Tuesday, November 2, 2010

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

(summary from goodreads)

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 love road trip books. Something about them is just so much fun. That being said, this was a very fun book that I really enjoyed.


I like both Amy and Roger, but there's nothing really remarkable or memorable about Roger. He seemed like a nice, sweet boy though. What I liked about Amy was that she had grief and guilt but wasn't a continuous ball of depression. She still had fun and made friends while dealing with it. 


Maybe the reason I love road trip books is because it's like a bunch of mini stories/adventures put into one. In each stop Amy and Roger met new people, and even though they weren't in the book for long, these were the characters that stuck with me. 


I loved that the book had little maps and pictures and other such things throughout it. My problem with these was the placement. I would be reading and then be interrupted mid-sentence by a picture or receipt. Also, I had this as an ebook on my nook, so it made it a bit difficult to read the scrapbook entries and the maps. 


 But all in all, this was a fun book that still managed to carry a serious message about dealing with grief and guilt.


Note on the cover: Love it! And maybe it's just the lighting but to me they look extremely tan. Also, I thought Amy only liked to wear jeans and t-shirts? And I don't recall her ever wearing shorts...except in the walmart parking lot...which was a nice scene :D


A side note about my love for road trip books: When I say road trip books I mean books where the characters go on a road trip. Not books I read on road trips. Because I've never been on a road trip and I didn't want to be confusing. 

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