Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
by Morgan Matson
Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

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.


I was just looking around on the internet, bored, when I came across the ad for Audible that said you could sign up for a month and get 1 free audiobook. I'd seen this ad a lot in the past couple of months and I'd just ignored it. I didn't really want to try and audiobook so I just always overlooked it. But on Sunday night when I came across the ad again, I thought to myself - Well, if it's free, why don't you just sign up? Try something new for a change.

I'm glad I listened to that voice in my head. Listening to an audiobook was such an amazing experience.
I loved being able to listen to a book but still being able to do other things. Like, Going out shopping, Cleaning and just other general things that I wouldn't normally be able to do if I had a book in my hands. 

Suzy Jackson's narration was superb. Each character had a different, distinct voice that meant you could easily tell them apart. Her voice was fantastic and she sucked me into the story, making me imagine the scenes that were being read out. I could picture everything in my head as she was talking, like a movie, and I really enjoyed it.

So Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is basically about a girl who lost her father in a car accident and she's still coming to terms with it. Her mother decides to move to Connecticut and leaves Amy at their old house. So Amy goes on a road trip to Connecticut with an old friend Roger that she hasn't seen in years.

This was such a cute, love story with some deeper story lines intertwined. Like Amy coming to terms with her father's death, discovering herself again and her relationships with her mother & her twin brother - Charlie.

This isn't the first book I've read with a road trip in it, but it was certainly the best. I loved discovering the states in America that they were driving through along with them - since I'll probably never be able to do it myself. It was such a fascinating experience. I actually found myself wishing there had been more time for them to discover more of America - but that was mainly because I didn't want the book to end.

Amy developed a lot throughout this book. At first, she was this shy, reserved girl who completely blamed herself for her father's death and just wanted to be by herself. But as the story went on, Amy started to come out of her shell and become a different person. She grew more confident and became such a fantastic character. I loved learning more about her and her family through her flashbacks.

I knew I was going to love Roger from the second we met him. He was such a sweet, friendly character and he really helped Amy on this trip. He helped her discover herself again and come to terms with what happened on the day of the accident. He was funny and charming and always knew what to do to cheer Amy up. The sock sliding in Walmart was one of my favourite scenes.

Amy's relationship with her mother was shown through her phone calls with her mother and through Amy's narration. Her and her mother had a strained relationship after the accident, and even before the accident their relationship wasn't the best. Her mother preferred Charlie to her. I really enjoyed reading about their relationship.

Also, we had Amy's relationship with her brother being shown through Amy's flashbacks and her narration. Her and her brother weren't that close anymore. They both hung about with different crowds of people and were completely different. I enjoyed seeing the development in their relationship.

I loved Amy & Roger's relationship. They became so close during the road trip, and it'd be kind of hard not to considering the amount of time they spent in the car driving. I loved the development in their relationship from the start of the book to the end. Although their relationship developed in such a short space of time, I found myself not caring. I just loved reading about them and right from the start I was impatiently waiting for the moment they would get together. It was inevitable, but I honestly didn't care. They're one of the cutest couples ever and they really helped each other. 

I also really loved Roger's playlists. They made me want to go and listen to every song on them. There were quite a few bands on his playlists that I'd never heard of and I really wanted to go and check them out. I always found myself laughing at what Roger had named them. He was just so funny!

Now that I own the audiobook, it'll be something I will listen to a lot. Maybe when I'm on the bus into Uni, or when I'm wanting something to listen to when I'm doing something but I can't be bothered listening to music. Or when I'm looking for something cute that will cheer me up. I know this is a book I will listen to over and over again.

I definitely, DEFINITELY recommend this book. It was just such an amazing story & the most EPIC detour ever. :)