Four kids, choosing the path of a road trip with a deck of tarot cards learn about themselves and the legacy of their mysterious tarot deck.

This was a delight. Each of these teens was an interesting and well fleshed out character, with their own unique voices. Side characters weren’t quite as fleshed out, but I don’t think they really needed to be when most of them had such brief impacts.

I think it’s really interesting how, in this story about making choices and different paths, choosing differently could still intersect to the same point. It makes an interesting observation on the idea of fate, and no matter what we choose what’s meant to happen will happen. I think that’s my only real issue with the story though. A lot of these choices leave characters in vastly different emotional spaces, and I don’t think they would lead to the same spots.

In fact, one of the very first choices, between honoring a grandmother’s legacy or seeking personal power and fulfillment are wildly different motivations that shouldn’t end up in the same spot.

Other than that, this was a fun story including a treasure hunt, secret societies, a cute mlm relationship, non-binary representation, and little bits and pieces of tarot instructions scattered through the story.

“‘Could it be both are true?’ Chase interrupts. 'That we choose our way walking down many planned paths? That it’s up to us to learn the right lessons?’”

Amelia and Chase have been best friends for as long as they can remember, bonded by Amelia’s grandmother’s stories of the mysterious tarot deck she found at a yard sale. The deck has always been missing four cards, so to celebrate their high school graduation, they take a road trip with some friends to search for the missing cards, only to discover that the deck is extremely valuable. Some people would do almost anything to have it, and the trip just got a lot more complicated–and dangerous–than they ever could have guessed. In Major Detours, readers make all the major decisions to determine where the characters end up and how they get there. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Perseus Books, found it nigh unreadable, and bought my own copy, so take from that what you will. More on that in the Note. Trigger warnings: anxiety, anxiety/panic attacks, mild self-harm. Brief NSFW content that can be avoided; you decide!

I have a complicated relationship with Choose Your Own Adventure novels. I love the idea of them, and I love the idea of bringing a new, modified version of them to YA audiences with more complex storytelling. In practice, I’m a completionist at heart, and even as a kid I had to mark all my choices and read every possible outcome or ending in order to feel like I read the whole book, which is exactly what I did here. I don’t recommend reading this novel like that. To an extent, the choices do affect outcomes: whether or not you complete the deck, character relationships, and where characters are heading at the end of the novel are all impacted by the choices you make as a reader. Thematically, it makes a difference as well in what the characters (and the reader) ultimately take from the journey. So for all practical purposes, the novel works, and Sergi has done some interesting things with the structure so that we still feel like we’re reading a whole novel with each choice, rather than getting the abrupt “Oops, you died!” endings of many of the middle grade books like this.

It’s hard to articulate why I’m still not quite satisfied with it, but I think it has something to do with how the impacts of the choices don’t feel as well developed as they could be. While each choice has consequences of its own, they all ultimately lead back to the same main narrative, and some of the fallout of those choices comes over feeling rather vague–which it has to because the main narrative has to be appropriate for either choice. For example, whether or not we recovered a card or lost one, the fallout of that choice isn’t really addressed in the next chapters because the characters have to act as though either one could be true. It makes the choices and the character development that should come from them feel less impactful than they would in a regular novel. (However, I’m an adult reader with multiple degrees and an interest in how novels are put together and what makes them work, which I suspect is not typical for the target audience. I cared way less about that kind of thing as a teenager.)

It’s difficult to comment on the characters for similar reasons. Much of their personality and development hinges on the choices made, so that readers really do influence what kinds of characters they’re reading, at least to an extent. There’s a cute mlm relationship that’s already established, and some good nonbinary representation with Cleo (whose skepticism honestly saved this from being a little too New Age mystical for me). If you read through every choice like I did, the characters come over feeling a little wishy-washy, but again, I think that has to be the case for the choices to have a real impact. In that sense, it’s very much a novel of getting out of it what you put into it. If you’re the kind of person who makes x decision, then so are Chase and Amelia. The overall plot in trying to recover the missing cards is pretty straightforward, but there are enough twists in there to keep things interesting.

