review!

Rebecca said...

This sounds like the perfect, sweet and relaxing read. I've only heard great things and your review excites me even more. 5 POV's? The only book I've read with more than two POV's was Take A Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg which was done extremely well. It was certainly an experience (not to mention fun!) getting to read and browse the thoughts and feeling of so many characters, so to hear that FWIR reads through 5 different POV's intrigues me. Also, it's co-authored? AWESOME. I haven't read many co-authored books but it's a nice change of pace every now and then :)

Great review, Jaspirt. Hopefully I'll get to read this one day.

Book Passion for Life said...

Awww so jealous you got to read it but I'm glad it was good. It sounds amazing! I think the only thing that puts me off is the 5 different POV's - that's a lot but I'd still try it. Great review lovely!

Wendy Darling said...

I bet writing as a team helps with that engaging dialogue you mentioned, Jasprit. This sounds like such a fun read! Thanks for the review. :)

Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

Vegan YA Nerds said...

This sounds like SO much fun! I know I've seen this cover around but for some reason this book fell off my radar. I like that all of the characters appealed to you and I can't wait to read about what they get up to!

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