Review: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour
Title: Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 352
Release Date: May 10, 2011 (paperback)
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.—Goodreads
Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour seems to be one of those books that EVERYONE loves. I picked it up on the recommendation of Ginger at GReadsBooks, and then that recommendation was echoed by basically every book blogger I talk to on Twitter, so I had very, very high expectations.
Which actually ended up being a problem. I had such high expectations that when I started it I expected incredible, amazing, explosive greatness right from the get-go. Which, of course, is a silly thing to expect because that is HARD to do. But expect it I did, and at first I was a bit disappointed.
I didn’t immediately love Amy, and while I really felt for her situation, I thought she was being kind of a brat about the whole refusing to drive thing. [I’m heartless, I know.] And while I did like Roger pretty much immediately, I don’t like his name. I think this is because Roger was the bully on Doug. [I’m serious. I really think that’s why.]
Anyway, this book really had to woo me. Lucky for it, I tend to like 1) road trip novels and 2) fast food.
Which brings me to the point that there is SO MUCH AWESOME FAST FOOD IN THIS BOOK. Ok, so what you maybe need to know about me is that I’m a very, very unhealthy eater. It’s not that I dislike fruits/veggies/healthiness, it’s just that fast food tastes so damn good. And I fancy myself a sort of fast food connoisseur. My first job was working as a carhop at a Sonic Drive-In. I know the difference between Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., and Jack in the Box. I’ve been to In-N-Out Burger, Shake Shack, and Five Guys, and know which burger I like best out of those three. And I have a deep love for Chic-fil-A, which I can’t get in stupid NYC. (Well, technically there’s one in an NYU cafeteria. But I would have to sneak in and then be surrounded by NYU students. Both of those things are kind of annoying.)
So, suffice it to say, I really, really enjoyed the fast food shop talk and reading about a Sonic/Chic-fil-A virgin’s first time enjoying Sonic/Chic-fil-A. 🙂
But other than the fooood, what really made me like this book were the many fantastic characters Amy and Roger met along the way from Point A to Point B. Although I could probably write pages and pages about all of the minor characters, I will not subject you to that. Instead I will highlight three (well, four. But two sort of go together) of the ones I loved the mostest.
1) Bronwyn: First of all, her name rocks. Second of all, she’s the sort of girl who just intuitively understands what another girl needs, be it a hug, a make over, or a whole new suitcase of clothes. Hooray Bronwyn!
2) Cheeks and Walcott: Love these boys. Love them, love them, love them. They were both just really dang friendly and warm and welcoming, in that way that makes you feel like you’ve known them both for forever. I like that. And Walcott provided my favorite quote of the book!
“Aren’t you taking this Kansas thing a little far?”
“No,” Walcott said simply, rolling down his sleeve. “It’s my home, man. You’ve got to have pride in your home. You are where you’re from. Otherwise, you’re always going to be lost.”
Hooray Cheeks and Walcott!
3) Lucien: Oh my, Lucien. He is the perfect southern gentlemen and I want to call him mine. And if I ever have a son, I want him to be just like Lucien. That is all. Hooray Lucien!
Overall, this book charmed the pants off me. Not only did I end up really liking both Amy and Roger, but I loved the journey they took together. And that’s really what a road trip novel should be about, isn’t it?
TGIF: Character Envy
It is a cool, rainy Friday here in good ol’ NY. Which is awesome. Super awesome, because 1) I love rainy days and 2) It’s 71 degrees right now. YEP! *dances*
But on the question at hand! This week, the loverly Ginger at GReadsBooks wants to know:
Waiting on Wednesday: Clockwork Prince
Title: Clockwork Prince
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: December 6, 2011
In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.
Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?
As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.—Goodreads
1. That is the longest plot summary I’ve ever seen on Goodreads.
2. I like TID more than TMI.
3. I want to read this. Like now.
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
TGIF: Bookshelf Tour
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The Bottom Shelf, although called the Bottom Shelf, does not follow the same rules as shelves at bars—just because it’s on a lower shelf doesn’t mean it is cheaper/lacking in quality. In essence, the Bottom Shelf follows the same madness as the Top Shelf, but also includes my compendium of Jane Austen novels, my Buffy comics, and my sorority’s alumni directory. It also has a peppermint. Hmm.
So there you have it! My surprisingly tiny bookshelf. I am SO looking forward to the day that I have a lovely home with built in bookshelves. *daydreams*
TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderfully lovely Ginger at GReadsBooks.
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Review: Firelight
Title: Firelight
Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 336
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Also: DRAGONS.
But when I started reading this, it just, felt a little flat. But I kept with it because I felt like reading and the next time I looked up and I was more than halfway through the book.
This one is sneaky like that.
Needless to say, Firelight has a plot that sucks you in. As you follow Jacinda from her guarded draki home in Colorado to the unprotected mortal life in New Mexico, you find yourself wanting her to defy her mom and sister, who both hated living with the draki and want her to let her draki die, and run away to either a pride of draki or with Will, the guy who makes her draki feel alive despite the harsh environment she’s been forced into. (Weather plays a big role in this book . . . it’s a little complicated and I don’t want to SPOIL anything, so I won’t go into it. Just . . . take my word for it.)
But that’s not all! Jordan throws in a couple really compelling plot twists, and a couple really compelling guys, that keep the story moving along at a brisk pace, and before you know it, you’re finished and left thinking “But. I want more.”
Overall, Firelight is a really quick and surprisingly fun read.
Also: DRAGONS. 🙂
Bethany Larson 