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

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: May 3rd 2011
Pages: 344 (paperback)
Source: own it






Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into the uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Goodreads

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is one of those books that had been on my TBR list for as long as I can remember.  But somehow I never got around to buying a copy of it or borrowing it at the library. A couple of weeks ago I was in this huge bookstore, I saw the book and I figured that it was about time that I finally read it. I am really happy that I did finally buy and read it because I loved it.

The idea of a road trip has always appealed to me. The idea of just driving off with your car deciding on the moment were to go, it sounds so great! Sadly enough I’ve never gone on a road trip so far. Reading this book I felt like I was on a road trip myself…

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour was not a love story, it was a story about moving on. Letting go of the past and trying to see what the future might bring. Amy’s dad had recently died and she had a hard time letting go of him and forgiving herself. So moving to another state more looked like a punishment to her than anything else. Thanks to Roger, she starts to feel again. Something Amy is not sure she is ready for. Thanks to him she becomes more impulsive and takes her life in her own hands again. At the same time Amy helps Roger as well without knowing that she’s doing exactly that. I really loved Amy and Roger as characters. They completed each other so well and they showed that it’s okay to move on at your own pace and that you are never alone on your journey.

This book was filled with amazing secondary characters. We met each of them only for a short period of time but they were all essential for this story. Bronwyn made Amy look like her old self again and made her realize that she had to get rid of her camouflage in order to regain her confidence. Drew and Leonard gave some good advice to Roger. Seriously I just loved every character I met while reading this book.

Overall I really loved this book. There were times that I had to laugh but there were also sad times. This book was just great and I can’t wait to read Morgan Matson’s other books.

El