My overall sense is that I would have been more satisfied with fewer choices that don’t ultimately mean anything and more choices that have a significant impact on the story being told. I didn’t really get invested in the choices until Amelia was navigating a tarot-based maze, and I had to choose which doors to take (fun!). However, I did find that the choices I considered “my” choices–the ones I would have made if my brain goblins didn’t insist on reading all of them–were the ones that led to the most satisfying story for me, and that’s a pretty cool thing. So I’m going to end my review on the advice that you don’t follow my bad example. There’s little to be lost by not reading through every choice, since the overarching plot leads more or less to the same place, and the thematic and character elements are likely to be more personally satisfying by making the choices you would make and sticking with them. All in all, I think it’s an interesting take on choices novels, and I’d be curious to see whether Sergi continues to improve on it.

Note: The e-copy I received through NetGalley was absolutely hellish to navigate. I couldn’t get the file open on my usual app (Aldiko), and when I managed to get it open through the NetGalley Shelf app, it was full of bugs. Trying to change the text size meant parts of pages kept getting cut off unless it was on infinite scroll. Worst of all, there were no links to jump to the page choices and no easy way to accomplish that. After an hour of fighting with it, I gave up and bought a print copy, which is no way to get people to buy books. Of course, none of that is Sergi’s fault. Fingers crossed the actual e-book has resolved these issues because I don’t wish that headache on anyone.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I tried to read this book the way the author intended but with no page numbers it was extremely difficult, so I read it page by page. I think reading it this way makes it fall flat and it would be better read by reading it the way the author intended.

2.5 stars. The characters were extremely well-written, and the story intrigued me in the beginning. I feel that the story fell flat in the middle, and the choose your own adventure part of the novel got a little confusing.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: It's the summer before college and four best friends—Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan—are on the first leg of their road trip inspired by the unique tarot deck that Amelia inherited from her grandmother. However, their trip full of visiting occult shops, bonding and sightseeing, takes a major detour as the friends discover that their tarot deck is more valuable—and coveted—than they could've ever imagined. As the friends race to finish this mystical scavenger-hunt across the West coast and uncover the mysteries of their tarot deck, it is you who will decide where to go next and how the story will end. With four possible final and romantic endings, you will get to make actual choices to further the friends’ road trip adventure in this unique interactive novel.

​Will you uncover the mysteries of the tarot deck and the legacy left behind? Will you help Amelia and Chase learn and grow? And will you unravel the secrets these friends keep from each other—and from themselves?


Review: This is a solid 3.5 stars book for me. The story in itself is new, unique and interesting, although I'm not well-versed with tarot reading (which I wish the author had given a small background/how it works?), still it was a fun and interactive read. It's my first time reading such kind of book (A Choices Novel) where you as a reader has the choice of what will happen next (losing or gaining cards) and your choices gives a big impact on the story. This concept really kept me on an edge since I don't like losing the cards and I love solving the riddles along with the characters. Also I love how the characters are relatable in multiple ways. Amelia for example is struggling about finding who she really is and what she really wants - I think all the characters are off into a journey not only to find the missing cards but also to find their own identities along the way. I do recommend this book, most especially to those who enjoy or has a background about tarot reading.

This was such a fun ride. I read it straight through ( you don't really have a choice with e-arc, it's hard to skip around and find the choices in that format) and it was still a fun story. I really like the concept and would be interested in grabbing a physical copy to try and see how it goes with skipping around to the choices.

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I did not finish this book. I don't think it has anything to do with the writing or story. I just found myself not connecting with the characters and not interested in the story like I thought I would be.

I like the concept though and I think this book will do well. It just did not hold my interest.

I will start by saying that I am not the most well versed in tarot, but man did this book make it sound fun and interesting! I really enjoyed having the chose your own adventure format when the book's subject was something as personal and open to interpretation as tarot.

This was the first choices novel I've read in probably 20 years, and the first one that wasn't written for a middle grade audience. I enjoyed it as a sort of game, but it often felt like there were just two stories running parallel to each other which frequently reconvened. I sometimes felt that I couldn't make the choices I wanted and that choices I really considered didn't actually turn out to matter.

It was great fun though and I loved the representation: gay characters, a character who comes to embrace their non-binary gender, a character with an anxiety disorder, and some discussion of--and a chance to embrace--non-monogamy.

