Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Description:  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.

Epic Wins:

• Amy- When I picked this book up I was expecting a fun summer romance, sure I got that but what I also go was a girl who was grieving. I love when characters have to work out internal problems! (That sounded better in my head) What I mean is that I love how they change, how their mind turns and how they see the flaw in how they thought. It made Amy more realistic for me.  
• Roger- I found a lot of commonalities between Roger and I, which was just weird. Usually I connect with the main character better but not this time. One of them was his love for peanut butter. There were other things I just don’t feel like remembering them.
• This book was dimensional. It had these awesome pictures of menus, receipts, and other memorabilia they collected along their trip. These were from REAL places, it makes it more realistic when you see an actual menu or receipt.
• The Playlists- Awesome songs + doodles + giggles via aka names. These lists made me laugh and became yet another dimension to this book.
• They could easily have called this Hilary and Edmonds epic detour. *giggles*
• You can’t ignore the fascinating people they meet along the way and the places they go. Each person teaches Amy and Roger something along the way as they help patch the brokenness they both hold onto. But most importantly they teach each other.
• Amy’s obsession with musicals- I love musicals and recognized a few along the way.
• There is, simply stated, nothing like this book.
• The flip- And by the flip I mean the way Amy gave us the present and the past in fluttered bits. 

Epic Fails:

• Sex- Never details but implied.

Overall: THIS. I love this. Summer + Boy + Girl + Baggage + Music + The Open Road = The perfect summer read.