Bibliographic Citation
Creech, S. (1994). Walk two moons. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Summary
Sal begins a journey with her grandparents from Ohio to Idaho to follow the route her mother took when she left home. Sal wants to reach her by her mother's birthday which is six days away. Along the way she tells the story of her move from Kentucky and her new best friend Phoebe, whose mother also left home and about a lunatic that appeared in their neighborhood. Her father is seeing a woman that lives next door to Phoebe that Sal does not like. But eventually Phoebe's mother returns home and explains that the lunatic is her son from her past. During the trip Sal and her grandparents visit Native Americans, Old Faithful, Mount Rushmore, and grandma gets bitten by a snake. Grandma has a heart attack on the day that Sal wants to find her mother. Sal continues the journey alone leaving her grandparents at the hospital and finds the bus crash where her mother died and her grave. Her grandmother dies at the hospital. Sal and her grandfather return home where they eventually move back to Kentucky along with her dad.
Impressions
This was a emotional book for me because as I read toward the end I felt there was a reason why her mother could not return home. I thought it was very well written especially since it was a story about Sal telling a story to her grandparents on a trip to bring her mother home. It demonstrates well the emotions that teenagers might experience when moving, young love, or losing a loved one.
Suggestions For Use in a Library
1. As reading the journey made by Sal and her grandparents map the route.
2. Discussion abou the name Indians versus Native Americans.
3. Draw and write about your soul.
Reviews
Gr 6-9 An engaging story of love and loss, told with humor and suspense. Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle's mother leaves home suddenly on a spiritual quest, vowing to return, but can't keep her promise. The girl and her father leave their farm in Kentucky and move to Ohio, where Sal meets Phoebe Winterbottom, also 13. While Sal accompanies her eccentric grandparents on a six day drive to Idaho to retrace her mother's route, she entertains them with a tale of Phoebe, whose mother also left home. While this story-within-a story is a potentially difficult device, in the hands of this capable author it works well to create suspense, keep readers' interest, and draw parallels between the situations and reactions of the two girls. Sal's emotional journey through the grieving process-from denial to anger and finally to acceptance- is depicted realistically and with feeling. Indeed, her initial confusion and repression of the truth are mirrored in the book; even readers are unaware until near the end, that Sal's mother has died. Phoebe's mother does return home, bringing with her a son previously unknown to her family, who is accepted with alacrity. Overall, a richly layered novel about real and metaphorical journeys.
Burns, C. (1984). Book review: Junior high up. School Library Journal, 40(10), 142.
Gr. 7--9. Thirteen-year-old Sal Hiddle can't deal with all the upheaval in her life. Her mother, Sugar, is in Idaho, and although Sugar promised to return before the tulips bloomed, she hasn't come back. Instead, Mr. Hiddle has moved Sal from the farm she loves so much and has even taken up company with the unpleasantly named Mrs. Cadaver. Multilayered, the book tells the story of Sal's trip to Idaho with her grandparents; and as the car clatters along, Sal tells her grandparents the story of her friend Phoebe, who receives messages from a "lunatic" and who must cope with the disappearance of her mother. The novel is ambitious and successful on many fronts: the characters, even the adults, are fully realized; the story certainly keeps readers' interest; and the pacing is good throughout. But Creech's surprises--that Phoebe's mother has an illegitimate son and that Sugar is buried in Idaho, where she died after a bus accident--are obvious in the first case and contrived in the second. Sal knows her mother is dead; that Creech makes readers think otherwise seems a cheat, though one, it must be admitted, that may bother adults more than kids. Still, when Sal's on the road with her grandparents, spinning Phoebe's yarn and trying to untangle her own, this story sings.
Cooper, I. (1994). Walk two moons. Booklist, 91(6), 590. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA15925338&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w
Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Sugar Maple Tree Hiddle is a natural storyteller. As her grandparents drive her from Kentucky to Idaho, Sal entertains them with a story of her best friend, Phoebe, whose mother disappeared shortly after receiving mysterious letters. The trip is urgent to Sal. She believes she must get to Idaho for her mother's birthday. If there is any chance to bring her mother back home, it will happen on her birthday. Sal interweaves Phoebe's story with events in her own Life. One year ago, her mother left home, depressed after giving birth to a stillborn baby. She planned to return, but died in a bus accident in Idaho. Sal refused to accept her mother's death. Then her father rented his farm in Kentucky, and they moved to Ohio, where he befriended a widow. Sal's and Phoebe's stories are woven together to reveal both girls' agony at losing their mothers. Gran and Grams infuse the story with lively dialogue. Wading in a stream, Gran is bitten by a water moccasin, and although she recovers, she later dies of a stroke--just short of their destination. With her grandfather's blessing, Sal sets out alone to complete the journey and visit her mother's grave, where Sal at last accepts her mother's death. Sal's stories-within-stories are spiced with humor and sensitivity. Readers will demand a sequel with these lovable, irascible characters. Highly Recommended.
Litherland, T. (1994). Reviews: Fiction. Book Report, 13(3), 42.
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