Discussion Questions for Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

1) Define “epic.” What made Amy & Roger’s road trip epic? In what ways was it epic for Amy, and in what ways was it epic for Roger? 

2) Morgan Matson incorporates receipts, playlists, emails, notes, etc. throughout the novel. How did this influence how you read the story? Did you like this technique? Discuss other ways Morgan Matson made the book especially appealing and engaging to the reader.

3) Each chapter begins with a quote. To what extent did you keep these in mind as you read the pages that followed? How did the quotes serve to propel the story? Share some of your personal favorite quotes, and what they mean to you.

4) Compare and contrast “regular Amy” to “Amy!” What does the exclamation point in the latter connote? Do you think “Amy!” could ever really exist? Do you ever feel like you could have another side to you, too? 

5) How did the flashback scenes in Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour help you better understand Amy and her family? What did you learn about her relationships with her mother, brother, and father? How did these flashbacks make you feel, as a reader?

6) We don’t hear the details of Amy’s father’s death until the very end of the book. Why did Morgan Matson keep these details from us for so long? What effect did this have on how you interpreted Amy’s situation?

7) Throughout Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Roger is trying to convince Amy to buy a new pair of sunglasses. She finally buys a pair when she and Roger are visiting Graceland. What do the sunglasses symbolize over the course of the novel?

8) The first time Amy said, “my father died” was to Walcott, a guy she’d just met, whom she probably wouldn’t see again. Why did she choose to open up to Walcott? Conversely, why was Amy avoiding Julia, her best friend?

9) Amy and Roger experienced a journey together, literally and metaphorically. Describe their respective journeys, and how you think (or don’t think) each completed his/her journey. When was a time that you have embarked on a journey? How did you measure whether or not your journey had been competed?

10) What was Bronwyn’s role in Amy’s “journey?” Do you agree with what she did with Amy’s clothes? How would you have reacted, if you were Amy?

11) Roger is fascinated with world explorers. In what ways is he an explorer, himself? What do you think this character trait suggests about Roger?

12) What qualifies as home? Consider Walcott’s explanation: “You don’t have to go away to know where your home is . . . Everyone knows where their home is. And if you don’t, you’ve got problems.” Now think about Drew’s theory: “I guess then your home is the people in it . . . Your family.” What does home mean to Amy? Why does the realtor’s sign, “Welcome HOME” bother her so much? What does home mean to you?

13) Amy and Lucien share an important scene together while in Kentucky. In what ways did Lucien invoke a turning point in Amy’s journey? 

14) At what point do you think Amy and Roger’s relationship changed? Were you surprised?

15) Discuss the ending of Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour. Do you think Morgan Matson leaves us hanging, or do you consider the story to have been “wrapped up” sufficiently? What do you think happens with Amy and Roger, down the line?

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