From What I Remember... by Stacey Kramer and Valerie Thomas

From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas
"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."- summary from Goodreads

I took so long to read this book and I'm berating myself for it! It's such an awesome contemporary read that's perfect for summer. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives, though most of the book is narrated by Max or Kylie, as they're the main characters and stuck together on this journey before anyone else shows up. Will and Lily show up quite a bit too, and there's also the occasional chapter narrated by Kylie's brother Jake, who has Asperger's so it was interesting to read those chapters and see how the authors dealt with portraying it.

It's just a roller-coaster ride of a read and the characters are deeply layered. While the whole jock-falling-for-the-brain may be a bit cliché, Kramer and Thomas do a good job of making it believable and giving the characters depth and a real connection. Seeing the events from all different perspectives helped keep the book moving too and I was never wanting to put the book down. I'd always be surprised at how far I got in just one sitting. I also loved the character of Will (I'm gay too, what can I say?) and wanted to see more of him, but I loved getting to see his journey too.

Overall, a perfect summer read and a great contemporary. I can't recommend it enough!

FTC: Received hardcover from authors. Link above is an Amazon Associates link; any profit goes toward funding contests.