I couldn't put this one down!

Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, came highly-recommended to me by a friend who also happens to be a children's book author. She didn't tell me much except that I ought to get the book and read it.

I took her advice and was glad I did! I found this book to be a "great read" -- two-stories-in-one with some mystery, suspense, drama, young romance and comedy thrown in to boot!

I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who's not read read it yet. Suffice it to say, the main character, Salamanca (a native American girl) is on a quest to find her mother, who left her and her father for unexplained reasons. She travels on her quest with her hilarious, quirky and delightful grandparents, and along the way entertains them with a story (hence the two-stories-in-one).

After I read Walk Two Moons, I recommended the book to my sister-in-law who teaches 5th grade in a public school in Southern California. She read the book aloud to her class and told me that the students were clamoring every day for her to read more. Not only did they love it, she did, too. They laughed together and cried together, she said -- all these "tough" city kids found the story to be quite moving.

I know there are divided opinions about this book. I'm an aspiring children's writer and some of my writer friends thought it was lousy reading and too predictable. Go figure! I couldn't disagree with them more!