Walk Two Moons: Chapters 1-18

In Walk Two Moons, Salamanca Tree Hiddle (Sal for short) embarked on an epic journey from her small hometown of Bybanks, Kentucky to Lewiston, Idaho. She wanted to go there because she wanted to see her mother's grave, but she had to get there by her mother's birthday, since she thought that if her mother was coming back any day, it would be on her birthday. Sal's mother died when she left Bybanks to see the whole country. She got to the town of Lewiston, where she died (perhaps from some sort of automobile accident, because ever since the day Sal learned her mother was dead, Sal has been terrified of vehicles). Sal was following the same road to Lewiston as her mother. Her father's parents (Gram and Gramps) were with her. They, like Sal, wanted to see Sal's mother. They knew Sal wanted to as well, but was afraid to. Sal's father agreed to the trip, since he knew Gram and Gramps would probably get into a lot of trouble alone, but Sal was going with them, and she was able to keep them in check.
The road ahead was to be a rough and bumpy road. Sal had to endure Gramps' bad car repairs and Gram's bad map-reading skills. Gram also suffered a poisonous snake bite. Sal's stories reminded them of happier times that were no more. Along that rough and bumpy road, Sal told the story of Phoebe, a quiet girl who believed that everyone was either perfect or they were lunatics. In her world, there was no gray area. Everything was plain black and white. It is unlike the modern world with doctors who develop wonderful cures and then refuse to sell it to people who cannot afford to buy that cure. In Phoebe's world there were no people like that. Most people were lunatics, but there were a few perfect people who had never committed a single wrong in their entire life. In that story, a young man showed up at the door to Phoebe Winterbottom's house. Phoebe thought he was a lunatic because the young man acted very strangely. He wanted to see Mrs. Winterbottom, but didn't want to leave a message. This led Phoebe to believe he had something to hide. I think he just wanted to talk in private with Mrs. Winterbottom. Perhaps the young man was someone who also worked at Rocky's Rubber, and wanted to talk about some important business matters.
However, after telling much of the story, Gram, Gramps, and Sal stopped at a river to cool off. They met Tom Fleet there, who saved Gram's life after she got bitten by a snake. He sucked out the poison from the wound. That's very surprising to me, since I wouldn't dare to do it. Tom must have nerves of steel! Soon, however, the trio were back on the road to Lewiston, Idaho. Sometimes I wonder how those three ever got anywhere with all the accidents they've had. However, I'm sure that those three would eventually get to Lewiston.They were very determined, and that's one of the ingredients for success.