Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Author:  Morgan Matson

Year: 2010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages:  343

Goodreads Summary:
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.

What a fun book! First off, the romance was cute and fun and not heavy. But Amy was the real story. I loved watching her deal with her father's death and come to terms with her guilt. She grew into an adult in this story and it was so well told. I loved the extras where we were shown pieces of her travel journey. That just made the story so much more complete and cute and fun. Roger was sweet and gentle and had his own hurdles to cross on the trip. It was cleansing for both of them.

What totally surprised me is that I found myself marking quotes in this book. I didn't expect that from such a light read. But there were parts that were incredibly profound.

I highly recommend this quick read. It might even be worth a reread or two. And I so want to do myself one of those road trip journals.