Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Summary:
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. (from GoodReads)

Review:
I love traveling, so a story about a road trip is perfect for me! And Amy and Roger's Epic Detour really hit the spot for me, so to speak.

Like I said, I loved the premise, because I can think of nothing more fun than driving across the country with a cute boy. Instead of following Amy's mom's sensible itinerary, Amy and Roger decide to take a couple detours and actually have fun on their trip. They go to Yosemite National Park, Roger's college in Colorado, visit some of his friends in Kansas and Kentucky and go to Graceland in Tennessee. Not the most practical of routes, but it was fun to see Amy and Roger be a little impulsive and decide where they wanted to along the way.

I loved that Amy and Roger both came with baggage (metaphorical and literal). Amy's father just died in a car accident and Roger was just dumped by his girlfriend, so this trip was very much a cleansing process. Seeing the two grow and learn to move on made the book very meaningful and more deep than your average road-tripping novel.

I absolutely adored the way the book included photos and receipts and music playlists from along the way. It felt like I was actually looking at someone's scrapbook, which was awesome.

The only thing I wondered about was how much research the author did for the book. Everything seemed pretty accurate until Amy and Roger start driving towards Philadelphia, which is where I live. For example, the license plates do not say "You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania" anymore (and trust me, I wish they did because that is so cute). Also, Amy and Roger drive from Richmond, VA to Philly and they are driving for a couple of hours in PA until they reach the city. If they took the most direct route, they would only be in PA for about 20 mins before reaching the city. I know I'm nitpicking but I gotta defend my state!

Honestly, though, I really did love Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. It had so many elements that I enjoy in my stories: romance, character development, humor, and travel!

Rating: 9 out of 10.
FTC: borrowed from library

2010/Simon & Schuster/344 pages.