Amy & Roger's epic detour

Format:

Book

Title:

Amy & Roger's epic detour

Other title(s):

Amy and Roger's epic detour

Author:

Matson, Morgan.

ISBN:

9781416990659

9781416990666

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

343 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

General Note:

"Book design by Krista Vossen; Manufactured in the United States of America"--Title page verso

Summary:

After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student, and Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.

Reading Level:

Ages 12 up.

Subject(s):

Automobile travel -- Juvenile fiction.

Guilt -- Juvenile fiction.

Grief -- Juvenile fiction.

Death -- Juvenile fiction.

Fathers -- Juvenile fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Juvenile fiction.

Automobile travel -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Genre:

Added Author:

Added Corporate Author:

Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Mount Angel Public Library	YA MATSON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Library	YA FIC MAT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Matson, M.	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

There were three things Amy Curry didn't expect out of senior year. First: her father's death. Second: her mother's decision to relocate to the East Coast. Third: Roger Sullivan.

After her father's sudden death, Amy's mom has decided to start anew--in Connecticut, just before the start of senior year. And she's decided that it'll be Amy's job to get the car from California to Connecticut.

The only problem? Amy hasn't gotten behind the wheel since the car accident that took her father's life.

Enter Roger, a family friend, tasked by his mother to help Amy drive across the country. Amy's not pleased to be driving across the country with a boy she barely knows, but as Amy gets lost on her cross-country adventure, she must confront the past she's running from, come to terms with the grief of losing a parent, and learn how to open her heart in order to find herself again.

Author Notes

Morgan Matson was born in 1981 and grew up in New York City and Greenwich, Connecticut. She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and obtained Theater/English degree. Following college graduation she moved back East to attend the New School, where she received her M.F.A in Writing for Children.

Morgan's first book, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour published in May 2010, was inspired by Morgan's three cross-country road trips. It was named an ALA Top Ten Best Book, a PW "Flying Start" book, and was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Book Prize. Her book, Second Chance Summer, won the California Book Award and named A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year in 2012. Matson is also the author of best seller Since You've Been Gone which made the Silver Inky Award shortlist.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (4)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Amy has been left behind in California to finish the end of her junior year in high school when her mother takes a new job and moves to Connecticut following the death of her father in a car accident in this novel by Morgan Matson (S & S, 2010). Then, Amy must get the family car from California to the East Coast. She refuses to drive the family car from California to the East Coast, so her mother arranges for 19-year-old Roger, a family friend, to drive them cross-country. Roger is still reeling from getting dumped by his college girlfriend. He and Amy are getting reacquainted when they detour from her mother's strict itinerary to head to Yosemite which is filled with family memories for her. When Amy's mother finds out they are not following her route, she freaks. Amy finally makes her needs known to her mother and, for once, Amy is in charge-at least of the trip. Amy and Roger each have their own agenda that fuels the detours. The beauty of the road and long stints in the car together leads to emotional changes for both of them. Flashbacks to Amy's life before the death of her father are woven perfectly into the story. Suzy Jackson is entirely believable as a high school student who is barely coping with the loss of her father. As the relationship between Amy and Roger moves beyond mere friendship, everything about it is believable. Teen girls will absolutely love this well-produced audiobook.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

In the summer following her junior year, Amy is nursing the loss of her father in a car accident-and the burden of believing it was her fault. With her mother relocating the family to Connecticut and her brother in rehab, Amy is left to get the car from California to their new house. But since the accident, Amy won't drive. Enter Roger, the 19-year-old son of a family friend, on his way to visit his father in Philadelphia. After a few bumps, Roger and Amy are on their way-he to help her face the grief and truth about her father's death, and she to help him move on from a painful breakup. Debut author Matson ably evokes the places, tastes, and tunes of this unforgettable cross-country trip, and the incorporation of b&w photos, receipts, playlists, sketches, and quotations about the states they pass through make it feel all the more real. The duo's budding romance is especially satisfying given the deliciously slow speed with which it builds. A near perfect summer read that should leave readers with a thirst for travel and romance. Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book Review

After Amy's father dies, her mother moves from California to Connecticut, leaving Amy and nineteen-year-old Roger, a family friend, to drive out to meet her. The teens diverge from Amy's mother's itinerary in favor of exploring the country, discovering things along the way they didn't even know they were looking for. Likable characters and unpredictable adventures propel the sometimes slow plot. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

After a recent car accident claimed her father's life, high-school actress Amy refuses to drive anywhere, so her mother arranges for rising college sophomore Roger, the son of a family friend, to drive Amy and the family car from their house for sale in California to a new home in Connecticut. Quickly detouring from the route carefully planned by Amy's mother, the young adults go where their hearts lead them, taking in breathtaking sights and regional fast food along the way. As they visit old family vacation spots, track down Roger's ex and sneak into the drug-rehab center where Amy's twin brother is recovering, Amy and Roger begin to let go of their pasts and focus on the futuretogether. Adding to the fun of this debut novel are photos, maps, receipts, playlists and other passages from Amy's Traveler's Companion scrapbook. Appealing to Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, Cecil Castellucci fans and the like, this entertaining and thoughtful summertime road trip serves up slices of America with a big scoop of romance on the side. (Fiction. 13 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.