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Amy And Roger's Epic Detour (2010)

by Morgan Matson(Favorite Author)

4.06 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1416990658 (ISBN13: 9781416990659)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

review 1: I had issued this book earlier at a friend’s recommendation and returned it unread. This time, I checked it out to read for a change of genre. This book is about Amy and yet not all about her.Amy Curry lost her father three months back while she was driving the car. He was her best friend. They’d often drive around town listening to Elvis and eating Life Savers (which I just discovered are basically Fruit Candy!). After the accident, Amy’s mother decided that they needed a fresh start and moved the family from California to Connecticut. She instructed Amy to drive their family car to the new home, accompanied by a boy – the son of a family friend – she barely knew…Roger. And so the epic road trip began… On this hilarious detour, Amy came to terms with her fa... morether’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 was the story of one girl's journey to find herself. I have rarely been to road trips but have always liked the idea of spending hours driving in a car with nothing to do but listen to music and watch the world pass you. I lived this vicariously through Amy and Roger. I loved reading about them taking detours and trying out new restaurants. What this book got me into is rather funny!!! I read this book on a schedule.. I picked it up an hour before sleeping. The description of food mainly hamburgers, pizza, fries, desserts lured me into munching at night. It got me angry mostly as I wondered how Amy ate so much and not put on weight? This book led me to buy a pack of fruit bake biscuits. I binged on them while I read. Now do not call me gullible for this..I ate the biscuits one after the other when Amy and Roger were either driving or eating at dine-in (yaa, I made myself that comfortable, and I hope either of them did not mind a company!). My munching took pause at Amy’s flashbacks about her life with family or her father’s death (but I loyally resumed after reading this section!!). Amy’s bereavement and thoughts of abandonment by her mother and brother were blended finely with the car ride. You acknowledged them but they did not spill all over.I expected romance to build up between Amy and Roger from the very start of their trip. I thought the story would follow up on how it developed, but it didn't. There was lot more focus on the trip and America. I liked both Amy and Roger independently and as a couple. I loved watching them go from being complete strangers to being able to tell when one was worried or nervous without them saying so. Their playlists (Roger’s mixs’ and Amy’s Elvis) and rounds of Twenty Questions and love for new diners and fast food restaurants were wonderful. The style of the book was really fresh. Every few pages there were pictures of where they'd been and Amy's notes on each state. There were receipts from the diners they ate at and hotels where they stayed. Roger's (and, eventually, Amy's) playlists were actually written out in the book with doodles and cute titles. With all the little trinkets from their trip thrown in made it look a little scrapbook-y which was interesting and different. I wanted to read something super light and fluffy for a change and this book was just that. The emotional parts gave the story more dimension and made it more than just a frivolous road trip book, which I really enjoyed. This is then a highly recommended book.
review 2: Finally read this! It took a while for me to pick up this book because I could tell exactly what was going to happen based on the premise of the book. YET, as predictable and clichéd as it was, I enjoyed every minute of it! It made me cry, laugh and feel 'kilig' like a teenager.As someone who lost a parent too soon, I felt this book hit home. It captures what it's like to lose someone-- to feel like it's a horrible dream you keep waiting to wake up from, to be unable to say out loud that the person is gone because it makes it more real, to suddenly look at your life in terms of Before and After the tragedy.When loss turns your world upside-down, it breaks you. As an adolescent, it seems impossible to pull yourself together but, somehow, little by little you do. I love how this book shows that gradual transformation. I felt lighter and lighter as I went on this road trip with them and saw Amy's character development along the way. I'm happy that at the end of it, we see an Amy who is somewhat whole again, or at least nearly there.I was expecting to roll my eyes every now and then throughout this book but because it had enough heart and likeable characters, it drowned out any urges I may have had to do so. less

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