Walk Two Moons: Chapters 1–11

by Sharon Creech
While trying to track down her missing mother, thirteen-year-old Salamanca entertains her grandparents with strange stories about a girl named Phoebe Winterbottom.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–11, Chapters 12–22, Chapters 23–33, Chapters 34–44
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ornery
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
    Sometimes I am as ornery and stubborn like an old donkey.
  2. particularly
    to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
    I was being particularly ornery.
  3. approximately
    imprecise but fairly close to correct
    When at last we left Mrs. Cadaver and Mrs. Partridge, we drove for approximately three minutes.
  4. parched
    toasted or roasted slightly
    There were Megan and Christy, who jumped up and down like parched peas, moody Beth Ann, and pink-cheeked Alex.
  5. respectable
    conforming to socially acceptable morals or standards
    Once I asked my mother why Grandmother and Grandfather Pickford never laughed. My mother said, "They’re just so busy being respectable. It takes a lot of concentration to be that respectable.”
  6. defiance
    an act boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    My mother said that Grandmother Pickford's one act of defiance in her whole life as a Pickford was in naming her.
  7. gnarled
    old and twisted and covered in lines
    A thick, gnarled cane with a handle carved in the shape of a cobra's head lay across her knees.
  8. cadaver
    the dead body of a human being
    “First, there is that name: Cadaver. You know what cadaver means?”
    Actually, I did not.
    “It means dead body.”
  9. divulge
    make known to the public information previously kept secret
    I explained that just as Phoebe was going to divulge the purely awful thing that had happened to Mr. Cadaver, her father came home from work and we all sat down to dinner: me, Phoebe, Mr. and Mrs. Winterbottom, and Phoebe’s sister, Prudence.
  10. swerve
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Gramps swerved across two lanes of traffic and onto the exit ramp, and faster than you could milk a cow we were standing barefoot in the cool water of Lake Michigan.
  11. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    We stopped that night on the outskirts of Chicago.
  12. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Our plan was to curve across the lower part of Wisconsin, veer into Minnesota, and then barrel straight on through Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, sweep up into Montana, and cross the Rocky Mountains into Idaho.
  13. gullible
    naive and easily deceived or tricked
    Sometimes I am a little slow to figure these things out. My father once said I was as gullible as a fish.
  14. intriguing
    capable of arousing interest or curiosity
    Mary Lou thought the messages (this one and the other one) were intriguing. “How exciting!” she said.
  15. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    It occurred to me that my father didn’t hug me as much anymore, and that maybe I was starting to flinch whenever anyone touched me.
Created on Tue Oct 01 18:10:36 EDT 2013 (updated Thu Jul 10 14:12:11 EDT 2025)

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