title: amy & roger’s epic detour
author: morgan matson
genre: ya-contemporary
type: paperback
pages: 344
start: 19.08.2017
finish: 20.08.2017
rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Tomorrow will be better.” – “But what if it’s not?” I asked. – “Then you say it again tomorrow. Because it might be. You never know, right? At some point, tomorrow will be better.”
what it’s about:
after the death of her father amy needs to drive back her mother’s car to their new home all across the united states. roger, the son of a family’s friend, is supposed to accompany amy on the drive. both of them are not looking forward to this trip, which was planned out by amy’s mom. amy and roger decide to take a little detour, where they get to know each other and start to live the real america.
what i think:
“amy and roger’s epic detour” by morgan matson made me feel so good. i loved the idea of a roadtrip, because i am a huge roadtrip fan myself and just the premise of this book made me happy. when i started to read, i didn’t know what to expect, but i was totally satisfied with the outcome.
basically there is the story we all now. two strangers are forced into a situation, they don’t want to be. they try to be happy about it and everything is a big messed up situation, but after a bumpy start, they get to know each other and then there is a happy ending.
this book is definitely this kind of book, but there is so much more to it. i can imagine, that many people would have their problems with the predictability, but i didn’t. i wanted a fluffy contemporary but i got so much more. because they go on a roadtrip to so many places, that i personally have been and the feelings this book brought back to me were just amazing. i didn’t want it to end! i had all the feels and i wished all the time, that i could go back and do it all over again.
but this book is not just a roadtrip story. right in the beginning i knew, that this book deals with more than an angry teenager. amy deals with some serious stuff and all her feelings, all her anxiety comes back during the roadtrip with roger. at some points it was really hard to take in, because the situation is one, i never want to be in myself. i was feeling for amy and she was like a little kid, i wanted to hold and hug and just make it better. i liked her character and the development she made. but i will say, that it was way too early or the time period she made her development was way to short. that made it unrealistic, but i didn’t care so much, because the roadtrip fun was right up my alley.
this book has maps, pictures, playlists in it, that make the reading experience so much more fun and of course i made these playlists myself and listened to all the songs, because i wanted to have the real reading experience. and it was so, so good.
now on to roger. oh roger. this guy is cute. really, really cute. i mean, he is always nice to amy, takes care of her and you definitely wish for them to be together. but it’s not that easy, because roger has his own baggage to carry and that’s a thing, that i didn’t like very much. his intentions were wrong and the outcome of it seemed totally unrealistic, which made me kind of mad. i liked the ending though, the way it led to it, was just not a thing i liked very much.
what i also missed was the interaction of amy and her family. there should have been more and it felt like a huge part to the conclusion was just missing.
what you should know:
“amy and roger’s epic detour” is a cute contemporary, that will make you want to go on a roadtrip. the roadtrip elements are amazing and it is so much fun to read. i mean there are pictures and playlists and ELVIS! come on, that’s really all you need.
at some points this book goes deep and it deals with anxiety and grief a lot. so this should maybe be a warning for some people. otherwise it is a really cute read, which is perfect for the summer and which is enjoyable but could have been better, if some elements were worked out better.
now the big question: are you going to read “amy and roger’s epic detour” by morgan matson? have you read it? what are your thoughts on this?
“amy and roger’s epic detour” on goodreads
morgan matson on goodreads
