Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

Amy &Roger’s Epic Detour

Morgan Matson

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales
are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the
author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Morgan Matson
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or
in part in any form.

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Book design by Krista Vossen
The text for this book is set in Fournier.
Sunflower photo on page 183 copyright © 2010 by
iStockphoto.com
Elvis impersonator photo on page 280 copyright © 2010 by
iStockphoto.com
Manufactured in the United States of America 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Matson, Morgan.
Amy & Roger’s epic detour / Morgan Matson.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Summary: After the death of her father, Amy, a high school student and
Roger, a college freshman, set out on a carefully planned road trip from
California to Connecticut, but wind up taking many detours, forcing Amy
to face her worst fears and come to terms with her grief and guilt.
ISBN 978-1-4169-9065-9 (hardcover)
[1. Automobile travel—Fiction. 2. Guilt—Fiction. 3. Grief—Fiction.
4. Death—Fiction. 5. Fathers—Fiction. 6. Interpersonal
relations—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Amy and Roger’s epic detour.
PZ7.M43151Am 2010
[Fic]—dc22
2009049988
ISBN 978-1-4391-5749-7 (eBook)

For my father

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I owe huge and heartfelt thanks to Alexandra Cooper, every writer’s dream editor. Thank you so much for your editorial brilliance, patience, kindness, and humor. I couldn’t have taken this journey without you.

Thank you to Rosemary Stimola, agent extraordinaire and source of endless wisdom.

Many, many thanks and much gratitude to everyone at Simon & Schuster for going so far above and so far beyond. Thanks especially to Justin Chanda, Lizzy Bromley, Krista Vossen, and Julia Maguire.

This book, in its infancy, began at the New School’s MFA program. I owe huge thanks and dozens of cupcakes to the faculty and my fellow students for their invaluable input: David Levithan, Tor Seidler, Sarah Weeks, Amalia Ellison, Lucas Klauss, Maude Bond, Lisa Preziosi, Zach Miller, and Reinhardt Suarez.

Thanks to my mother, Jane Finn, for all her support and encouragement—and for driving across the country with me in a ’98 Volkswagen Cabrio. Twice.

Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian—thank you for being my writing buddies in coffee shops all over Brooklyn, and for helping me to find words when I thought I was out of them. Also, for sharing your pastries.

Thanks to Jason Matson, Lola and Jesse Meyers, Laura Martin, Naomi Cutner, and Kate Stayman-London.

And above all, thanks to Amalia Ellison, my best friend. Without you, this book—and so much else—would never have been possible.

RAVEN ROCK HIGH SCHOOL

Raven Rock, CA

FINAL REPORT CARD

FROM:
Hildy Evans ([email protected])

TO:
Amy Curry ([email protected])

SUBJECT:
Will be showing house at 4

DATE:
June 1

TIME:
10:34 a.m.

Hi, Amy!

Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be showing the house to some prospective buyers today at four. Just wanted to make sure that you were aware of the time, so you could make arrangements to be elsewhere. As we’ve discussed before, we really want people to be able to imagine this as their HOME. And that’s easier when it’s just the family and me going through the house!

Also, I understand you’re going to be joining your mother in Connecticut soon! You can feel free to lock up when you go—I have my copy of the keys.

Thanks bunches!
Hildy

FROM:
Mom ([email protected])

TO:
Amy ([email protected])

SUBJECT:
The Trip

DATE
: June 3

TIME:
9:22 a.m.

ATTACHMENT
: TRIP ROUTE

Hi, Amy,

Greetings from Connecticut! I was glad to hear that your finals went well. Also glad to hear that Candide was a success. I’m sure you were great, as usual—I just wish I could have been there!

Can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve seen you! Feels like much longer. I hope you’ve been on your best behavior with your aunt. It was very nice of her to check in on you, so I hope you thanked her.

I’m sure all will go well on the drive. I’ll expect you and Roger no later than the tenth, according to the itinerary I’ve mapped out for you (attached). You have reservations at the hotels listed. Pay for them, meals, and gas with your emergency credit card.

And please be safe! AAA information is in the glove compartment in case of emergencies.

I know you send your brother your love. He e-mailed me—he says hi. You can’t call at his facility, but he can check e-mail. It might be nice for you to write him one of these days.

Mom

TRIP ROUTE

Start
: Raven Rock, California

First Night:
Gallup, New Mexico

Second Night:
Tulsa, Oklahoma