What happens in Chapter 24 of Walk Two Moons?
Chapter 24 of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is titled "Homecoming" and continues Sal's narration of Phoebe Winterbottom's story, blending it with Sal's own memories of her mother, Sugar. Phoebe's mother, Mrs. Winterbottom, has been missing for several days, and the Winterbottom household is unraveling under the strain of her absence. Phoebe clings to her theory that a mysterious "lunatic" is to blame, crafting an increasingly complex explanation to shield herself from a more painful reality. At the same time, Sal reflects on her mother's departure—the moment Sugar packed her bags and set off for Lewiston, Idaho, a journey she never finished. This chapter subtly yet powerfully parallels the two missing mothers, as well as Phoebe's denial and Sal's own long-buried grief. A brief, intense moment occurs when Sal's father tries to comfort her, but his words feel empty against the weight of what both girls are enduring. The chapter concludes with a sense of lingering desire, the term "homecoming" ironically overshadowing a household—and a story—marked more by departure than by return.
Analysis
Creech uses the chapter title "Homecoming" ironically. While it suggests arrival, the emotional currents within the chapter lean toward absence. The way Phoebe's story mirrors Sal's is a key craft move; Creech portrays Sal as an unreliable narrator not to deceive the reader, but because Sal is deceiving herself, projecting her grief onto Phoebe's situation from a safe distance. This technique allows Creech to build emotional tension without resorting to melodrama, making the absence of Sugar feel more intense precisely because Sal avoids naming it directly.
The motif of the mysterious notes left on the Winterbottom doorstep appears again, serving as a form of lost communication—messages that come without a sender, reflecting how both Sal and Phoebe confront maternal loss without sufficient explanation. Creech's writing in this chapter remains spare, favoring short, straightforward sentences that together create a quietly devastating effect.
A tonal shift happens mid-chapter with the entrance of Sal's father: the tone softens, becoming tentative and almost apologetic. This shift indicates that the adults in the novel are just as lost as the children, reinforcing a recurring theme. Creech also subtly pushes the road-trip frame forward here—Sal's grandparents’ responses to the landscape outside the car mirror Sal's internal feelings, with the American countryside serving as an external representation of longing and unresolved homecoming.
Key quotes from Chapter 24
“Everyone has their own agenda.”
One of the cryptic notes left on the Winterbottom doorstep, which Phoebe reads aloud; the line becomes a refrain that Sal quietly applies to her own mother's departure.
“In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?”
Another of the anonymous doorstep messages, cited by Sal as she reflects on her father's attempts at consolation, the question landing with more weight than comfort.
“I wondered if a person could be in two places at once.”
Sal's interior reflection as she narrates Phoebe's story, articulating the novel's central tension between physical journey and psychological haunting.
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Create an accountSign inVocabulary in Chapter 24
- homecoming
- The act of returning to one's home or place of origin, often after a long or difficult absence. In this text it carries both a literal and deeply emotional meaning tied to loss and longing.