Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 352 pages
Purchased

"Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew - just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road - diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards - this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself."

Any one of my close friends will tell you that I'm sort of a sucker for those chick-lit contemporary books, and I'm not afraid to admit it! I heard that Amy and Roger's Epic Detour was a road trip novel with a romance as well, so, naturally, I had to read it. Also, although the cover art may look a bit cheesy, at least it's adorable and gives some insight as to what the novel is about. Nothing annoys me more than a faceless model on a cover that is completely irrelevant to the plot.

The novel begins as we meet Amy, a girl who has a love for theater, but is still mourning over the death of her father. Amy's grief about her father's death extends much further than anyone can imagine and Amy's mother takes it upon their family to travel all the way across the country to Connecticut. The only thing is that Amy's mother is already in Connecticut, and in order to save money, Amy must drive their car to their soon to be home. Charlie, Amy's brother, is dealing with his own issues that involve drug and alcohol abuse. Charlie is sent away to a rehabilitation center in North Carolina and Amy must take the long road trip practically by herself. Then we are introduced to Roger. He is friendly, kind, and very inviting. Amy hardly remembers him and is now going to be spending an entire road trip stuck in a small car with a stranger more or less. Amy was a great character to learn more about. She is a normal girl in search of closure. The journey she takes with Roger is just what she needs to finally move on to better things within her life. Roger is the one who actually gets Amy to open up about the accident that killed her father and it is a pivotal moment in the book.

I love the plot because who doesn't like a nice, long, scenic road trip? I was continually interested in all of these places that I, myself had never visited. Also, there are pictures within the chapters of hotels or restaurant receipts that I found to be pretty cool. It shows Matson had her extent of knowledge about the places that her characters were visiting. In fact, in the back of the novel Matson states that she, herself took the same road trip that Amy and Roger did, but backwards! I thought that was just so awesome. Another aspect that was incorporated that I found to be pretty sweet was the various playlists that Roger created for the trip. Roger felt that a good playlist of music was key to a successful road trip, so along their ride he created many different playlists. I always looked forward to seeing what songs and artists would be featured on the numerous playlists. Also, the titles for them were quite humorous as well.

The road trip definitely magnifies Amy's need for a complete journey in her life, but it also shows Roger's need for one as well. Roger has his own past with relationships and that same initial yearning for closure that is shared with Amy. I thought it was great how everything isn't so focused on Amy, but is also focused on Roger as well. On the outside he seems to relaxed, at ease, and out-going, but he is dealing with his fair share of problems too. These problems make Amy a little uncomfortable, but it only connects Roger and Amy more. I couldn't help but feel all giddy inside when they were simply together and enjoying each other's company.

I don't want to bash this book, because I found it completely adorable and sweet and a happy-go-lucky sort of read, but it's awfully predictable and I guess it all depends on what type of books you enjoy. I, of course, LOVE the chick-lit contemporary novels and fall for them so easily because I just have a problem. I think this book is great for the beginning of summer or the middle of summer or just during the summer at all, really! I was glad to kick start my summer with this terrific read, but I can't say I was totally blown away. Although I did love the road trip aspect, it wasn't so unique and different that I'll remember this book forever or something. It's just one of those light reads that make things more bearable and I like that.

So, furthermore, if you love road trips, chick-lit novels, or are a huge fan of contemporary books Amy and Roger's Epic Detour is for you!

Rating: 3 stars - I liked it. Worth borrowing.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
HarperCollins, 525 pages
Purchased

"One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so."

After reading Divergent, I was so thrown into this terrifying society driven by factions and Tris’s own story that I anxiously anticipated the release of Insurgent. Insurgent was just as intense and wonderful as Divergent, probably even better, so I promise you won’t be let down.

The beginning of the book brings Tris's world into perspective. After the sad and tragic downfall in the last book, I honestly had no idea what was on the brink of happening next. Tris is a greatly developed character. She has plenty of vulnerability, strength, and is flawed in many aspects. I love each of those parts about Tris; she has finally grown into her Divergence and accepted that she is neither fully Dauntless, Erudite, or Abnegation. The factions are becoming more corrupted than ever and the resilience to not be so controlled by those factions is what makes Tris's character shine through. Although she can be stubborn, she knows what she values and does not want to hurt people if it's unnecessary. Especially considering Tris's last experience in Divergent, it's the only thing that is holding her back. Another one of my favorite characters of course is Tobias. His love and dedication to Tris is clearly evident in his actions and words. He, too, is strong, yet flawed. The mystery that lingered before about Tobias's character is now washed away and I liked learning more about Tobias's past and his reasoning for choosing Dauntless.

