Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

Title: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson | Genre: Young Adult | Rating: 4.5 stars

Blurb: Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it’s Amy’s 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 – especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory – but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

Review: 

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour was my first experience with Morgan Matson as an author and I found her writing style easy to get into; having no trouble becoming immersed in the story. The book just missed out on a 5 star rating for me due to the ending, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the story I felt disappointed with the ending and hoped for more. I realize a story must end somewhere however I was hoping that we would experience Amy’s conversation with her mum once she returned home or an insight into how herself and Roger’s relationship would work. It felt somewhat like a cliffhanger for me. Of course this means the ending is ambiguous.

Following along with the form of the book, I particularly enjoyed how Morgan included little snippets of journal entries and music playlists as it added another element of dialogue to the book whilst making it unique and interesting. Amy and Rogers Epic Detour is written in first person narrative through the character of Amy therefore we don’t experience Roger’s personal thoughts and feelings although I wouldn’t say this really took much from the reading experience as we could work out his body language and emotions through Amy’s interactions and descriptions of him.

In terms of characters, I really enjoyed Amy and Roger. I loved how their personalities complimented each other even in the first few chapters when they knew nothing about one another. From that early stage the connection and tension shared between them was evident. As well as this I found myself sympathetic to Amy, this book is focused on Amy and Roger’s journey which is ultimately to self discovery; Amy must admit to herself that the accident she experienced months before was not her fault and find her way back to normality and Roger must let go of his old relationships. Both are on a journey to move forward.

I’m actually sad that I’ve now finished this book, I was really engaged reading it as it was truly enjoyable and often made me laugh. There is a-lot of depth behind Amy and Roger’s characters and the story has a romantic element which plays alongside their deeper issues such as the loss of a parent. It was a lovely read which I think any fan of romance novels regardless of it being Young Adult and featuring 2 young characters would enjoy.

 Have you read Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour? Let me know your thoughts in the comments 🙂 

Useful Links

Goodreads – Amy and Rogers Epic Detour | Goodreads – Author Page – Morgan Matson

Book Depository – Hardback Edition | Book Depository – Paperback Edition Personal Website – Morgan Matson.com