Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: May 4, 2010
My Rating: 5 stars
Pages: 344

"Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself."- Goodreads

I know I'm extremely late reading this one. I read Morgan Matson's second novel a few months ago and loved it. So when I saw this book at the library I grabbed it. And I don't regret my decision, even a little bit.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is a cute story. It is about a road trip and a summer story to top that off. It has a few pictures, receipts and other tokens from the trip printed to the book. It also has a lot of music and the author told us what the songs were. I need to look into some new songs now! However, it's not just a cute story, it also deals with the death of a loved one and a broken teenager. It's a story of finding oneself amongst strangers, dealing with heartbreak, and forgiveness.

Amy, like I said before, is broken. Not only did her dad die recently but she has to move to a new country. She was there when her dad died, and it's apparent that she carried that guilt with her. When Roger is thrown into the mix as her chauffer, she was afraid. Afraid that he would see inside of her and find out exactly what she did/ what happened to her. She eventually opened up to Roger and we got to know Roger better too. Roger has his own issues and a detour was just what they both needed.

By reading about Amy's and Roger's travels, I almost felt like I was traveling with them. The descriptions of the places visited were described well. I always knew where the setting was but it wasn't described in too much detail. I liked that because Amy  and Roger visited so many places. Too much detail would just overwhelm the story.

I don't have much bad to say about this book. I would have liked to read more about Amy's family, but it's a road trip without them. That wouldn't make much sense. I honestly don't have anything else bad to add. This book is a keeper.

Although it doesn't sound like cute belongs with serious, Morgan Matson made it work in her debut novel. I think all fans of contemporaries should give it a try. It was just such a great book- I can't say that enough! I'll be on the lookout for Morgan Matson's next book.

Memorable Quotes

 

• “Tomorrow will be better.”
  “But what if it’s not?” I asked.
  “Then you say it again tomorrow. Because it might be. You never know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better.”  
• “It’s not about the destination. It’s getting there that’s the good part.
• “There was no In-N-Out in Connecticut, because clearly that state wa"s an inhospitable wasteland.”  

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