Faith's Reviews > Walk Two Moons: A Newbery Award Winner

Salamanca's mother leaves her family and heads across the country in Idaho. Sal doesn't understand why her mother left her, and why she doesn't come back. Sal's father can't stand to live in the farm that reminds him of his wife, and so moves them into a suburban neighborhood a few states away. Sal and her new friends think there is something very sinister going on in this seemingly normal neighborhood. Soon after the move, Sal takes a road trip with her grandparents to visit her mother, and on the way tells them the story of her friend Phoebe, a young woman whose mother also left her family. The stories of Sal and Phoebe are intertwined in a creative way throughout this book, and students can learn a lot about plot, narrative structure, foreshadowing, and themes like love, friendship, and family. Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, this book is a great read and completely teachable in the classroom. It also has a cool cultural element since Sal's Native American heritage is explored through festivals, personal habits, and the story telling tradition.