Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour

By: Morgan Matson

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's 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.

©2010 Morgan Matson (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

A fun road trip adventure!

Amy has had a difficult time lately. Her father died in a car accident, her brother is in rehab and her mother has fled to Connecticut. Now that school is over, Amy is expected to drive across country with Roger, a friend of the family. The only problem is Amy is too scared to get behind the wheel since the accident. So with Roger behind the wheel, they ahead across the country. With Amy dealing with her grief, Roger has his own reasons for wanting to take a detour. Thus they take the detour of their lives and learn more about themselves then they thought was possible.

I bought Amy & Roger's Epic Detour over a year ago and its been sitting on my audio shelf for a while, unlistened to. I decided I was in the mood for some contemporary YA fiction and picked this one up. I don't listen to a lot of contemporary YA fiction, maybe 1-2 books a year. I love paranormal, fantasy, dystopia and science fiction in the YA genre, but not a lot of contemporary fiction. So I went into this one with a little hesitation. I came out the other side with a huge appreciation for Morgan Matson and this great story.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is the best road trip book ever. It is told from Amy's point of view, and includes songs they listened to, places they visits and each state's motto. I'm an Australian that now resides in Canada, and I've only visited 2-3 US states. I felt like I was experiencing the US for almost the first time as Amy and Roger take a trip from California, through Nevada, Colorado and so many detours until they end up in Philadelphia and Connecticut.

It was a great road trip full of self-discovery and I enjoyed listening, watching each of their stories unravel. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour was at times emotional, especially as Amy unravels the full story of her father's death. She meets people she never thought she'd meet, and she starts the road to recovery and healing from the loss of her father. It was a beautiful, beautiful story that makes me want to hop in a car and head somewhere!

This was my first time listening to Suzy Jackson and I liked that her voice was just young enough to match the idea I had of Amy's voice in my head. She really put all the emotion into the narration that was in Morgan Matson's words and made it a very enjoyable experience. I will definitely pick up another audiobook narrated by Suzy Jackson.

I'd recommend Amy & Roger's Epic Detour to not just fans of YA fiction, but anyone that wants to remember that great feeling of hoping in the car and driving, and making those detours that make life interesting.

Great story!

The characters drew me in right from the beginning. I enjoyed the detour and the story all the way through to the end! The narrator did a great job too.

A very cute, very fun summer read.

A very cute, very fun summer read. Perfect for fans of Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard. The ending was a little un-realistic (for me) but I enjoyed the book as a whole.

Excellent Book!

I am a 27 year old woman and just got back into YA lit recently. I am so glad I bought this book as it is a moving coming of age story dealing with issues of family, death, love, guilt and friendships. It has really great music references as well. At the least I want a sequel and a movie version!! After reading this I am a fan of Matson's for life and can't wait to read more of her work.

I love this book

What did you love best about Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour?

This book is has amazing writing. The character arches and flawless, the personalities are real, and the story is awesome. I have read this book several times and each time I feel like I am discovering American again with Roger and Amy!

What about Suzy Jackson’s performance did you like?

The performance is not distracting. I love when I can forget about the persons voice and get sucked into the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The transformation and growth you see in both main characters is awesome.

Any additional comments?

If you love road trips this book will make you crazy to join them on their detour across America

Unexpected awesome!

I got this because it was in my price range. I wasn't expecting to love it. I was drawn into the story fast! I loved the twists and unexpectedness of the story. The characters were wonderfully thought out and the ending wasn't tired! I loved all this book had to offer!!

Light summer YA read

Any additional comments?

Just finished this and it was a nice bit of escapism- a good summertime read. It definitely had me thinking about the road trips in my past- complete with music, snacks and highway. I recommend this to anyone needing to getaway from the day to day!

Leaves you wanting more and more

This book leaves you wanting more and more of Amy and Roger after every word

Sweet, fun and sometimes heartbreaking

I really loved listening to this story. I found that anytime I had a minute I turned it on. The story is beautifully told and quite fun. It's funny, witty but at times quite heartbreaking. Made me want to go on my own epic detour. If you're a fan of YA romance this is the book for you, it is quite good.

Loved the balance of light & cute with deep

I’ve actually only read one other Morgan Matson book so far (SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE) and I’ve found her writing to be fun, enjoyable, a true to real life. I basically have all of her books on my TBR so when this book came up in an Audible sale, it was a quick pick for me and I was excited to read it!

AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR was so cute and also very deep at the same time. I didn’t expect tragedy to be involved (no spoiler — it’s why the book happens in the first place) so I might not have picked it up so eagerly if I had known that but I also like that I didn’t know that because I could have missed a really wonderful book. I tend to trust authors who have good reviews or whose works I’ve already enjoyed so I just kind of jumped into this one and I’m really glad I did! The book starts after the death of Amy’s father and I’ve been avoiding a lot of books surrounding death/tragedy/disease, etc to keep things positive and fluffy and happy and surprisingly, this book was both at the same time.

I loved the dynamic between Amy and Roger and how it grew throughout the book. The two start out as near strangers (they used to know each other as kids but barely) and despite only really knowing each other for a few days, their feelings for each other didn’t feel like instalove. Being stuck in a car with someone for several days allows you to get to know them and know them well within a short period of time so I found that quite realistic and positively adorable. They had their shared interests, their differences, a few quarrels, and a lot of really cute moments. I really enjoyed how their friendship and relationship developed as the story went on!

There was also so much more to this book than just the romance. Amy is forced to embark upon this road trip to take the family car from her old home in California to their new home in Connecticut, but she also makes some important life decisions on her own (and with some enlightenment from Roger) and really matures along the way. The death of her father has severely shaken the family, of course, and Amy starts to come to terms with his death, how it happened, and what it means to continue on with life and how to enjoy it without him there. She learns what it means to be an adult and take on responsibility for your actions, how to make better relationships, and how to make decisions that are best for her, even if they’re not the easiest ones to make.

I loved the depth in this story and the character growth while still having that fluffy, happy feeling of a super cute relationship. AMY & ROGER’S EPIC DETOUR was such a fun and wonderful read — oh, and let’s not forgot about the high school/college flashback with all of the amazing road trip playlists! Morgan Matson incorporated music in this book in the form of playlists and everything from Amy’s musicals to Roger’s indie rock took me back to 2010 (when this book was written — I didn’t realize it was that old!) and had me feeling some epic nostalgia too!