Overall I thought this book was a ton of fun and a great change from the typical reading experience. It has definitely rekindled an interest in tarot in me and I will be doing some research

I loved the characters in this book. The teens we meet feel very modern and compelling, but I had a hard time buying into the narrative. I’ve never really learned about tarot, so maybe I’m missing something, I just felt like they went through a heck of a lot for a deck of cards.

I'm usually kind of skeptical about choose your own path books but I found Major Detours to be super interesting. It's a really great read!

3.5 stars

This was actually really fun! The main topic of the book was super interesting and I really enjoyed the adventure. I was a little bit confused at times, especially when it came to making decisions based on my previous decisions, but I mostly blame my own memory for that (as well as not realizing there is a sort of fill-out-form in the back of the book just for the sake of keeping track of your own memories!) I also feel like the plot could have been slightly more explored, but I understand that the format of a choose-your-own-adventure book makes that more difficult than perhaps it would have been if it was a standard format book. I must emphasize that the choosing part was really fun though!

Another note on the format is that it was sometimes a bit difficult to "turn to page x" due to me reading it in ebook format and therefore not having actual page numbers to refer to in the same sense as you would in a printed book. This didn't affect my enjoyment of the book though!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is a fun and unique read! It's a choose your own adventure that's about tarot, family, friendship, and becoming the person you want to be. Amelia, Chase, Cleo and Logan decide to go on a road trip before heading out to college in a month and they want to use the tarot deck Amelia's grandmother gave her in order to choose where to go, but it turns out the deck has more secrets than they bargained for.

I haven't read a choose your own adventure in a while, so it was interesting to see where the story went based on what I chose and, since I read all of the options, to see where it went in the instances I didn't choose. Sometimes the story took a crazy turn and didn't go where I expected. It was interesting to see how small decisions in the beginning effected the story later on.

The friendships were what really grounded the story for me. Even though you only see the adventure through Amelia and Chase's eyes, you get to love them and Cleo and Logan as well. They protected each other, made each other laugh, were there for each other when things went wrong, and so much more. Plus I like that it's a queer, diverse group of friends!

I always wanted to know more about tarot so this was a fun way to delve into it and get to know the basics of tarot. I really enjoyed this and I think anyone who likes tarot, books about friendship, and coming-of-age stories would enjoy this!

I was a big fan of "choose your own adventure" books when I was a kid, so I got really excited when I heard about this one. I also love tarot, so I just knew I had to read it.

I enjoyed seeing all the cards symbolism, their meanings and the choices they had to make. At first, I wasn't really into these characters, their friendship didn't seem natural to me. But after a while, their connection gets much better, and their choices make more sense. And I really, really love all the mystery involving Amelia's grandma and the deck.

So far I only tried one adventure, but I'm looking forward to make different choices next time. Nice read!

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I received an eARC copy from Perseus Books and Running Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a child, I enjoyed "choose your own adventure/end" books so much; Major Detours brought back so many memories, memories I thought slipped my mind. It made me feel like a child again, keeping 3-4 bookmarks to be able to find the beginning of that specific story and know my way back just to, yet again, branch it out in a different direction.

Four friends, Amelia, Chase, Chloe, and Logan, are starting their road trip to find out what mysteries lie behind the deck of tarot cards Amelia's grandmother left her. Four cards are missing from the deck of cards, hidden by the deck's creator Pirelli, and this family-like group of friends is determined to find them, to have this one last adventure before their next major step in life - college. The clues for this unusual scavenger hunt to find the missing cards will take them on a journey filled with danger, adventure, self-discovery, and... realisation that they are not the only ones looking for them. I was hyped to the max with all these details, intrigues, and "insecurities" with all the choices I had; I kept asking myself: "What would have happened had I chose the other option?" Of course, I could have always come back and choose another one, but the anticipation would remain.

As much as I loved the concept of choosing, the plot, and the mysterious air the deck of tarot cards brought to this story, I could not get involved with the characters nor the format of the ebook I received. The characters felt a bit boring and undeveloped throughout the story, and I had difficulties connecting with them. We do not see them learning anything new about tarot, or it was my mistake to expect that there would be something new to learn about it. The only greater character-developing moment ended up being Logan's and Chase's misunderstanding of what they both want from each other and what direction their relationship will move to.

