Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

By: Morgan Matson
Location: FIC MAT
Genre: Youth Fiction, Finding Yourself While Road-Tripping Across America

Mrs Bichan wrote about this novel on August 27 http://www.camhigh.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/amy-and-rogers-epic-detour.html but I have finished it now and really wanted to tell you about it too.

I absolutely love reading books that look aesthetically pleasing on the page - they resonate with me and I feel compelled to turn to the next page and see what is there.
I was lucky enough to attend a three day writer's course with author David Hill a few years back, and he emphasized how important it was to consider what the words on the page look like. Budding writers - that is a tip for you (and you didn't have to pay around $600).

Morgan Matson has created an interactive book for your eyes and mind. Some pages are your traditional normal words on the page, and others are handwritten, straight out of Amy's travel journal. There are also playlists (of real songs) that Amy and Roger listened to while travelling from the East to West Coast of America. There are illustrations dotted throughout the novel of various things. Overall, this book looks great and really made me want to pick it up.

What actually happens in it? Well Amy's dad has passed away and her mum decides they have to move across the country. She can't drive (you find out why) and so a family friend of the same age (Roger) is set up to drive her across America to where her mum has now relocated. Amy and Roger are in their late teens and the trip becomes very much about them finding out who they are and how they fit into the world.

343 beautifully designed pages of teenagers figuring out who they are - I would say this is a fab book to have as my first review!




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