Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a great summer reading book. The story is great and very easy to follow. You feel like you are there going through all of Novelle's problems and joys with her. It is a enjoyable book for anyone to read, young or old!
Rating:
Summary: my favorite book
Review: Wow, this book was great. I really enjoyed reading it. I couldn't put it down till I was finished. I thought it was very touching and it really had an impact on me.
Rating: 
Summary: Contrived
Review: This book was absolutely ridiculous. The characters are contrived stereotypes and may I ask why all of them have equally ridiculous names (Americus sounds like the name of a naval ship, not a baby)? The characters in this novel are completely 1-dimensional and Letts doesn't stray far from stereotypes: the inhabitants of small-town middle America are friendly, simple, open-hearted and have no personality whatsoever! There is seemingly little plot and the love story between main character Novalee and the town's librarian has no chemistry.I thought this book was humiliating to read. If you enjoy books found in the aisle of your supermarket this book if for you (I imagine it's 1 small step up from Fabio). If you care for something with a little more substance, I advise you to move on.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange, but sweet
Review: I found "Where the Heart Is" to be a touching novel with a powerful message. Young, pregnant, friendless and abandoned, Novalee Nation seems to have little to hope for. At the beginning of the novel she is bewildered and frightened, but remains an unselfish and giving person. This becomes evident when she goes to great effort to care for a little tree she has been given. Despite all her difficulties, she goes out of her way to plant and nourish the sapling. Novalee's sweet nature brings out the best in other people. Before she knows it, she is provided with a home, a job, and new friends. This novel contains many instances of betrayal and cruelty, but it also has so many small miracles. To me, the theme of the book is that although people and circumstances can be evil, there is also a huge amount of love in this world. If we go looking for the good in life, we, like Novalee, will find ourselves blessed.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story
Review: This is a very good story however far-fetched the plot seems to be. The author captures much of what seems real about Southwestern small-town culture. The characters are interesting, and some of them are developed very well. My #3 rating is based on my personal preference for more descriptive narrative and more "texturing" in the development of characters. Characters, and the plot itself, are developed primarily through the use of dialogue. Characters are introduced rather abruptly for my taste, and yet, they become very interesting as the story moves on. Having said this I was captivated by the several plot conflicts in the book, and the ending captured my fullest attention. This author deserves more attention, and I will read her books again.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing story
Review: I did not have to take a moment to decide if this book deserved 5 stars, I had made up my mind immediately after finishing the last page of the book. I am a frequent reader, and in the entertaining but repetitive world of teen books, mysteries, and other assorted young adult fiction, I found this book to be very refreshing. It is not your typical plot, but what makes it different is that it focuses on the characters, the people who make a difference in the book, rather than the plot events. Which is not to say that the book's plot was undeveloped, it was always evolving and deepening. I enjoyed this book because I felt it took a different approach and recognized many values that are important- such as family and friendship. I give this book my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: Not only is it well written, but the story is wonderful. Makes you realize just what happens in other people's lives and shows you how important friends can be. This book will diffently capture your heart and you will want to hear about the rest of Novalee's life when it ends. Could there be a sequel Ms. Letts?
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant but not memorable
Review: Novalee Nation, a seventeen year-old pregnant girl from Tennessee, is deserted at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma when her loser of a boyfriend drives off without her on their way out to California. She ends up staying there, living in the Wal-Mart until she has her child in the store. The book is the story of how she develops relationships with an eclectic group of friends in the town, raises her child, and eventually develops a sense of her own worth. I found this a pleasant book, and I generally cheered for Novalee to make good decisions and to grow some confidence, but I didn't connect with her story. I found her collection of friends only weakly drawn, so it was difficult to relate to them or understand them. The only real passion this book aroused in me was a hatred of her boyfriend, whose story is told in a few chapters interwoven into Novalee's story. A perfectly good read, but I don't think I'll remember this book very well over time.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put Down
Review: I'm not a big reader unless it's a really good book. This one I could not put down from the first page. The story seemed so realistic and gripping. My heart went out to Novalee, a young girl who didn't waiver when life dealt her a bad hand. She was an inspiration to me and I learned many other things I never thought I could learn from a fictional book (I read a lot of self-development books). It turned out not to be just entertainment, but lessons in life.
Rating:
Summary: Where the Heart Is
Review: What a wonderful book. This book kept me up late wanting to find out what happened next. This is a book I will pass on to my friends. I look forward to Billie Letts next book.
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