“It was like there was an elephant in the room. An elephant that expected us to have sex.”

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Author: Morgan Matson

Release Date: May 4th, 2010 (Reviewing an oldie today!)

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 

Pages: 344

Edition: Hardcover

Cover Judge: It's cute! And does a good job of telling you what the story could be about.

Quote Choice: So much love for this whole part of the trip and this line is HILARIOUS.
Source: Bought

Goodreads: Link

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.

So the book starts out with Amy whose mother is moving from California to Connecticut and wants Amy to drive across the country to get to her. The problem? Girl ain't gonna be driving alone! Her mother enlists the help of a friend's son, Roger, who is also going that way and together, these two road trip it up. I really love the name of the book because the entire story stems from Amy branching out from her mother's itinerary and finding their own way. 

ALSO, can we take a moment to appreciate the amazing extras in this book? Things from pages with pictures of the places they were going through, pictures of FOOD (dude, I got hungry reading this book for a minute there), PLAYLISTS (which, by the way, Roger, you have good taste) of music they listened to while on the road. I love little extras inside books and this was no exception!

I loved Amy. She was likable, sweet, and just flawed enough that she's not any sort of mary-sue. She's reeling from a loss and learning to grow herself a spine in spite of her mother being a super bossy-pants, which is something I think everyone can relate to. And then you have Roger, someone who doesn't like saying goodbye because it feels too permanent and someone who is trying to get over a girl. I think this is the only part where the book lagged for me, Roger took so long to get over this girl, guys. And maybe it's because I haven't experienced a heart-wrenching break-up before, but I just wanted to go into the book and shake him and be like: Go! Amy! Right there! 

And of course, the book has amazing side-characters. All of Roger's friends are awesome, Lucien is the best and you are wrong if you don't think so. And if you think this book isn't going to have any emotional weight, wrong! I went in thinking I was going to be reading a fluffy romance but nope, Matson is not afraid to bring emotional, heart-breaking moments along with her funny ones. 

And then that ending. GAH, so satisfying but so not-satisfying at the same time. It's a wonderfully realistic ending but even I, who got a little annoyed at the sheer length of this book, was complaining about seeing it end.

-Happy Reading!