New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

Lots of exciting things in the mail this week!

First up, I received my March #otspsecretsister package. I had mentioned how much I missed summer and that I was entirely done with winter. My sister, 'Tink', sent me summer in  a package!

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (goodreads)

She sent me bubbles, fruity candles, some reusable ice cubes, little drink umbrellas, Easter M&Ms AND a kit to grow my own strawberries! I immediately set up the strawberry growing kit, and I am excited to see if it works. I had read Amy and Roger's Epic Detour before, but it was the one Morgan Matson book I do not own so I was excited to get a copy. A huge thank you to 'Tink' for the amazing package. Oh, and not included in the picture? A package of island flavoured cat treats for Aria to get a head start on summer, too. She loves them!

Two other books made their way into my book closet this week. One was a purchase and the other is a review copy sent from the publisher.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (goodreads)
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (goodreads)

A huge thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending along the review copy of The Serpent King. I have heard nothing but amazing things about this one and I cannot wait to read it.

I also have been hearing AMAZING things about Lady Midnight and cannot wait to fit it into my reading schedule. Sadly, it looks like it might be a little while, but I look forward to sharing my thoughts when I am able.

What bookish items made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Release Date – May 4, 2010
Publisher – Simon & Schuster
Pages - 344
My Rating- 7.5/10

Here is the GoodReads synopsis -

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.

I picked up this book on a whim after seeing it at the library. I figured it would be a quick read that I might enjoy.

The thing with this book is that you get exactly what you think you are going to get. There is very little in the way of surprises or anything out of ordinary for the genre. It’s well written and the characters are very likeable. It’s a quick, cute, summery read that will hit the spot when you are in the mood for that type of book.

This story really only has 2 characters. We do meet a few other characters but they are either not in the book very long or spoken about by Amy or Roger. It’s hard when we really only get to know two characters because they have to sell us the story. Amy and Roger are both likeable. We meet Amy as she is still dealing with her dad’s death. She was written perfectly for someone in her position. We get to see her progress from where she is at the beginning of the book to where she is at the end. Roger on the other hand wasn’t as well developed to me. I liked him. He was sweet but I didn’t feel like we got to know much about him as we do Amy.

I loved the whole premise of the road trip and going off your original plan to find something. I loved the inclusion of receipts, journal entries, postcards, etc. It added a cute, fun touch to the story. I found myself actually reading them and looking forward to the next ones. These inclusions are sometimes awkwardly placed in the novel and cut the narrative while you are reading. It’s not a huge deal but you often have to go back once you’ve hit a break in the chapter to read the little extras.

This book will make you want to go on a road trip. The type of road trip that you just drive and see where it takes you. I recommend it if you are in the mood for this type of book.