Before I return this book to the library (and then subsequently put it on my "to buy" list), I want to get down this poem that the main character, Lennie, writes about the loss of her sister:
From "The Sky is Everywhere book trailer,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q687NX-0kE
     Grief is a house
     where the chairs
     have forgotten how to hold us
     the mirrors how to reflect us
     the walls how to contain us
     Grief is a house that disappears
     each time someone knocks at the door
     or rings the bell
     a house that blows into the air
     at the slightest gust
     that buries itself deep in the ground
     while everyone is sleeping                                                                                      
     Grief is a house where no one can protect you
     where the younger sister
     will grow older than the older one
     where the doors
     no longer let you in
     or out (73)

The poetry throughout The Sky is Everywhere is a good example of why I loved this book. It made me think of Freak Magnet by Andrew Auseon, which I read recently as well. Both books had the characters' dealing with tremendous difficulties and experiencing new love. Also, in both books. the female protagonist wrote poetry. The poems and plot in The Sky is Everywhere connected with me in a way that was authentic, whereas the poems and plot in Freak Magnet left me indifferent. I understand the characters are dealing with different issues and perhaps Auseon meant for Gloria's writing to be typical cringeworthy adolescent emo poetry, but it made me want to skip passages of the book. It took away from the characters' real struggles, because I didn't see Gloria as a girl who would write such terrible poetry.

Not a very coherent or thorough critique, but this poem from Nelson's book reminded me of a time when I felt so bogged down by loss. It brought me back to that time, reminded me how far I've come, and also captured what can never change. There is always grief.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour Playlists

Posted by J. On 12:40 AM 7 comments
Okay, just to get this out of the way, I will probably review the actual book, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson later, but I really enjoyed it and it gets 4/5 stars for me. The score could be higher but I read it after being on an epic high from just meeting, falling in love with, and saying goodbye to Marcus Flutie and the Jessica Darling series which ended A-MAZINGLY: ZOW! Needless to say, any book to follow would be a bit of a letdown - that this one made such a great impression on me following MARCUS FREAKING FLUTIE speaks very highly of it.

I borrowed A&RED from the library, although I will be buying it post-haste now, so I wanted to get down the playlists as an iTunes downloading reference for me - I would typically expect for the author's website to have this info up as seems common for most YA authors these days, but Matson doesn't even have her own website! Therefore, I thought this would be a good resource for those who've read the book and want to explore the music, as well as a good teaser to interest those who haven't read the book. I hope you enjoy! Obviously, all credit where it is due, with Morgan Matson. Also (I think) obviously, the later playlists may give slight spoilers as to the direction the story takes, if you're familiar with the songs.

