Walk Two Moons

This book had me alternating from laughing out loud to holding back tears (or sometimes not holding them back).

Two parallel stories about loss and hope unfold from the perspective of main character, Sal Hiddle. Populating the two stories is an impressive cast of quirky characters, including Mr. Birkway, a gem of an English teacher who shows that believing the best about his students helps them be their best, a lesson that has been valuable to me as a teacher, friend, and parent. 

The books we read as children are so incredibly formative. In Walk Two Moons, 13-year-old Sal has lost her mother and lost her way.

As the reader, especially when I read it as an adult, I can see so clearly Sal’s pain and grief motivating her every decision. As a child who was often in the care of her grandparents, I could see myself in Sal. Her journey became mine, her path to healing made my journey easier as well.

There’s a reason Walk Two Moons won the Newbery in 1995 and Sharon Creech remains one of the best writers… show more.

It’s a Newberry Award winner, so you know something good is going on here. I must admit, there have been some duds over the many years of the award, but in this case, the writing, the story, and the characters, really do warrant the accolade. Salamanca (Sal) Tree Hiddle is the heroine and voice here. She’s proud of her American-Indian heritage and country roots. She’s on a journey across country from Ohio to Idaho to find her mother. Her somewhat eccentric grandparents are her companions and as they travel Sal tells them the story of another girl, Phoebe Winterbottom, so… show more.