Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Published by S&S

Genre: YA contemporary

$9.99 (US paperback)

344 pages

What it's about:

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.



My thoughts:
Oh my, I do so love this book! It was like the YA book version of the movie Elizabethtown.

I loved all the little extra things that were in this book. All the play lists (Roger has FANTASTIC taste in music. Just sayin') and all the pictures, state motos, and of course the little drawings. Which is why I would highly recommend reading a bound copy of this book and not an ebook. I don't think it would be the same as an ebook.

I can't think of a single complaint I have for this book. This book had me laughing and crying through the whole thing. I loved how it would show what happened in the past along with what was going on in the here and now. Through the whole book which takes place all within a week or so, the characters grow a lot, yet it is very believable. They are put in situations they wouldn't normally want to be in, are forced to deal with things they have been hiding from, all while driving across the country. Ah, the magic of road trips.

I'm not normally a huge contemporary fiction fan. I tend to stick with all things paranormal, but I can not sing enough praise for  Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time and will be reread in the near future.
My rating: 10/10
Side note:
Roger has absolutely fantastic taste in music. If you do not know the songs on the playlists for this book, I would highly recommend looking them up and giving them a listen.
Some epically awesome person on youtube created "Roger's Playlist" and has the first 3 or so playlists on one big playlist on youtube. To listen go here. That link will start it at song #37 because that's when I found it.