Roger Playlist #1: "'Leaving California'" aka 'Hitting the Road' aka 'Snacks are Important, But Not Quite as Important as Tunes'" (p. 44)
  • "Going to California" - Led Zeppelin
  • "Drive Away My Heart" - Ida Maria
  • "California in Popular Song" - The Lucksmiths
  • "I See You" - Mika
  • "Travel Song" - Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
  • "Miss California" - Jack's Mannequin
  • "The General Specific" - Band of Horses
  • "I'm Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" - Billy Joel
  • "Life in the Fast Lane" - Eagles
  • "Birds of a Feather" - The Rosenbergs
  • "Limelight" - Rush
  • "All My Stars Aligned" - St. Vincent
  • "Unhurried Heart" - Harlem Shakes
  • "The Wild" - Princeton
  • "I Stand Corrected" - Vampire Weekend
  • "In California (Live)" - Neko Case
  • "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found" - Cut Copy
  • "Vanilla Twilight" - Owl City
  • "Adrift" - Jack Johnson
Roger Playlist #2: "'What Do You Mean We're STILL in California?!' aka 'The Very Long and Winding Road' aka 'The Ballad of Amy's Lost Sunglasses'" (p. 77)
  • "Wine Red" - The Hush Sound
  • "Heartbeats" - The Knife
  • "16, Maybe Less" - Calexico/Iron and Wine
  • "Human" - The Killers
  • "West Coast Friendship" - Owl City
  • "Forest for the Trees" - Alright Alright
  • "Buildings and Mountains" - The Republic Tigers"
  • "Transcontinental" - Pedro the Lion
  • "It Won't Be Long" - The Smithereens
  • "Drive Away" - The All-American Rejects
  • "She's the One" - Caribou
  • "Next Exit" - Interpol
  • "We Are Lost" - The Like
  • "Get Back (Where we Started From)" - Army Navy
  • "Get Gotten" - Ben Lee
  • "Wandering" - The Hidden Cameras
  • "What Else Is There?" - Röyksopp
  • "Can't Go Back Now" - The Weepies
Roger Playlist #3: "'Road to Nowhere' aka 'Cruise Control on Highway 50'" (p. 90)
  • "Long, Lonesome Highway Blues" - Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band
  • "Go Places" - The New Pornographers
  • "I'm With You" - The Ponys
  • "Live to Tell the Tale" - Passion Pit
  • "Highwayman" - Willie Nelson
  • "Stunner Shades in Heaven" - Princeton
  • "Fake Empire" - The National
  • "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!" - Sufjan Stevens
  • "Moonshine" - Feeder
  • "Familiar Landscapes" - A New Found Glory
  • "Show Me What I'm Looking For" - Carolina Liar
  • "Le temps perdu" - Carla Bruni
  • "Sons and Daughters" - The Decemberists
  • "Strangers" - The Kinks
Roger Playlist #4: "'Hillary & Edmund Hit the Highway' aka 'People Who Take Pictures of Trees'" (p. 110)
  • "Colorado" - Grizzly Bear
  • "Young Folks" - Peter, Bjorn and John
  • "I Am John" - Loney, Dear
  • "Unknown Legend" - Neil Young
  • "Break It Out" - The Rocket Summer
  • "No You Girls" - Franz Ferdinand
  • "Surf Colorado" - Bowling for Soup
  • "Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
  • "The First Single (You Know Me)" - The Format
  • "Gravel" - Ember FX
  • "Rootless Tree" - Damien Rice
  • "I Figured You Out" - Elliott Smith
  • "Baby, It's Fact" - Hellogoodbye
  • "Free" - cat Power
  • "Don't Forget to Breathe" - Beulah
  • "Love Like a Sunset, Part I" - Phoenix
  • "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" - We Are Scientists
  • "A Year in the Past, Forever in the Future" - Dashboard Confessional
Picture from AnnaReads
Roger Playlist #5: "'No Place Like Home' or 'Why Won't Amy Buy Sunglasses?' or "The Sunflower State'" (p. 157)
  • "Where Is Home?" - Bloc Party
  • "Jolene" - The Weepies
  • "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (cover) - Call Me Kevin
  • "Brand New Day" - Joshua Radin
  • "Starlight" - Muse
  • "Even Fairy Tale Characters Would be Jealous" - PlayRadioPlay!
  • "Daylight" - Matt and Kim
  • "The Dark in You" - Plushgun
  • "100,000 Fireflies" - The Magnetic Fields
  • "Wake Up" - The Secret Handshake
  • "Dust in the Wind" - Kansas
  • "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - Elton John
  • "I'll Do the Driving" - Fountains of Wayne
  • "Time After Time" (cover) - Quietdrive
  • "Faith in Fast Cars" - The Format
  • "Wonderful You" - The Dandy Warhols
  • "Take a Chance on Me" - Erasure
Roger Playlist #6: "'Tornado Season??' aka "Ice Cream Frozen Custard Headache'" (p. 181)
  • "Ghost" - Neutral Milk Hotel
  • "November Rain" - Guns N' Roses
  • "Sugar, We're Goin Down" - Fall Out Boy
  • "Route 66" - Chuck Berry
  • "Morning Calls" - Dashboard Confessional
  • "All My Days" - Alexi Murdoch
  • "Not the Same" - Ben Folds
  • "Hearbeats" - José González
  • "Here (In Your Arms)" - Hellogoodbye
  • "The Weight" - The Band
  • "The Bird and the Worm" - Owl City
  • "Cast No Shadow" - Oasis
  • "It'll All Work Out" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  • "This Time Tomorrow" - The Kinks
Roger Playlist #7: "'Missouri-Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky' aka 'When will Amy be the DJ? WHEN?' aka '1500 miles on 400 dollars...'" (p. 207)
  • "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" - Sufjan Stevens
  • "Going Back to Indiana" - Jackson 5
  • "The Trick to Life" - The Hoosiers
  • "No More Runnin" - Animal Collective
  • "Globes & Maps" - Something Corporate
  • "All Hail the Heartbreaker" - The Spill Canvas
  • "Old Flames" - Harlem Shakes
  • "Don't Wake Me Up" - The Hush Sound
  • "My Beautiful Rescue" - This Providence
  • "Beating Heart Baby" - Head Automatica
  • "Song in My Head" - Sherwood
  • "Nightswimming" - R.E.M.
  • "Ulysses" - Franz Ferdinand
  • "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" - Frightened Rabbit
  • "Late in the Evening" - Paul Simon
  • "After Hours" - Caribou
  • "The Good Ones" - The Kills
  • "Sunlight in a Jar" - The Lucksmiths
  • "Where the Story Ends" - The Fray
Amy Playlist #1: "'Going to Graceland' or 'Roger Gets an Introduction to Musical Theater'" (p. 272)
  • "Avenue Q" - Avenue Q
  • "One Short Day" - Wicked
  • "All That's Known" - Spring Awakening
  • "Someone Like You" - Jekyll & Hyde
  • "When I Look at You" - The Scarlet Pimpernel
  • "All the Wasted Time" - Parade
  • "I'd Give it All for You" - Songs for a New World
  • "I Believe" - Spring Awakening
  • "I Can Do Better Than That" - The Last Five Years
  • "The Best of All Possible Worlds" - Candide
  • "Bill" - Show Boat
  • "Consider Yourself" - Oliver!
  • "This Night" - Movin' Out
  • "Where Did We Go Right?" - The Producers
  • "Wheels of a Dream" - Ragtime
  • "Still Hurting" - The Last Five Years
  • "You Can't Stop the Beat" - Hairspray
  • "For Now" - Avenue Q
  • "Nothing in Common" - Wearing Someone Else's Clothes
  • "Remember?" - A Little Night Music
Amy Playlist #2: Pay No Attention to the Boys Behind the Curtain/The Henry Gales (p. 284) [a fictional demo/band]

