Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Oh this was the perfect read for a rainy day of recovery from wisdom teeth removal. Light without being fluffy, having substance without dragging down, Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson is a fun romantic read.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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.

I will admit that this books started slow for me. It took my a while to get into it and I actually considered stopping about 50 pages in, but something about Amy's voice kept me holding on a little longer, and in the end I was glad I did. I really enjoyed how Matson set the book up with receipts, pages from Amy's scrapbook, and playlists they listened to scattered throughout the book. This is the story of Amy and the much needed therapy her epic detour gave her. It is a story about Roger and how his epic detour gave him the closure he needed. It is also the story about the diversity of our country and you can experience that in no other way than randomly driving through it. I may have enjoyed this book so much because I have taken so many road trips across it myself, to many of the same places. If you've never done such a thing before reading this book, you will want to after reading it. I enjoyed both Amy and Roger and their interactions very much. I also really liked the way Matson ended the book, not trying to make everything okay, but giving just enough hint of good things to come to make you sigh with happiness while putting the book down.

Note on Content: There is some rather casual treatment of sex in the book so people who are bothered by that should take note. There are no detailed descriptions though.

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