Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Book: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

Author: Morgan Matson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Book: Hardcover 352 pages
Published: May 2010
Date Read: September 26 2010
Book Source: Library book

My Thoughts:

Amy Curry is depressed after recently losing her father in a tragic car accident. She has shut out her friends and family and is just going through the motions, as well as refusing to drive after the accident. Amy’s mother has taken a job across the country and has asked Amy to join childhood acquaintance Roger on a road trip to deliver her car. Though Amy’s mother has planned their itinerary down to every hotel and rest stop, Amy & Roger’s journey takes them in unexpected directions.

This book is told through Amy’s perspective. She has been living alone and grieving for her father, so the last thing she wants to do is have a cross-country road trip with Roger who she barely knows.  She has not been herself and is unused to making conversation. Roger has his own reasons for agreeing to the road trip as well. On the road he makes road trip playlists on his ipod and tries to get Amy to open up. Roger has great taste in music (the playlists are included in the book.)  Amy is an actress who prefers musicals, but is not ready to share her music or history with Roger.

On the road we get to know Roger and Amy a little more during their games of 20 questions and their dining stops. Neither of them have travelled much out of California, so Amy fills in details and drawings about the states they visit in a travel book. Roger and Amy are very compatible, and help each other through their emotions.We also meet some of Roger’s friends along the way. The friends are charming and unpredictable and help to further the story along.

In addition to the traditional narrative, the story is also told with supplemental material that includes music playlists, restaurant receipts, hotel receipts, state trivia and other mementos. I definitely want to listen to some of those playlists!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this engaging and heartwarming debut by Morgan Matson. I couldn’t put it down- it was a joy to read. Looking forward to reading more from Ms. Matson.

5 Stars

Ornament

One thought on “Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

  1. […] 1. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson […]

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.