Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

My summary of this book:

This is a story of a girl named Amy who is dealing with the recent and tragic death of her father. Each member of her family dealt with her fathers loss differently. Her twin brother was sent away to rehab, while her mother moved to Connecticut for a fresh start. Amy was left all alone in California for three months to finish out the year of school.

During the summer (before her senior year, no less) when it is time for her to move to the new Connecticut home with her mother, Amy has to do all of the traveling in the family car. Amy no longer drives since her father's accident, so the driver of the car will be Roger. Roger is a college sophomore who needs to get to Philadelphia and  who needs to deal with some problems of his own. Although the two character's mothers are old friends, Amy & Roger hardly know each other... but they are about to spend a lot of time together!

On their journey across country and into a new phases of their own lives, the two learn a lot about each other, and about themselves. 

My review:

This was such a great book! I'm confident that any YA book lover will love Amy & Roger.

I liked that there was a multimedia feel to this book. Each chapter title was the title of a song that related somehow to the physical or emotional place of the characters in their journey. There were maps, scrapbook photos, road trip itinerary, gas station receipts, emails, iPod play-lists, souvenirs, and fun facts sprinkled throughout the book. This was done in a way that helped to really bring out the emotions and experiences of any good road trip, while not taking away from the story itself. 

I think that both of the main characters were very likable and I like how their friendship developed naturally with each new experience on the detour. I especially felt for Amy with all of the problems she was dealing with in her family, the worst of all being the death of her father. She felt like she was not the same person anymore and she felt that there were things she would or could never do after he died. She learned along the way that she can still be whoever she wants to be. 

Roger is very fun and adorable. He has an ex-girlfriend that weighs heavy on his mind throughout the trip. A big reason for him taking this trip is an opportunity to fix the situation with her. I do not want to spoil the book for anyone who has not read it, but I will say that both Amy and Roger have brighter and happier futures ahead of them once the detour comes to an end. 

Overall I give this book a big happy smile! I look forward to reading future books written by Morgan Matson.