Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: May 4th, 2010
Pages: 352

Rating: 5 stars

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.

This was a simply amazing novel. I loved every page of it. Road trip books are always fun, and road trip books even more fun! Amy and Roger's Epic Detour bypassed all expections I had set for it by leaps and bounds. It was an amazing story of self-growth and moving on in life.

The characters were wonderful. Amy was a complex character, who had been through so much. While I have never experienced anything close to the tragedy Amy had suffered, Matson made it very easy to relate with Amy. Roger was another character that Matson made very easy to relate to. I fell for him the moment he walked onto the page. I was I loved how the characters growth was in time with the road trip. Each step Amy and Roger made across the country, the more they grew as characters.

The story was wonderful. The dialogue between Amy and Roger was always a joy to read. There was always a great balance in the dialogue between the two. I loved the extra things - like receipts, postcards, and post-it notes - that were added into the chapters. I thought they really added to the book, and gave us a bit more insight as to who Amy and Roger really were. My favorite extra in the book was the playlists. I loved seeing the music they were listening to in each state.

This is a book I would suggest you pick up without a second thought. It's a sweet story of two teens and their story as they cross the U.S. of A. I was swept up in the story with page one, and wasn't let go until the last page. It's a stunning debut.

About the Author
Morgan Matson received her MFA in Writing for Children from the New School. A road-trip veteran, she has driven cross-country three times...so far. She currently lives in Venice, California. Follow Morgan on Twitter at @morgan_m.

Read the first chapter!
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson


Source: Big Honcho Media