Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Author Info: website

Release Date: May 4th 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 
Pages: 344
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★½

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.

The cover is just simply amazing( yeah I just wanted to say this first).

Ok back to the book, this is not what I was expecting at all. I thought it would be a fun, light read but it was a little bit deeper than that and I do like it a lot.  It felt to me that this trip was more like "finding yourself through travel."  It's a really nice concept though to see new things, to meet new people and to experience it. It made me want to pack up and hit the road and see what it will take me. One thing made me a little bit disappointed was the kiss between Amy and Roger. I knew it would happen somehow and I was waiting for it. But when it did happen I was totally shocked. It was kinda rush like the author wanted to get it over with. Anyway this road trip was an adventure for Amy. An adventure of self -motivated, self-determined and it did change Amy. Nothing will ever again be black and white. Besides I like the little receipts included in the book, it made the reader feel like reading a journal. Little details like this make the connection between the story and the reader stronger.