Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased
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.
My thoughts:
The emotion that I felt for this book so early on could only compare to Sara Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer in which I started crying during chapter 2. After the first few pages, I felt the sadness, the loneliness and the darkness that comes after the death of a loved one and emotions like that really hit me hard.
Amy’s mom has decided to move her across county and because of last minute plans the only way for her to get there is for Amy to drive across county with a guy she hasn’t seen since elementary school. Amy’s mom leaves a detailed plan of where they are driving and where they’re supposed to stay but Amy decides she wants to be disobedient for once in her life and Roger has ulterior motives for the detour as well!
For Amy, the road trip become s a way for her to grieve for the loss of her father and for her to get over a lot of guilt that she’s been holding on to. For Roger, the road trip is a way for him to finally get over his first and intense love; an ex-girlfriend from his first year in college. As they travel together, they grow to know each other and trust the other one.
I really loved this book and stories like this are why I’ve come to love young adult contemporary. They’re so sweet and make me believe that true love is out there for everyone! I give Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour 5 stars because road trips are near and dear to my heart!