Another thing was the book formating. There was no page numbering anywhere whatsoever, so reaching a moment to "turn to page..." was slightly inconvenient, as I had no clue what page that would be; there were no hyperlinks either. I was thinking about reading this book without paying attention to choices, but that action would defeat the book's concept. These pesky details confused me and negatively affected my joy in reading this "choose your own adventure/end" book. So, in the end, I could have only hoped that the pages I went to were the ones I was supposed to go to. Speaking of choices, some of those did not make any real difference in the plot, no significant changes that would represent the book's title; the story mostly remained the same. Sometimes, less is truly more.

If we put aside these tiny inconveniences, Major Detours is a fun, thrilling, adventurous read that deserves to be read as a hardcopy. Having the power to alter the events is always a fun thing to do!

This book was definitely a road trip that kept me following the clues and riddles as much as the characters were. The puzzles themselves were also very interesting and I enjoyed trying to figure them out. I enjoyed the chooses but I also had a hard time choosing at some parts cause I didn’t quite understand what was being asked. All the characters also experienced some type of growth throughout the story as well which is always a sign of a good book to me. This is definitely a book that you want to be able to hold in your hand and interact with all the charts and sheets in the back as well.

Major Detours was the first "choose your own adventure" style novel I have ever read, Whilst the format of the book was interesting and drew me in, I just couldn't feel attached to the characters or the story. I felt more like
I wanted the book to be over just so it would be over. The main thing that kept me reading this novel was the in-depth explanations, such as the explanations of the tarot cards.

This is a story about four friends: Amelia, Chase, Chloe and Logan. Amelia and Chase are on her final trip to find more about the tarot deck, that their grandmother left them. This deck is a true mystery, there are four cards missing. On their first stop, they discover that its creator Pirelli hide the four missing cards, and the owner of the last deck must to find them. But they aren't the only ones who are searching for the missing cards. Will they find them all? The choice is up on you.
Yes!! You have to make choices here!!! Well, you will have only two options to choose between, but it's ok.
This is a little different from all I've read before. I've read this book because I love tarot and I found the subject pretty interesting. I'm studying tarot for one year, and some descriptions didn't fit for me, but it was ok.
I loved the constant adventure described in the book, you never get boring. But... It's not a very complicated book, it's rather simple and pretty relaxing. It's very well paced and you can read this book quick.
One thing I felt wrong, is that sometimes some relationships between the characters are described a bit forced, a little hard to believe.
I loved Logan and Chloe. It was nice to see how Chloe is developing and searching her identity.
One important thing: read this book with a physical copy. Reading it on Netgalley app was an odyssey. You need to search for pages when choosing between the two options.
If you like tarot and you love adventure, and the choose option to make your own story seems interesting to you, read this book.
Plus, look at this amazing cover 😍😍😍😍

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Major Detours by Zachary Sergi is an interactive novel where the reader makes choices to lead the characters.
Since they were childs, Amelia and Chase have been in touch with tarot, mainly because of a deck Amelia's grandmother gave them.This mysterious deck is missing four cards, and when the two friends are about to go separate ways to college, they go on a roadtrip with Chase's boyfriend Logan and their friend Cleo to find out more about the deck and its missing cards.
This book is a very fun read. The main characters are interesting and they have a great development throughout the book. Also, the plot is very interesting, and, as this is an interactive novel, it can change based on the desitions you make.
I would recommend this book to those who like mysteries and interactive novels.

It's been a long time since last I read an interactive book and this was a lot of fun.
An entertaining and gripping story, loved the Tarot them and the characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A clever take on the quest novel, Zachary Sergi's MAJOR DETOURS is perfect for those adventurers who want to write their own story. With characters that leap off the page and a plot that twists and turns like the the road our heroes drive, this unique story is one not to be missed. I enjoyed the choose-your-own-adventure aspect, which gave the story an interactive feel. I don't know much about the tarot, so it was also fascinating to learn about it through this novel. At times, the discussions on spirituality did get a bit heavy-handed, but overall, I enjoyed this fun story!

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)