AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR by Morgan Matson
Publication Date: May 4th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 
| 
Summary: 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 Overview:
- Fun novel to read that takes you along on a truly epic cross-country road trip
- A very realistic romance with a hopeful ending
- A must-read for road-trip enthusiasts and those going on vacation
Matson creates such a fun book to read full of souvenirs from Amy and Roger’s adventures across the country. Their playlists and receipts are fun to read as a companion to their journey across the country.
Despite the setting of a cross-country road trip, the AMY & ROGER’S isn’t completely light and fluffy. I guess I wasn’t expecting a road trip novel to be mixed in with a bit of seriousness, but Matson wonderfully combines a fun light-hearted adventure with serious family issues. I wasn’t sure at first if Matson can add a heart-wrenching topic into the mix but Matson definitely makes up for everything towards the end of the book. While fluffy and light at some parts, AMY & ROGER’S tugged at my heartstrings and made me a bit teary-eyed.
The romance is cute. You definitely start to feel the tension more towards the end, but it wasn’t enough to make me squee in delight. I think the progression of their relationship is realistic especially based on the amount of time that Amy and Roger have spent together. I loved that the ending was open and hopeful. Again, the ending was realistic. They weren’t devoting undying love to each other which really wouldn’t have made any sense. They met, like what? A week ago? It was sweet and I can only imagine that it would be an excellent start to a relationship.
AMY & ROGER’S is pretty inspiring. It makes me want to take a cross-country road trip as well. I think it’s also an excellent book to read while on traveling (and yeah, I was actually traveling when I read this) since it gave me a lot of ideas of random souvenirs to keep from receipts to pictures of random signs or whatever that amuses me.
The book was certainly enjoyable, but it lacked that special something to propel me to give it a four-star rating. I wish the book could have been more of an emotional joyride, whether it made me laugh, cry, or squee in delight – it wouldn’t have mattered. My emotional connection with the characters were not as strong as I would have liked for a contemporary novel.
This is definitely a must-read for those going on a road trip and very much recommended to take with you on a trip.
Yay, I’m glad you liked this. It’s definitely my favorite road-trip novel so far. I’d probably read anything by Morgan Matson from now on.