Summary of the Story

Main Plot

Story focuses on Salamanca (Sal) traveling with her grandparents from Ohio to Idaho.
Purpose: To visit her mother who left their family some time ago.

Begins when Sal and her father move to Ohio from Kentucky due to a woman named Mrs. Cadaver.
Sal dislikes Mrs. Cadaver and befriends Phoebe, her neighbor.
Mysterious notes start appearing at Phoebe's house.
Phoebe believes there's a lunatic in the neighborhood.
Phoebe's mother leaves without explaining her whereabouts.
Phoebe imagines her mother was kidnapped and murdered by the lunatic.
It is revealed that Phoebe's mother left to visit her son in college.
Phoebe's family learns to accept this situation.

As they near Idaho, Sal's grandmother suffers a stroke and is hospitalized.
Sal drives alone to find her mother.
Encounters a crash site; learns Mrs. Cadaver was the sole survivor and sat next to Sal's mother.
Sheriffs take Sal to her mother’s grave.
Sal returns to find her grandmother has passed away.

The narrative structure includes multiple layers: Sal's journey, Phoebe's story, and the grandparent's journey.
Readers discover a hidden storyline about the grandparents.

The story is rich with references to Native American culture and Greek mythology (e.g., Pandora, Prometheus, Euclid).
Sal's school project includes thoughts on a reverse Pandora's box with all good things and one bad thing.

The story explores how people, especially children, create myths to cope with difficult situations.
These myths/stories help to bring logic and order but can be dangerous when reality is ignored.
Sal knew about her mother’s death all along, and her journey to Idaho was to face this reality.
Sal’s journey allows her to symbolically walk 'two moons' in her mother’s shoes.