Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy has had a difficult 3 months at the end of her junior year. Her father died, her twin brother went to a rehab center in North Carolina, and her mother decided that her and Amy were going to move from California to Connecticut after Amy finished school.

Only Amy doesn't drive anymore. So, when her mom needs the Jeep in Connecticut, Amy is road tripping with an old friend, Roger.

Amy and Roger don't remember each other that much, since they have barely seen one another in 10 years, but Roger needs to get to Pennsylvania to stay at his dad's for the summer break off of college (which he goes to college in Colorado).

After careful planning, Amy's mom makes all of their decisions by reserving rooms at hotels and mapping out the roads to take, making a 4 day trip from CA to CT.

Instead of following the carefully made out plans, though, Roger and Amy decide to take a little...detour.

Which ends up taking more than 4 days and cutting them off of the money Amy's mother supplied at the beginning of the trip.

This doesn't stop Amy or Roger, though. The detour gives them freedom from their troubled background, and also gives them a chance to complete some unfinished business - for both of them.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Wow. This was an amazing book. Usually I'm all about the chemistry between the two characters, but the content and the way this book was written blew my mind.

I've read some road trip books before, so I wasn't expecting amazingness from this novel. Boy was I wrong. Reading Amy's troubled thoughts about what had happened to make her not want to drive was spell bounding. Even though I was able to figure out very early on what happened, reading her reactions and thoughts kept me on the edge of my seat.

Also, I really enjoyed the details of every state her and Roger drove/stopped through. I'm not much for riding in the car hours upon hours, but with company like Roger, I might be able to handle it. This book actually made me want to road trip - something I never thought I'd want to do.

This is a must read book, I think. The struggles that both Amy and Roger go through during this novel is very relatable and their reactions are real. Even if the reader can't relate to either of their stories (like myself) it is still a well written novel that will snare the reader's attention and keep them wanting more until the last page (and maybe even after they've finished!).

So...go read it to join Amy and Roger's adventure during their "epic detour"!