Walk Two Moons
Sharon Creech
HarperCollins Publishers
Copyright 1994
280 Pages
Children's Fiction Chapter Book

Walk Two Moons is a touching story about a young girl named Salamaca Tree Hiddle, otherwise known as Sal. She and her mother and father were very happy living on their farm in Kentucky, until one day her mother left and never returned. Her father then moves them to Ohio and starts getting comfortable to a woman whose last name is Cadaver. Sal's soon to be best friend, Phoebe Winterbottom, convinces Sal that Mrs. Cadaver is an ax murderer and killed her own husband. One day at Phoebe's, a strange man comes looking for Phoebe's mother, and a couple days later the Winterbottom's start getting weird messages left on their doorstep. It all seems to weird until Phoebe's mother disappears. They all believe the strange man kidnapped her even though she left them all noted saying she would be back. Phoebe and Sal set off to find the kidnapper and figure out the strange messages. While all this is happening, Sal and a boy named Ben just cant seem to be able to kiss each other at the same time. They keep missing the others' lips and ending up in weird places, like lockers. Mrs. Winterbottom returns with the strange man and confesses to everyone that he is her son. Everyone is so relieved that she is back home and safe. Sal is happy for her friend but wishes her mother would come back. Later her grandparents decide to pick her up and travel with her all the way to Idaho to see her mother. On the way, Sal tells them the story about Phoebe and the strange man to keep her crazy grandparents in line and out of trouble. The last day of their journey, her grandmother has a stroke and is taken to a hospital. The grandfather knowing that Sal really wants to see her mother, gives her the keys and lets her make the rest of the journey by herself. She drives all day and finally makes it to the crash site of the bus that her mother was riding on. There was only one survivor from that crash and that was Mrs. Cadaver who actually sat next to Sal's mother on the bus. Some police men find her and escort her to the cemetery where she finds her mother's headstone. After saying her goodbyes, the officers take her back to the hospital where she finds out that her grandmother died earlier that day. She and her grandfather fly back home and they all go back to their farm in Kentucky with her father.
I love this book. I have read it so many times yet I always seem to cry at the end. This books makes me want to live life to the fullest and to let people know how I feel about them. Everyone would benefit from this book. Its a heartwarming story.
I honestly don't see any problems that would arise from reading this book. Its so good.