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Saturday, November 29, 2014

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

Title: From What I Remember...
Authors: Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Pages: 462
Publication: May 15, 2012
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Summary taken from goodreads:
KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger?? 
MAX: It started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada. It was hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded here, with less than twenty-four hours before graduation. 
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: This cannot be happening. It's like some cruel joke. Or a bad dream. I close my eyes and when I reopen them, they're still there. Max and Kylie Flores, freak of the century. In bed together. If Kylie thinks I'm giving him up without a fight, she's dead wrong.
3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

While the book had a few drawbacks, I really did enjoy it, especially towards the end.

What initially drew me to the book was its plot. It was definitely similar to the movie, THE HANGOVER, in the fact that crazy things happen to the characters that leave them stranded in another country, and it had its funny moments. However, whereas THE HANGOVER takes its situation to the extreme--past the point of being even remotely realistic--FROM WHAT I REMEMBER... is a lot more believable in its execution (although still not totally believable).

And I liked the characters. They were real, they had their own problems, and they definitely weren't perfect. Seeing their character growth was really.

However, I had a problem with the romance. It went way too fast. They basically got to know each other over the span of 24 hours, and they already know that they're gone for each other? Yeah, Kylie and Max are thrown into some crazy situations where they reveal their true selves to each other, but to already start thinking about being in love and soulmates (although that was only briefly mentioned and I don't think meant seriously) is a real stretch.

Also, the writing is a little awkward at times. There were times when the dialogue near the first third of the book seemed really stilted. It was hard to believe that high schoolers talked like that. And, I thought that the the introspective thoughts toward the first half were also somewhat stilted as they explained something, which was bordering on telling, not showing.

However, once you got halfway through the book, when they finally wake up in Mexico, the pace picks up, and it's all wonderful suspenseful anticipation until the end, which was only somewhat predictable. Even then, it was nice to see how it all played out. 

So yeah, not a bad book, especially if you like movies like THE HANGOVER. :)

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