The pacing in Insurgent is so wonderful! Roth managed to give plenty of action, a lot more when compared to the first book. There wasn't a moment when I felt bored or that I had to trudge through to the next chapter. There was always something interesting going on that kept me reading up until I finished it. This book is also a lot darker than the first one, both plot-wise and emotion-wise for Tris. She is fighting a battle inside herself for what she has done and what she is doing. Let me just say that the ending had a HUGE cliff-hanger! I can't believe Roth would do that to her readers! It not only leaves questions drifting in the air, but it more or less ends in the middle of a scene and you will be dying for the third and final book in the trilogy which does not have a title or release date yet.

Roth has a beautiful writing style. She gives a sufficient amount of description without dilly-dallying. She gets straight to the point which is effective because of how many intense scenes there are in Insurgent. The plot is of course full of action and excitement. One thing I really loved about Insurgent was seeing each of the factions at both their best and their worst; or even in the toughest of situations, when some of the factions were forced to be brought together.

If you loved Divergent as much as I did, or just can't get enough of terrific dystopian novels, be sure to check out Insurgent. Roth better plan on releasing the final and last book in the trilogy sometime soon because I just might lose my sanity soon. (Who am I kidding... I lost it ages ago!) But seriously, read it! Just try and stay content until that unknown release date.

Rating: 5 stars - I loved it! Buy a copy!

Unleashed by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié

Unleashed by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
Delacorte Books, 304 pages
ARC courtesy of Random Buzzers

"Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything. Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs. Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié, the New York Times bestselling authors of the Wicked series, have created an entirely new trilogy with the passion of Twilight and the grandeur of Fallen. The Wolf Springs Chronicles introduces readers to a town of secrets and the new girl who's about to start believing in werewolves."

I was very excited when I read the synopsis of Unleashed. It sounds roughly like something along the lines of Twilight meets Vampire Academy (two staples in the Young Adult genre). So, when my busy season started to die down and I had more time to read, I started devouring my monstrous pile of books hidden away in my closet (I really need to get a bookshelf!!). One day, when I was looking through my to-be-read pile, I came across Unleashed and I thought that it was long overdue for some attention!

I started the book and was instantly brought in with the action that occurs at the beginning. For those of you who like to be thrown into a storyline, this is definitely the book for you! Anyway, the beginning of the book goes into the usual: where the lead character, Katelyn, is at in her life and how she fell into the predicament she is now in. This book started out interesting enough, but as I continued, it became very boring and generic. I understand that the authors needed to set up a basis for Katelyn's life, but it really dragged through the first third of the book.

I ended up neglecting Unleashed (it sat in my school bag and on my desk for a spell) because I got busy again: the story of senior year!!

Finally I said to myself, "I have to buckle down and finish this sucker." So, I started to read the book while teachers were talking about things that I could care less about and while I was supposed to be watching my sister's softball games (I know, I'm such a great sister! Not! But it was only one game!). Although the story took a while to get off the ground, the drama and intensity of the storyline started to burst out toward the last third of the book. I was excited that this book I was so interested in finally picked up.

The ending was honestly the best part (Not in a bad way!). The last seventy pages or so were the most thrilling part of the book. Katelyn's love triangle, however, was extremely frustrating for a person who is the queen of romance novels in The Readable Kingdom! She constantly gives the two guys, Trick and Justin, mixed signals!! It makes me so unbelievably irritated!!! But on the plus side, the romance scenes are pretty steamy. I was very pleasantly surprised. In a way, they kind of outweighed the boring beginning (I'm being serious).

All in all, this book was pretty good. My only complaints are that it took too long for the action to pick up and the love triangle thing is frustrating. For anyone who likes to read about werewolves and folklore like that, I would recommend this with caution. The werewolf action doesn't start until a little later in the book.

Rating: 3 stars - I liked it. Worth borrowing.