Morgan Matson - Amy & Rogers Epic Detour

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing Division
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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
authors 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 & Rogers 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 travelFiction. 2. GuiltFiction. 3. GriefFiction.
4. DeathFiction. 5. FathersFiction. 6. Interpersonal
relationsFiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Amy and Rogers epic detour.
PZ7.M43151Am 2010
[Fic]dc22
2009049988
ISBN 978-1-4391-5749-7 (eBook)

For my father

RAVEN ROCK HIGH SCHOOL

Raven Rock, CA

FINAL REPORT CARD

FROM: Hildy Evans (hildy@ravenrockrealty.com)

TO: Amy Curry (amycurry@netmail.com)

SUBJECT: Will be showing house at 4

DATE: June 1

TIME: 10:34 a.m.

Hi, Amy!

Just wanted to let you know that Ill 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 weve discussed before, we really want people to be able to imagine this as their HOME. And thats easier when its just the family and me going through the house!

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

Thanks bunches!
Hildy

FROM: Mom (pamelacurry@stanwichcollege.edu)

TO: Amy (amycurry@netmail.com)

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. Im sure you were great, as usualI just wish I could have been there!

Cant believe its been a month since Ive seen you! Feels like much longer. I hope youve 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.

Im sure all will go well on the drive. Ill expect you and Roger no later than the tenth, according to the itinerary Ive 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 mehe says hi. You cant 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

Third Night: Terre Haute, Indiana

Fourth Night: Akron, Ohio

End: Stanwich, Connecticut

I will then drive Roger to his fathers house in Philadelphia. Please drive safe!

California state motto

I sat on the front steps of my house and watched the beige Subaru station wagon swing too quickly around the cul-de-sac. This was a rookie mistake, one made by countless FedEx guys. There were only three houses on Raven Crescent, and most people had reached the end before theyd realized it. Charlies stoner friends had never remembered and would always just swing around the circle again before pulling into our driveway. Rather than using this technique, the Subaru stopped, brake lights flashing red, then white as it backed around the circle and stopped in front of the house. Our driveway was short enough that I could read the cars bumper stickers: MY SON WAS RANDOLPH HALLS STUDENT OF THE MONTH and MY KID AND MY $$$ GO TO COLORADO COLLEGE. There were two people in the car talking, doing the awkward car-conversation thing where you still have seat belts on, so you cant fully turn and face the other person.

Halfway up the now overgrown lawn was the sign that had been there for the last three months, the inanimate object Id grown to hate with a depth of feeling that worried me sometimes. It was a Realtors sign, featuring a picture of a smiling, overly hairsprayed blond woman. FOR SALE, the sign read, and then in bigger letters underneath that, WELCOME HOME.