From What I Remember… by Stacy Kramer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In four years of high school, I haven’t dated, drank, or partied-though I seem to have done all three with wild abandon last night.
Kylie isn’t your typical teen on the cusp of graduation. Having spent most of her life being more responsible than any teen ever should be, she’s earned the title of class valedictorian, but it’s definitely been at the cost of her popularity and social life.
From What I Remember opens with Kylie disoriented, a giant hangover and in a bedroom she doesn’t recognize. Scrambling through her memories she remembers that the previous night was either the best night of her life, or the worst… she isn’t quite sure. But after rolling over, she’s greeted by a half-naked boy named Max.
Beautiful, sexy Max Langston-whose green eyes are lethal weapons, whose lopsided smile is impossible to resist, whose charm is legendary, and whom I’ve barely spoken to in six years of school…
The whole story actually begins three days prior with a last minute assignment due the last day of school and a stolen backpack. Kylie is bound and determined to get the assigment done even though everyone else is blowing it off, but she is assigned to work on this assignment with the one-and-only, Max Langston. To say they are on different social stratospheres would be an understatement. But while Kylie thinks Max is beautiful and sexy… lets just say there is no love lost between the two.
After struggling to get him to commit to working with her they finally meet but unfortunately this is exactly when her backpack gets stolen that has her laptop inside … which has her screenplay she’s been working on and her valedictorian speech. There’s no way she’s giving up and walking away without her bag.
I’m not going to get into specifics because I think you should read the story, but ultimately Max and Kylie end up in the back of a truck being smuggled into Mexico with a bunch of stolen electronics. The big question is will they make it back in time for graduation and Kylie’s valedictorian speech?
What I liked most about this book was the different layers to each character.
Kylie is the hard ass, determined latina girl, but there’s more to her than that. You see that she’s struggled to be a teen for many years because of what’s going on at home. But she knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to go out there and get it.
Max may seem like an entitled, superficial, golden boy but what many people don’t know is what his home life is like either. He’s never connected enough with anyone on a level where he trusted them enough to share his real feelings… not even his girlfriend Lily.
Lily and Will, Charlie and Jake, were all wonderful supporting characters as well.
Will, the cross-dressing gay best friend has been forward a persona that was meant to shock people and it’s nice to see his growth as a character.
Lily… ugh. the selfish girlfriend of Max, who’s life is crumbling around her and she is bound and determined to not lose her status
The funny thing is that what these kids realize after the three days is that these persona’s don’t define who they are going to be for the rest of their lives.
What was awesome about this book, was that it read just like a movie to me – while reading I couldn’t help but wonder who Hollywood be casting in each of these characters roles and the action, plot and antics all would make an incredible script.
From What I Remember is a sweet, entertaining story about finding who you are or who you want to be. It’s incredibly well paced, with wonderful characters and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Plus there is a bit of romance in there as well!
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