Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Release Date: May 4, 2010
Pages: 344
Rating: 💜💜💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Amy is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's her responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.
This book was a really cute way to start the year. Although it's set in Summer, and therefore was a complete juxtaposition to the weather outside, it was a lovely read. I think I read this in about 5 hours because I couldn't bring myself to put it down; the writing was captivating and the characters were fun to read about.
I think my favourite think about this book was the fact that it stuck to the fact that it was a book about a road trip. Some road trip books I've read seem to forget this, focusing on the romance and placing the road trip in places that were convenient. But Morgan Matson did a fantastic job at making the road trip take the front seat and the romance happening around it. Even better, she related the different locations in the novels to different developments in their relationship. With each location they ended up in Amy and Roger left closer together, whether it was from dealing with an ex or visiting a childhood holiday destination. Not only did Matson push the road trip aspect of the book through the adventures they had, she also included playlists and scrapbook-y items throughout the book to make you feel more immersed throughout the novel. (I'll include the playlist here (I didn't put it together but I did listen to it whilst reading the book)). I love it when books do this because it adds that little bit extra to the general reading experience, as you get to actually look at the places which Amy and Roger pass through.
Speaking of Amy and Roger, I was delighted to see that they were both beautifully flawed people who are forced to work through their problems, using each other as their motivation to let go and move on from previous experiences. Watching them grow closer together and begin to understand each other in ways that no one else could was beautiful, making for a very cute read as they grew to trust and rely upon the other throughout the road trip from California to Connecticut, with their chemistry growing at a similar rate. Naturally, Amy and Roger weren't the only characters in the book (although the focus was obviously placed on them). I think this rings true in every single Matson book I've read, but the secondary characters were well developed and felt just as important as the main characters. It is so common for the side characters to feel 2D and boring, but I can honestly say that it felt like all the characters in the novel were alive and breathing. It was weird, but when I got to the end of the book I was wishing that I could get another novel that just told me about what the other characters were getting up to. Matson's talent for writing characters meant that the book felt like it was alive, breathing, and had a life of its own.
Overall, I loved this book. It was a warm, summer read that kept me out of the January slump that everyone appears to suffer from. The characters were lovely, the general story was sweet and there was enough hard hitting content that I was engrossed. This was the best fictional trip I've ever read about, and am now planning a road trip of my own!
Amy is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's her responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.
This book was a really cute way to start the year. Although it's set in Summer, and therefore was a complete juxtaposition to the weather outside, it was a lovely read. I think I read this in about 5 hours because I couldn't bring myself to put it down; the writing was captivating and the characters were fun to read about.
I think my favourite think about this book was the fact that it stuck to the fact that it was a book about a road trip. Some road trip books I've read seem to forget this, focusing on the romance and placing the road trip in places that were convenient. But Morgan Matson did a fantastic job at making the road trip take the front seat and the romance happening around it. Even better, she related the different locations in the novels to different developments in their relationship. With each location they ended up in Amy and Roger left closer together, whether it was from dealing with an ex or visiting a childhood holiday destination. Not only did Matson push the road trip aspect of the book through the adventures they had, she also included playlists and scrapbook-y items throughout the book to make you feel more immersed throughout the novel. (I'll include the playlist here (I didn't put it together but I did listen to it whilst reading the book)). I love it when books do this because it adds that little bit extra to the general reading experience, as you get to actually look at the places which Amy and Roger pass through.
Speaking of Amy and Roger, I was delighted to see that they were both beautifully flawed people who are forced to work through their problems, using each other as their motivation to let go and move on from previous experiences. Watching them grow closer together and begin to understand each other in ways that no one else could was beautiful, making for a very cute read as they grew to trust and rely upon the other throughout the road trip from California to Connecticut, with their chemistry growing at a similar rate. Naturally, Amy and Roger weren't the only characters in the book (although the focus was obviously placed on them). I think this rings true in every single Matson book I've read, but the secondary characters were well developed and felt just as important as the main characters. It is so common for the side characters to feel 2D and boring, but I can honestly say that it felt like all the characters in the novel were alive and breathing. It was weird, but when I got to the end of the book I was wishing that I could get another novel that just told me about what the other characters were getting up to. Matson's talent for writing characters meant that the book felt like it was alive, breathing, and had a life of its own.
Overall, I loved this book. It was a warm, summer read that kept me out of the January slump that everyone appears to suffer from. The characters were lovely, the general story was sweet and there was enough hard hitting content that I was engrossed. This was the best fictional trip I've ever read about, and am now planning a road trip of my own!
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