Walk Two Moons is the story of Salamanca Tree Hiddle, called Sal, and her quirky friend Phoebe Winterbottom.  As Sal tells Phoebe's story on a cross-country trip with her grandparents, Sal's own story unfolds with all of its complexity and emotion. 

Lowery-Moore noted that eccentricity and depth are often characteristic of Creech's characters (2001).  Walk Two Moons is peppered with vibrant people, from funny Gramps to the eccentric and quirky Phoebe Winterbottom.  One reviewer noted that Creech's stories often have a "parallel story;" one that offers views of characters in various situations (Lowery-Moore 2001).  In Walk Two Moons, for example, the reader is taken along with Sal on a cross-country trip with her grandparents, yet the story often flashes back to scenes of her life in Bybanks, Kentucky, with her mother and father, and to her new life in Ohio -- mostly dramatized by stories of Sal and her friend Phoebe.  The three lives of Sal give the reader a true understanding of her life, and offer different perspectives on her character as a whole, revealing her feelings about herself and the life around her. 

Creech has said about her own writing that she prefers to spend her time writing with "people who are quirky and kind" (Lowery-Moore 2001).  The kindness and eccentricities of all of Creech's characters does define her work as a whole.  She has a way of combining the sad with the humorous - making the reader think about life but not weighing them down.  Creech said, "This comes out of who I am.  I cannot dwell too long in the serious before lightening the mood with humor"  (Lowery-Moore 2001).  Her characters are often revealed through dialog and narration, bringing the reader inside a character's life and thoughts.  A great deal is revealed about Phoebe and her family, for example, just by having dinner with them . . . they are extrememly health conscious and worried over cholesterol, there is little conversation at dinner, and Phoebe's mother seems trapped in her own "perfect" family. Mrs. Winterbottom seemed to be saying one thing while thinking and feeling something entirely different, yet no one but Sal noticed.

Creech's novels have a way of combining the subtle humor of everyday life with the things and events that seem to overpower us as people, such as sadness, loneliness, death, and evil.  In the end, at least in Creech's work, hope and love and even quirky friendships prevail over all of the struggles, pain and mystery in life.   Her books are written with honesty and a sincere hope that humor will lighten one's load along the way. 

Creech, Sharon.  Walk Two Moons. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.  ISBN  0060233346.

Lowery-Moore, Hollis. 2001.  "Creating people who are quirky and kind." Teacher Librarian 28(4):54-57.  In Academic Search Premier [database online].  Available from http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=4425578&db=aph.  Accessed 16 February 2004.