Roger Playlist #8: "'Pennsylvania, Here We Come' aka 'Journey's End'" (p. 335)
  • "How to Say Goodbye" - Paul Tiernan
  • "It'll All Work Out" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  • "The Trees and the Wild" - Matt Pond PA
  • "No Myth" - Michael Penn
  • "Slow Pony Home" - The Weepies
  • "How We Roll" - Plushgun
  • "The Resolution" - Jack's Mannequin
  • "World Spins Madly On" - The Weepies
  • "Signal Fire" - Snow Patrol
  • "Live to Tell the Tale" - Passion Pit
  • "What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)?" - Ben Lee
  • "Young Folks" - Peter, Bjorn & John
Amy Playlist #3: "'The End of the Road' or 'The Beginning'" (p. 338)
  • "All Shook Up" - Elvis Presley
  • "I Guess This Is Goodbye" - Into the Woods
  • "New Music" - Ragtime
  • "The Joy You Feel" - The Light in the Piazza
  • "I'd Do Anything" - Oliver!
  • "Goodbye Until Tomorrow" - The Last Five Years
  • "All That I Am" - Elvis Presley
  • "It Would Have Been Wonderful" - A Little Night Music
  • "We're Okay" - Rent
  • "With So Little to Be Sure Of" - Anyone Can Whistle
  • "Come What May" - Elvis Presley

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