From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas
Release Date – May 15, 2012
Publisher Website –  Hyperion/Hachette Canada
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  462 pages
My Rating- 4/5
**received for an honest review from publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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 thier 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

Kylie wakes up in Mexico with only vague recollections of the night before. In bed beside her? School hottie Max. That alone is enough to cause Kylie to freak out. Even more shocking to Kylie is the wedding ring on her finger. So begins this fun, twisty, often surprising tale of one last adventure before graduation. I went into this expecting a funny novel that would be more on par with The Hangover movies. However, this novel is a touching story of living life to the fullest, taking chances, and following your heart.

We get quite a few points of view in this novel. Kylie, Max, Will, Lily and Kylie’s brother Jake all take turns narrating the story. This provides the unique perspective of letting us know what is going on outside of Kylie and Max’s journey. This many narrator switches seems like it would be hard to pull off, but it really works for this novel.

Kylie is this hot tempered, driven, fun, amazing girl. Sadly, she doesn’t realize this. She withdraws from everything, and doesn’t open herself up. She has put her own life on hold to help with her autistic brother and a family that needs to communicate more.

Will Bixby is Kylie’s best friend. An out and proud gay teenager who is learning to see past the front he puts on, and reinventing himself. He does things for shock value, and provided much of the comedic parts to the story. I enjoyed Will immensely. His relationship with Kylie was great. They are both there for each other no matter what.

Max, the golden boy of the high school. The type of boy that would be Prom King. Kylie and he barely know each other before getting caught up in getting Kylie’s laptop back. At first I figure he was going to be someone I didn’t like, I didn’t see much depth to him. He actually annoyed me at first. As Kylie gets to know him better, and fall for him so did I. He showed his good qualities as they progressed on their journey.

Movies are a huge part of this novel. Kylie and Will are both movie fanatics and routinely quote from them. Kylie's chosen career involves scriptwriting. Even the chapters start with movie quotes. As a huge movie fan myself I loved this. The novel quotes Pump Up The Volume, Mean Girls, Scream and many others. This whole novel actually reminded me of a movie. One of those John Hughes teen comedies that are timeless and resonate with everyone. It had romance, action, off beat characters, and implausible situations.It's totally one of those summer movies that you watch while eating popcorn and just have fun during. If I had to chose one word to describe From What I Remember it would definitely be fun.

You'll fall in love with the quaint Mexican town they visit, the characters and most of all you'll be reminded that “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. Bonus points if you know where that quote is from!*

*Ferris Bueller’s Day Off