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. is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. 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 Student AMELIA E. CURRY JUNIOR/500 TRACK Class Final Grade American Literature A American History A Chemistry B- French B+ Physical Education B Honors Theater A Notes This student’s academic record will be transferred to STANWICH HIGH SCHOOL, Stanwich, Connecticut. Student will be matriculating as a senior in the fall. Absences 1—Excused (A) Excused Absences 5—Excused (D) A Illness B School-Sponsored Event C Vacation D Bereavement E Other 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.