Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Have you read every thing Sarah Dessen has written? Looking for something else with a completely swoon-worthy hero? A coming-of-age story? A happily-ever-after? An excellent set of road trip play lists? Go ahead and get a copy of Amy & Roger's Epic Detour. This one will hit every feel good button you've got.

Amy's mother moved from their home in California to Connecticut  a month ago. Now that school is out she needs Amy to bring her car to her in their new home. The only problem is that since the death of her father three months ago, Amy does not drive. Enter Roger. Roger's father lives in Philadelphia and it's time for him to go visit.  They agree that Roger will drive them across country in four days, leaving Amy safe with her mom. Amy's mom plots a direct, if boring, route for them. Predictably, they choose to take another path.

This is such a well done depiction of a road trip. Matson  clearly does her research, as they eat in regional restaurants and see all the right cultural landmarks. Each chapter has it's own play list of songs that when read carefully offered hints to the coming pages. The book includes a few pages of a travel scrapbook that a
Amy fills in as they go, as well as pictures they could have taken and copies of their receipts from various restaurants and stops. It is exactly what I would have done at her age.

Amy is still in high school but she is dealing with a lot of life changes. Her father, to whom she was very close, has recently died. Her twin brother is in rehab in North Carolina. Her mother has moved away and Amy feels very lonely and isolated. She is still struggling with both her father's death and his absence. This trip gives her the opportunity to mourn her father and to figure out who she is.

Roger has his own reasons for wanting to take the trip. His girlfriend broke up with him without explanation and he wants to take a little detour to find out why. Roger is both good looking and charmingly geeky and it's hard to imagine why anyone would break up with him, but so be it.  He's also very understanding and not at all pushy about her reasons for not driving and always knows exactly when to push and when to hold back. If Amy hadn't fallen in love with him I would have.

The secondary characters are mostly fun as well, but the book is mainly just about Roger and Amy, since they are the only two in the car.

Verdict? Excellent YA fiction. Some serious notes, but overall a sweet little love story backed up with the fun of a road trip.


Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
2010
352 pages
Source: Library

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