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*AMY & ROGER'S EPIC DETOUR

Author Information
Author's Last Name: 
Matson
Author's First Name: 
Morgan
Publisher: 
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Month: 
May
Publication Date: 
2010
2011 Nomination (not yet selected): 

Amy, a seventeen year-old from California, believes that the car accident that killed her father is her fault. Months later, still emotionally paralyzed from the trauma, she is asked by her mother to meet in Connecticut. Roger, the son of a family friend, has been recruited to help get Amy to the east coast. An initially tentative friendship quickly deepens and eventually forms into romance between the two as they extend their cross-country adventure. While there are some pacing issues, and other minor quibbles (cream soda is much more available in the author's mind than in reality!), this is a sweet, contemporary, and quite relatable story of growth into young adulthood. Both main characters are largely likable, and a conclusion that neither ties up everything neatly, nor demands a sequel, is appreciated. --Todd Krueger

Comments

This is a great nomination -

by mbaden - 07/31/2010 - 5:24pm
This is a great nomination - a book that really captures the transformative power of travel. I especially liked the way Amy begins to open up to all the random people along the way and the halting way in which we learn why she is so grief-stricken. The ephemera including in the book is not just fun, but often moving in its own way as with the final state motto "He who transplanted sustains."
rcampbell's picture

If you can, check out the

by rcampbell - 07/30/2010 - 7:28am
If you can, check out the soundtracks too -- I spent a few minutes on iTunes listening to a few minutes of them and found a lot more to Roger than in just reading the text :)