Book Review | Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson… now I want to go on an American Summer road trip

Published: 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books
Genre: Contemporary
Themes: Road Trip, Summer, Grief, Romance
Length: 343 Pages
My Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Hi Readers!

This is my third time reading this book and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I still enjoy it! I’ve realised this is the first time I’m reading this book outside of a readathon and I had overall a better experience with this book when I took my time with it rather than reading it in one day!

After the sudden loss of her father, Amy’s mother decides to move across the country for a fresh start, with Amy to follow on once she’s finished her Junior year of high school. Now it’s Summer and Amy’s mother has enlisted the help of a family friends son Roger to drive her to their new home. A road trip of healing, detours and romance ensues.

This book deals heavily with grieving the loss of a parent and I thought it was done really well. Amy’s grief is still so strong from losing her father. She’s not the same girl she used to be and she’s still feeling survivors guilt. On this road trip Amy goes through a lot of healing and it was so nice to read her character grow.

Roger, while nice, is a little bit more forgettable. He’s got his own mission on this trip and it makes him feel quite vacant a lot of the story. It’s not until his and Amy’s bond grows that you really start getting to know him.

My only little quelm with this book is a thing that’s typically seen in YA books. Where is her mother? Okay so to be fair she’s dealing with grief herself, but to leave her 16 (17?) year old daughter to travel across the country with a boy she hasn’t seen since childhood after she saw her father die? What the heck is wrong with this woman?

Being a Morgan Matson book, it wasn’t all about grief. Seeing Amy & Rogers relationship grow was so cute and fun to read. It has the perfect balance between light-hearted and heartbreak.

I also really like that this was left open ended. It gives you the feeling that the characters still have a long way to go. Their story isn’t over just because you’ve got to the final page of the book. It made them feel more real to me.