"From What I Remember" by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Authors: Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Publication: May 15, 2012
By: Hyperion
4.5 Stars!


"Sometimes the best things in life begin as the worst ideas..."


"The Hangover" for teens with a touch of "Will & Grace".

Thank you to Netgalley for this book. It made me laugh, cry and swoon; sometimes all at once.

Each chapter opens with a line from a movie which is awesome in and of itself.  Kylie and Will are BFF"s and school outcasts, she being the high strung overachieving Valedictorian, and he the gay best friend whose always good for a laugh. (He's downright hysterical most of the time.)

Max and Lily, the school's "beautiful couple" are polar opposites of Kylie and Will and have their futures all laid out. (not to mention planned out for them) but all that's about to change.  When Kylie and Max are forced to work together on a final Senior project, a split second decision thrusts them into the adventure of their lives, leaving them to question everything they thought they knew about life, love and each other. 

After an insane 24 hours of drinking, carjacking a vehicle of stolen goods and running for their lives, they wake up in bed, donning matching wedding bands. Wait... WHAT?! They haven't even graduated yet?!  To make matters worse, Kylie can't remember how she ended up in bed with Max or why he seems so happy about it.  Don't they hate each other?  The person who really doesn't seem happy is Lily, and she's just walked in the door.  With only a few hours to spare before they walk across the stage and grab their diplomas, Kylie, Max, Will and Lily will have to make sense of the previous days' events but they'll have to make it back across the border first.

As with most stories, there's more to these characters than meets the eye. All are dealing with some pretty heavy issues like a parent dying of cancer, a sibling with Aspergers, homosexuality, broken families, and a parent whose a Bernie Madoff wannabe.  They don't always make the best choices but their time spent in Mexico is what helps to give them some perspective into life outside of High School.

While in Mexico, Kylie uncovers some things about her family that have the potential to impact them in a big way and she must decide what to do with the information. Will learns, that while it's okay to be different, pushing it to the limit just to prove a point can have some pretty dangerous consequences.  Max realizes that it's not just a waste to give up on a dream, it's also cowardly if you don't at least try. He also learns a few things about trust and love that made my heart break for him. *clutches chest*  Lily discovers it's hard to hold onto something you never really had in the first place. 

All four learn that people aren't always what they seem and you can miss out on something really great because you're too busy trying to get it all just right.