Walk Two Moons (Realistic Fiction/Chapter Book)

By: Sharon Creech

This book was about a young teenage girl, Sal, and her adventure to understand her life without her mother. She doesn't see her life the way she planned it and is looking for answers. She goes on a road trip with her grandparents to visit her mom, who suffered a miscarriage after carrying Sal when she broke her leg. Sal tells of many stories on the road as they face many obstacles along the way. While her Gram is in admitted to the hospital for a snake bite, Sal completes the trip to find her mom on her own, driving without a license. This is when the truth is revealed and connections are made to the stories she told on the road. The reader finds out that Sal's mom was killed in a bus wreck a few years earlier on a trip to find her own self. After a police officer confronts Sal about the car and no license, he takes her to her mom's grave site. He then takes her back to the hospital where she finds that her Gram had passed away. At the end of this long trip, Sal is finally able to make peace with living without her mother and move on with her life. This story could be used to discuss how to react when unexpected events happen and you have to readjust to the new result. This book would also be a great way to discuss the saying "don't judge someone until you walk in their shoes". After reading the entire book, students could go back and find passages that show us that Sal's mom is no longer alive. It would be easy after reading the end of the story.