Not Just For Young Readers

Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is a beautifully constructed story, chronicling a very personal road trip taken by a young girl, Sal, and her grandparents. In the story within the story, Sal regales her grandparents with tales and misadventures of her friend Phoebe ( humorously called Peeby by the grandmother ). The purpose of the road trip is to discover the fate of Sal's part-Indian mother, who had previously left for Idaho.
I personally love respectful and meaningful references to "Native Americans," as I have a small bit of blood in my family. There are shreds of wisdom woven throughout the book ( thus, the title ).
With Phoebe, Sal encounters an assortment of characters: her father's friend, Mrs. Cadaver, a first "boyfriend" Ben, and quite a few others.
Sharon Creech has a masterful approach to revealing the characters in bits and pieces, drawing the reader in to the intermingling lives of these unusual, but utterly normal folks.
To say the book was written for maybe 10 - 14 year olds is not fair, as my wife and I, both 30something parents really loved the story. Perhaps it reminded us of things in our childhood we wish we could relive, or wish to experience if hadn't already. Sharon Creech has a great gift in appealing to such a wide audience. She has a warm bucolic voice that reminded me at times of Mark Twain, Barbara Kingsolver, and maybe a dash of Beverly Cleary. There is sadness in the tale, but it is not without hope, and a sense of survival and excitement for the future.