Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.
Flo's Review
I have literally wanted to read this book ever since I've known of its existence. A few weeks ago, I saw a copy at the library and grabbed it on a whim. So this past weekend, when I was wanting to get a summer read in before the start of school and fall, I picked it up. I'm definitely glad I did!
The cool thing about this book was the written out playlists, notes about each state, and pictures that were interspersed in the text. I felt that Amy and Roger falling for each other happened in a way that was very realistic, and I was thankful for that. It's tricky to have two people falling for each other in such a short amount of time and have it be convincing, but Morgan Matson sold me very well on Amy and Roger. It was also really fun hearing about the different state specialty food and drinks. Having lived on the East Coast all my life, I only get to enjoy In-N-Out burger on vacations. But having grown up in Tennessee, I am very familiar with Krystal and sweet tea. After reading this book, I definitely want to enjoy a Brown in Kentucky and the fast food place where Roger's friend took them in Kansas. Eating the local favorite is definitely a must do when you travel. I loved seeing the different state mottoes and of course the Connecticut one was perfect for the story.
I generally don't live my life with regrets, but one thing I do regret is not ever taking the coast to coast road trip, either after high school or after college. There are just so many places in my own country that I would love to explore, and this kind of trip is a rite of passage similar to the summer backpacking Europe or studying abroad. (I did neither.) That being said, I would NOT want to be stuck on the Loneliest Road! I think my eyes would start to cross after driving on the same road and seeing no one for about 2 to 3 hours.
We never did find out exactly what Roger said to Hadley about Amy, and I wonder if that was in a version that got cut, or whether it really was just to be left to our imagination. I also liked the Amy! versus Amy comments, because I think we all at some point feel like we aren't acting as we're expected to or as we think we should. "I should be more enthusiastic, I should be better at this," we think. But the "should be" self is not the real self, and that's better and more honest.
I am taking a mini road trip in about a month, from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh. This book definitely made me more excited to hit the road. Because as we know from numerous cliches and as is reaffirmed in this book, the journey -- and not necessarily the destination -- is where the fun is.
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