Review: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
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.
Review:
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is perhaps my favorite book ever.
As usual, I read the description of this book long ago, put it on my wishlist, and did not read the summary again – so I knew little before going into it. Amy is our narrator, and we find out that she has a less than ideal home situation – her family has split itself across the continent. It is her job to travel from California to the East Coast with the family car to reunite with her mother, who has been living apart from Amy for a month.
Because Amy is a teenager, her mom enlists the help of Roger – a college aged boy that Amy used to play with when she was younger (but doesn’t really remember). They are set up with a credit card, hotel reservations, and a specific plan from Amy’s mother on how to travel across the US in four days.
You may be thinking to yourself – “Where is the DETOUR?” (It is in the title, after all)
Amy, slightly out of character, decides (along with Roger) that they do not need to take the plan her mother advises. Once this is decided, I am fully wrapped in the book, smiling (most of) the whole way.
Amy and Roger choose a path through the states to deal with personal issues in each of their lives – stops to see old friends or to recreate a trip. They start not knowing each other very well, which means these destinations aren’t always very well explained to each other – but as you can imagine, they begin to open up as they drive together in the car for hours and hours each day.
The thing that really topped off this book for me is the travel journal Amy’s mom gave her before the road trip. Amy thought it was ridiculous, but Roger and her end up using it to paste in photographs and make playlists – these playlists are AWESOME. Totally, excitedly, awesomely awesome. Roger makes most of them in the beginning, and he is careful to pick out songs that represent the mood of that part of the trip – it is GREAT. I cannot wait to buy this book for myself to listen to all of the songs in the lists (I recognized maybe half of them and have high hopes for the others).
The personal growth in this book is also exceptional – both Amy and Roger learn things about themselves and each other along the way – and each lesson is learned in a realistic manner. Nothing is rushed, and the events all played out perfectly in my mind. Morgan Matson’s writing is beautiful. I was literally reading a few pages and setting the book down to try to stretch it out – this was largely unsuccessful, as I read it in one evening anyway.
My heart warms and my face starts to smile when I think about this book and all of the adventures and songs and stories in it. I still get this feeling and I read the book over a week ago. I really loved it, and hope that any of you interested in a contemporary story about a emotional and physical journey pick it up and love it, too.
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Great review. I keep on hearing such amazing things about this book and now I want to read it very bad. The next time I’m going to shop I am going to look out for this one.
I really hope you find it and love it, it’s so great!
It seems like a great book! It’s true, the best part about trips is the music. XD
Awesome review, and I am definitely adding this to my long list. =D
I didn’t realize how much music made a difference until this book really… every time Roger made a new list of songs I loved it even more.
wow – such a fantastic review! I just ordered this the other day so kinda really pumped for it now.
the playlists sound really good.
i love books that you want to linger with but end up racing through anyway.
I love those kind of books, too! I hadn’t had one like that in awhile… I mean, I had read books I really liked but I LOVED this one and was consciously putting it down so it wouldn’t go too fast. At least failing at not reading it isn’t necessarily a bad thing
I just started this book last week and I am loving it Glad to see it written about! Great post!
-Shannon
http://www.storysnoops.com
Yay!! Don’t you adore the scrapbook parts?!?
Twitter: booksandwine
HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYY!
Twitter: iednalyn
I read this one last month and I absolutely adored it!! It was such a realistic and touching story. It’s definitely one of the best YAs I’ve read this year.
I’ve been suggesting this book for people waiting for Anna and the French Kiss to come out – they are both excellent, contemporary, realistic books. So I am recommending Anna and the French Kiss to you