Review: Amy & 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.

I like a good road trip book and this one definitely fit the bill!

Amy’s dad died 3 months ago. She’s feeling guilty about it and the reason why isn’t revealed until later in the book, she’s pretty sure that whoever knows what really happened with her dad will make people hate her as much as she hates herself. Meanwhile, she’s been living on her own for a month in California. Her mom went ahead of her and her brother (who is in rehab) to set their new house up in Connecticut. So Amy’s been on her own, finishing up her junior year. She’s also upset because her house is being sold, the house she grew up in. And the realtor keeps asking her to leave during showings and she can’t sleep at night and basically things are in the crapper. The worst thing yet though is when her mom asks her to drive the family Jeep across the country with a guy she hasn’t seen since they were little. She’s pretty sure that road trip is going to suck and so she agrees and decides to get it over with quickly.

And then Roger shows up and they get started on their road trip. And it’s going to change both their lives…

Oh my goodness did I ever love this book! It had me laughing AND crying. It was that good. Amy, as a character, broke my heart. She’s feeling guilty, she can’t sleep, she’s freaking losing her hair over the stress of her life and she can’t connect with anyone. After her father died, her mom didn’t offer her any comfort and all Amy wanted to do was talk about things but her mom pushed her away. And then there’s her brother, in rehab. Her twin. And she’s never felt more alone. Pretty awful place to be. The big thing for her was like she felt like she couldn’t talk about anything. And the road trip is definitely stirring up feelings about her dad. First, she can’t drive. She absolutely is terrified to drive. And once the road trip gets started, she recalls the summer roadtrips she went on with her dad and brother. And how they kind of stopped but her dad was planning a good trip for that summer. And now she’ll never go on a road trip with her dad again.

And then Roger. Poor guy. First year of college and the girl he was seeing breaks things up with him for absolutely no reason. Yeah his issues aren’t as big as Amy’s, but we can’t have two terribly wounded people on this road trip. Roger has one reason for agreeing to this trip – to find his girl and get an explanation at least. Maybe a chance to win her back.

I loved Roger and Amy. They start off as strangers and then they become best friends who can almost read each other’s minds by the end of the book. And all the places they visit lead to some funny adventures.

Also, the book isn’t straight words. There are pictures, receipts, song playlists (because what’s a road trip without some good music, right?) and all manner of funky mementos included in this book. It really makes you a part of the book and experiencing things almost right along with Amy and Roger. Plus, like I said, it was funny. Pretty hilarious at times actually. For example, here are some of Amy’s thoughts on road signs:

Now that we were back on the interstate, we were seeing road signs again, and most of them were new to me. In addition to the inexplicable OPEN RANGE CAUTION, there were animal signs I’d never seen before – an antelope, a cow, and a cow with horns. There were deer signs too, but I’d seen those for the first time near Yosemite. But it worried me that, without warning, a cow with horns might be running across the interstate. And that this had happened frequently enough that they’d had to erect a sign to warn people about it.

So if you’re in the mood for a truly excellent book that will engage your emotions and your funny bone, check out Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour.

Buy the book: B&N|Borders|Amazon

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