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

Summary (from Goodreads)

KYLIE: Tijuana 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.

Personal Thoughts

The cover and summary of From What I Remember both scream fun! Who doesn't love to read a book that's got adventure, craziness, fun and romance ? I know I do ! This is the kind of book that's perfect when you're looking for nothing more than a good time.

Kylie, high school senior and valedictorian, has always been somewhat of a loner only hanging out with her gay best friend, Will. In fact, she spends most of her time in the library at school and has never resorted to have some fun time while in high school. Max Langston, is the jock who hangs out with the popular crowd at school and has a hot bitchy girlfriend, Lily. Kylie and Max don't really like each other. A wild set of circumstances lead to them stranded in Ensenada, Mexico a day before graduation. Soon, these two begin two learn about each other and come to realize that what their opinions of each other were way off.

The characters in the book were ridiculously cliched. You have the quiet studious girl who doesn't realize that she's a beauty, the popular gorgeous jock, the gay best friend and the gorgeous bitchy girlfriend. Yet, I found myself really enjoying them for some reason. They did so many insane things that reading the book was like watching one of those romantic comedy movies. Kylie was a serious and academically driven girl. She was the kind of girl who would complete an assignment that a teacher would give you a day before your last day of school. Fun wasn't something that she had experienced throughout her high school years. In fact, the funnest activity she had ever done was watch movies with her best friend, Will. So when she found herself in Tijuana, she went into sort of an panic attack mode, stressing about the fact that she had an assignment to submit the next day and that she had to proof-read her valedictorian speech she took 3 months to write. To top it off, she's with the good-looking Max, who always acted like people should kiss the ground he walks on. In Mexico, Kylie transformed to become someone different. She shed the serious shell she had surrounding her and decided to make the most of her trip. It eventually dawned on her that she had missed out on a lot in high school. It was kind of enjoyable to see her set loose the wild side of her since I initially found her to be a little uptight and a little too serious. Max was also a character who had a lot going on underneath that jock image. He wasn't the kind of guy who opened up to people easily. Around Kylie he found himself a lot more comfortable to talk about himself. Although I thought that Kylie and Max kind of fell for each other a little too fast, I also felt like they got to know each other really well since they really did talk about nearly everything. Also, Max already had a girlfriend back home and he basically cheated on her, so that nagged me a little since I don't approve of cheating. In the end though, I thought their romance was very cute because they let fall the prejudices they had about each other and began to see what was beneath the image they projected.

I also really liked some of the other main characters in the book, but I mostly appreciated Will's personality. He was such a fun and bubbly kind of guy. Honestly, I would have loved to befriend him because he exuded cheerfulness and you can't help but love him. He actually wore dresses and male clothes together just to piss off others and because he wanted to stand out among the crowd at his school. He was very protective over Kylie and it was adorable how he always attempted to make her happy when she was down. He was one of the most colorful character I've come across, in every sense of the word. Now, Lily, Max's girlfriend, wasn't so likable. She acted bitchy most of the times and believed that the world revolved around her. She kept pitying herself on all occasions so I had a tough time identifying with her, but I think that was the authors' goal. The crowd that Max and Kylie come across in Mexico was a fun bunch as well. It's like they lived in a bubble of happiness and nothing could pop that bubble.

The prologue of the book really set it off in a dramatic and exciting way and shortly after reading, I was yearning to find out what had happened to Max and Kylie. It was fast-paced and highly entertaining. Like I mentioned above, it was almost like watching a movie. The ride was wild and insane, but highly entertaining. The book was told in 5 POVs. At first, I thought that would really bother me, but it ended up surprising me in a good way and I didn't have a tough time figuring out who was who since the personalities of these 5 characters are nothing alike. There's not much of a plot because essentially, the story was at the core one about finding out who you truly are and feeling comfortable in your own skin. The writing of Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas was gripping and very addictive. Word of advice, set aside some time to read the book because you won't want to stop!

Overall, From What I Remember was an enthralling and lively read that will leave you with a happy feeling in the end although it's filled with cliches. You want something fun to read for a vacation ? Then, I highly recommend you read From What I Remember!

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5