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Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

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About The Book

There were three things Amy Curry didn’t expect out of senior year. First: her father’s death. Second: her mother’s decision to relocate to the East Coast. Third: Roger Sullivan.

After her father’s sudden death, Amy’s mom has decided to start anew—in Connecticut, just before the start of senior year. And she’s decided that it’ll be Amy’s job to get the car from California to Connecticut.

The only problem? Amy hasn’t gotten behind the wheel since the car accident that took her father’s life.

Enter Roger, a family friend, tasked by his mother to help Amy drive across the country. Amy’s not pleased to be driving across the country with a boy she barely knows, but as Amy gets lost on her cross-country adventure, she must confront the past she’s running from, come to terms with the grief of losing a parent, and learn how to open her heart in order to find herself again.

Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions for Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

1) Define “epic.” What made Amy & Roger’s road trip epic? In what ways was it epic for Amy, and in what ways was it epic for Roger? 

2) Morgan Matson incorporates receipts, playlists, emails, notes, etc. throughout the novel. How did this influence how you read the story? Did you like this technique? Discuss other ways Morgan Matson made the book especially appealing and engaging to the reader.

3) Each chapter begins with a quote. To what extent did you keep these in mind as you read the pages that followed? How did the quotes serve to propel the story? Share some of your personal favorite quotes, and what they mean to you.

4) Compare and contrast “regular Amy” to “Amy!” What does the exclamation point in the latter connote? Do you think “Amy!” could ever really exist? Do you ever feel like you could have another side to you, too? 

5) How did the flashback scenes in Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour help you better understand Amy and her family? What did you learn about her relationships with her mother, brother, and father? How did these flashbacks make you feel, as a reader?

6) We don’t hear the details of Amy’s father’s death until the very end of the book. Why did Morgan Matson keep these details from us for so long? What effect did this have on how you interpreted Amy’s situation?

7) Throughout Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Roger is trying to convince Amy to buy a new pair of sunglasses. She finally buys a pair when she and Roger are visiting Graceland. What do the sunglasses symbolize over the course of the novel?

8) The first time Amy said, “my father died” was to Walcott, a guy she’d just met, whom she probably wouldn’t see again. Why did she choose to open up to Walcott? Conversely, why was Amy avoiding Julia, her best friend?

9) Amy and Roger experienced a journey together, literally and metaphorically. Describe their respective journeys, and how you think (or don’t think) each completed his/her journey. When was a time that you have embarked on a journey? How did you measure whether or not your journey had been competed?

10) What was Bronwyn’s role in Amy’s “journey?” Do you agree with what she did with Amy’s clothes? How would you have reacted, if you were Amy?

11) Roger is fascinated with world explorers. In what ways is he an explorer, himself? What do you think this character trait suggests about Roger?

12) What qualifies as home? Consider Walcott’s explanation: “You don’t have to go away to know where your home is . . . Everyone knows where their home is. And if you don’t, you’ve got problems.” Now think about Drew’s theory: “I guess then your home is the people in it . . . Your family.” What does home mean to Amy? Why does the realtor’s sign, “Welcome HOME” bother her so much? What does home mean to you?

13) Amy and Lucien share an important scene together while in Kentucky. In what ways did Lucien invoke a turning point in Amy’s journey? 

14) At what point do you think Amy and Roger’s relationship changed? Were you surprised?

15) Discuss the ending of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour. Do you think Morgan Matson leaves us hanging, or do you consider the story to have been “wrapped up” sufficiently? What do you think happens with Amy and Roger, down the line?

This reading group guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.

About The Author

Photograph (c) Gina Stock

Morgan Matson is the New York Times bestselling author of six books for teens, including Since You’ve Been Gone and Save the Date, and the middle grade novel The Firefly Summer. She lives in Los Angeles but spends part of every summer in the Pocono Mountains. Visit her at MorganMatson.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (May 3, 2011)
  • Length: 384 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781416990666
  • Grades: 7 and up
  • Ages: 12 - 99
  • Lexile ® 790L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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Raves and Reviews

“This is an incredible book—heartbreakingly funny and utterly un-put-down-able.” --Lauren Myracle, New York Times Bestselling author of Thirteen and TTYL

"One of the most touching, irresistible, and feel-good road trips I've been on in a long, long while. AMY & ROGER is a book to love." --Deb Caletti

* "A near perfect summer read that should leave readers with a thirst for travel and romance." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This entertaining and thoughtful summertime road trip serves up slices of America with a big scoop of romance on the side." --Kirkus

Awards and Honors

  • Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee
  • Gateway Readers Award Final Nominee (MO)
  • Volunteer State Book Award Nominee (TN)
  • California Collections
  • Green Mountain Book Award Master List (VT)
  • Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award
  • ALA/YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - Top Ten
  • ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults - Top Ten
  • Arkansas Teen Book Award Reading List

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