Thursday 16 August 2012

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson


'Amy Curry’s year sucks. And it’s not getting any better. Her mother has decided to move, so somehow Amy has to get their car from California to the East Coast. There’s just one problem: since her father’s death Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel of a car. Enter Roger, the son of a family friend, who turns out to be funny, nice… and unexpectedly cute. 
But Roger’s plans involve a more ‘scenic’ route than just driving from A to B, so suddenly Amy finds herself on the road trip of a lifetime. And, as she grows closer to Roger, Amy starts to realize that sometimes you have to get lost to find your way home…’
My mum recommended this book to me after reading it on holiday, saying that although it was very light reading, she really loved it. I have to say that I agree! The characters of Amy and Roger are really likeable, as are all the weird and wonderful people they meet along their journey. The book is laid out in a fun scrapbook style, with doodles, receipts and photographs for every chapter. There are also playlists to show you what they listened to on the road trip, so you can discover some new music while you're reading! 
The story is quite a bit heavier than it looks from the cover, as it focuses on Amy struggling to cope with the guilt and grief after her father's death three months before, and her twin brother is in rehab for his drug addiction. It's a tearjerker in parts, and there are a lot of flashbacks to Amy's life leading up to, and after, the accident. But the story that unfolds in the present is really fun and uplifting, as we see Amy and Roger's friendship grow, and desperately hope that there will be a fairytale ending. Their relationship is not only adorable with all their inside jokes and habits, but also very realistic, because both characters have their flaws and problems. 
Some parts of the story were very easy to predict, and I found myself picking up on the hints of what would happen very quickly, but I don't really think this spoiled the story at all. I felt that the ending wasn't quite satisfactory, because I was desperate to find out all the extra bits that we don't get told, but this was such a good story that I read it in just a couple of hours. Despite being a Young Adult novel, I think this is a book that anybody with a sense of adventure and a love of travel would enjoy reading. I especially liked it because I've been to a few of the places mentioned in the story - I had the exact same all-you-can-eat breakfast in Yosemite! 
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour gets 5 stars, because I've given up trying to be picky about how many stars I award things, and I really loved it! 

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