Book Review: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour – Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Pages: 343
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR, May 2010
Link: Amazon

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: 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 uncharted territory – but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Reviews

Based on the cover, I foreshadowed that Amy and Roger will be together romantically. Whenever I look at the cover, I see the guy’s veins. He’s so muscular.

I wonder why Amy feels unhappy whenever Roger refers to her as a friend when people ask him who’s he’s with. What does she want to be referred as? I think she wants to be called a travel companion or a buddy. A name that would be more important than just ‘friend’.

I thought it was hilarious when Amy said, “Roger that.” On page 208.

I was wondering if the author went on the same road trip as Amy and Roger did and she did! There’s a whole section on it in the back of the book.
I learned a lot of information about some of the states. The visuals were pretty cool too. It’s rare to read a young adult book with visuals. There were receipts, playlists, postcards, and images in the book. It made the road trip more realistic. I am not familiar with any of the song playlists though.

Noteworthy quote: “It was like seeing the slides at the optometrist, when you didn’t realize how blurry something was until you got to see the clearer version, and you could see what had been obscured before.” (Matson, 297)

This is a great summer and travel read! It’s a must-read.