What happens in Chapter 23 of Walk Two Moons?
In Chapter 23, Sal and her grandparents journey westward through South Dakota, reaching the striking, surreal landscape of the Badlands. Gram and Gramps are clearly amazed by the scenery—its eroded spires, pale gullies, and haunting stillness—while Sal feels more unsettled than enchanted. As they drive and walk among the formations, Sal shares the tale of Phoebe Winterbottom, explaining how Phoebe becomes increasingly convinced that the enigmatic young man who showed up on her doorstep is linked to her mother's disappearance. Back in Euclid, Phoebe's anxiety spirals into obsession, and she insists on dragging Sal along to investigate what she thinks are ominous clues. The chapter seamlessly alternates between the two narratives: the Badlands' geological oddities reflect Sal's inner turmoil, while Phoebe's frantic theorizing resonates with Sal's own unvoiced fears about her mother. Gram's joy in every roadside attraction offers warmth amid the girls' growing dread, and Gramps's steady driving propels the journey—both literal and emotional—forward.
Analysis
Creech uses the Badlands as more than just a pretty setting; the landscape reflects Sal's inner emotional struggles. The formations are both stunning and menacing—carved by erosion and loss—and Sal's subdued reaction to Gram's excitement shows how grief has limited her ability to feel awe. The chapter's dual narrative structure is particularly effective here: Phoebe's over-the-top detective story serves as a lighthearted distraction from Sal's real trauma, allowing Creech to explore deep feelings from a different angle. Phoebe loudly misidentifies her fear, while Sal is still unable to articulate hers.
Creech's tone is carefully controlled. Gram's lively energy—touching the rocky walls and laughing in the wind—prevents the chapter from becoming too mournful, even as the silence of the Badlands surrounds her happiness. The theme of misunderstood messages reappears: the anonymous notes on Phoebe's porch have a structural similarity to the landscape's unreadable patterns, with both requiring interpretations that neither girl is ready to make.
In terms of pacing, Creech employs the road-trip framework to create rhythm: the car's movement generates momentum, ensuring neither narrative thread feels stagnant. The chapter also pushes forward the novel's key question—what does it mean to walk in someone else's shoes?—by putting Sal in unfamiliar surroundings, where she must decipher a world that offers no straightforward answers, just as she will need to understand her mother's departure in her own way.
Key quotes from Chapter 23
“In the Badlands, I felt as if the world had been turned inside out.”
Sal describes her first impression of the Badlands landscape, articulating the disorientation the terrain produces in her.
“Gram said it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, and she spread her arms wide as if she could hug the whole sky.”
Gram's physical, joyful response to the Badlands contrasts sharply with Sal's subdued unease, highlighting the generational and emotional distance between them.
“Phoebe said, 'I know something terrible is going to happen, I just know it.'”
Phoebe voices her premonition about her mother's disappearance, a line that mirrors—and deflects attention from—Sal's own unspoken dread.
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Create an accountSign inVocabulary in Chapter 23
- Badlands
- A rugged, eroded landscape of rocky hills and gullies in the American West. In this text the term refers to the dramatic, unsettling terrain the family drives through on their road trip.