Reading Challenges: 2015 Goodreads Challenge
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.
oining 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.
Now I understand why bloggers/vloggers are always expressing there love of Morgan Matson. I absolutely loved this book!
Amy and Roger were both great leads. They felt very real and genuine to me. I loved how the small aspects of themselves had a greater importance later on in the book. With Roger never saying good-bye because of the grandparentcide, and how that played out with both Hadley and Amy in the end. With Amy, I loved how perfectly balance of she was—you saw who she was now after the accident with glimpses of who she was before and who she never would be (Amy!). I loved that so much; I definitely have felt that I’ve and an Amy! who the world expects you to be that you can never live up to.
I loved the relationship Amy and Roger had. It blossomed more and more throughout the trip at such a great pace. I absolutely loved their 21 questions games, and of course, Edmund and Hillary Udell. It was also a nice touch that it wasn't just Roger who brought Amy out of her shell. Different characters helped in their own ways—Leonard made her feel pretty, Bronwyn gave her some confidence, and Lucien showed her how strong she still was. I also think that Roger went through a bit of growth through this relationship with Hadley, which was a great bonus.
I've completely fell in love with Matson's writing style. There's so many hidden gems in this book—their playlists, the "Where I've Been" entries, their doodles, the receipts, Amy's photos, the maps charting their progress, nd various other inserts. I really felt like I was were there with them. I don't read a lot of contemporary, but I will definitely be reading more of Morgan's books if this is what i can expect.
On a personal level, it's interesting that I chose to read this book right now. I am getting ready to move cross country from California to Georgia. Though I’ve opted to fly rather than road-trip it, I definitely am glad to have experienced this trip and can’t wait for an epic detour of my own.
There's so much more I could comment on but I won't. It's an excellent book and everyone should experience it just as Amy and Roger did.
Thank you to two of my favorite vloggers, Heart Full of Books, for the excellent recommendation!
“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren't looking for it. Columbus and America. Pinzon, who stumbled on Brazil while looking for the West Indies. Stanley happening on Victoria Falls. And you. Amy Curry, when I was least expecting her.”
― Roger Sullivan
“The best discoveries always happened to the people who weren't looking for it. Columbus and America. Pinzon, who stumbled on Brazil while looking for the West Indies. Stanley happening on Victoria Falls. And you. Amy Curry, when I was least expecting her.”
― Roger Sullivan
“It was like there was an elephant in the room. An elephant that expected us to have sex.”
― Amy Curry
― Amy Curry
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