Walk Two Moons
By: Sharon Creech
Realistic Fiction
Newbery Award Winner

            Sal and her father move to Ohio from their home in Kentucky. Sal’s mother has just died a terrible, unexpected death in Ohio. She was going on a trip alone to help mend her personal issues in life. Like a journey of self discovery. It is on this journey in Idaho that Sal’s mother finds herself on a bus sitting beside a lady named Margaret. The bus they are on goes over a cliff killing everyone on board except Margaret. Sal’s father decided to move in the same neighborhood as Margaret because he feels as if he is closer to his deceased wife there.
            Once in Ohio Sal befriends a girl named Phoebe. Soon after their friendship had begun, Phoebe’s mother went missing. Sal is able to emphasize with Phoebe having gone through her mothers death. But after a few days of Phoebe’s mother missing, she returns home with her grown son she had given up for adoption years ago. Phoebe’s situation turns out positive unlike Sal’s.
            Sal’s grandparents decide to take her to Idaho. On their drive to Idaho they stop at the many places Sal’s mother stopped at on her journey before she had died. On this road trip Sal and her grandparents tell each other stories about life. Sal’s grandmother gets very sick from a snake bite and they end up having to go to a hospital. They begin their road trip again when Grams is able to leave the hospital, but on the drive Grams gets worse and worse, having to be hospitalized once again.
            Sal’s Grandpa realizes how important is for Sal to get to the place where her mother died on her mother’s birthday, so he gives Sal the keys to finish the journey on her own.  Sal reaches the spot where her mother’s bus fell of the cliff and finally comes to terms with her life. She is taken by police back to the hospital, where she discovers Grams has died. Sal, her father and Gramps end up all moving back together in Kentucky, their home.


This is probably one of the saddest books I have ever read. The ups and downs drove me crazy. I cried so many times as Sal is put through so much pain and suffering. This is a good book for children in high school I believe. It won the Newbery medal and has very good writing in it. I think after reading a book like this it would be a good idea to have students write an essay about a hard time in their life and how they came to terms with it.

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