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."

Review:

I honestly don’t think I have read such an amazing contemporary since Anna and the French Kiss. This book reminded me of how much I love contemporary novels. Just as I was drifting to the I-don’t-like-contemporary side, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour made me fall in love with it once again.

After Amy’s father dies in a car accident, Amy has no will to drive a car ever again. But her and her mother are moving from California to Connecticut. Which means someone has to drive their car across the state. Since Amy’s mother has to get to Connecticut first, her mom finds Roger— an old childhood friend whom Amy doesn’t remember—to drive the car to Connecticut with Amy as the passenger, since he has to go to his father’s house in Philadelphia anyways. Neither of them are pumped about the trip. While Amy is depressed and shut-off about her father’s death, she decides to take a detour, not follow her mother’s directions. Roger agrees, and they go on a series of adventures.

They go to Yosemite, Nevada, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and their last stop was Philadelphia. My favorite adventure that they had together would have to be Kentucky. Roger reveals that in the beginning, he only accepted to drive because he wanted to see his ex-girlfriend (Hadley) in Kentucky. In Kentucky, Amy and Roger meet Lucien, Hadley’s brother. The setting description there was just very beautiful and it just gave a comfortable vibe that I loved. But honestly, every state they went to was fun to read about and entertaining.

There was so many unique components throughout the entire book. First off, the images. Morgan Matson DID in fact go on a roadtrip herself, and the images were very helpful for the visuals, and made the story 6401047193871 times more interesting. Next: the receipts! They were also a very cool touch to the story, almost as if you were there with Amy and Roger. Also, she had included Amy & Roger’s playlists, you can’t forget about the playlists! Throughout the roadtrip, they listened to music, and they made playlists. Those were fun to look at.

Amy’s character development was very strong and steady. I loved her character so much. Her thoughts were so sympathetic, Morgan Matson does an astounding job of creating Amy. Roger, oh boy. He is such a sweetheart. We need more Rogers in this world. Somewhere along the way, Amy develops feelings for Roger, and the feeling reciprocates. Amy & Roger reminded me of Anna & St. Claire from Anna and the French Kiss. My favorite type of relationship: strangers to friendship to couple. :)

The ending was a tad dissatisfying. I certainly did not want the book to come to an end! My heart broke as I saw Amy and Roger leave each other. In the end, Amy drops off Roger at Philadelphia, and drives by herself (she finally did it!) to Connecticut. And just like that, THE BOOK WAS OVER. Ugh, I wish there was a second book.

But all in all, it’s quite obvious that this book is one of my favorites of 2011. This is a must-read, must-love. I now am officially in love with Morgan Matson’s novels, and roadtrips. :)

Source: Library

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour is now out!