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Summary: Ok, so its not Shakespeare...
Review: Ok, so it's sugary, cheesy, perhaps unrealistic in parts...whatever. It's not Shakespeare, it's not The Great American Classic, but it is a sweet, touching, and often thoughful story for anyone open-minded enough to try reading a book that's not full of cynicism. Yes, it may seem soap-opera-ish and Pollyanna-ish, but sheesh,it wasn't written to win the pulitzer prize or anything. I admit somewhat sheepishly to have read many of Opra's picks, and this is one of my favorites (along with White Oleander, which is wonderful). I found Where the Heart Is a very quick read and thoughoughly enjoyable. The characters are quirky and lovable, if often steriotypical, and I found myself very caught up in Novalee's story. I was disappointed at the end, but only because I was sorry there was not more to read. I read the book about a year ago and I was excited to see that it was being made into a movie. Well, I saw the movie yesterday (finally)and I was not disappointed. I thought it was remarkably faithful to the book(especially considering the butchering most movies make out of the books they're based on), although my memory of the details may be a little fuzzy considering I read the book a while ago. For instance, I didn't remember that it was 7's , not 5's that Novalee was superstitious about. But that is just a little detail that doesn't affect the plot at all anyway. Anyhoo, the movie is very enjoyable, a loyal representation of a very sweet, moving novel. And I have to say, the guy who played Forney was exactly how I pictured him.
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Summary: READ THIS INCREDIBLE BOOK!
Review: For any of those who saw the movie; and didn't enjoy/understand it, DON'T PASS UP THIS BOOK. Like they always do in movies based on books, they butchered the story into an incomprehensible mess! It was awful, but SO drastically different from the book! Where the Heart Is is one of the best books I've ever read. Some parts had me crying uncontrollably while others had me laughing uncontrollably! Billie Letts really did an incredible job on this, and you'd be crazy to pass it up!
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Summary: good book
Review: "Where The Heart Is" is a book for young and old alike to read and enjoy. I first saw the movie and was interested in reading the book. I am telling you, they both are great! The book and the movie have the main character as a 17-year-old girl pregnant, and a not so faithful boyfriend. Some people can realte to her. He dumps her off at a WalMart and she then must start herself a new life. She meets a wonderful woman named Sister Husband who takes her in when she need the help most. In the time she is here, she falls in love with the librarians brother, Forney. It has a love story and a struggle story in one. This book has inspired me and let me know that there ARE people, even though in books, that will help people out when they need it most. This was an inspiration book and I relly think you will enjoy reading this as well
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Summary: A Book that both pulls you in and expands your horisons
Review: It is so rare that a book of quality is so easily readable and pulls you in to the story so throughroughly. This book is a page-turner stay up all night type read yet the characters will leave an indelible impression on you. The protagonist is unforgettable, no matter what your walk of life you are immediately drawn to her and her story. I feel changed by this book, something that was previously only true of plodding classics.
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Summary: beautifully written
Review: This book was soooo good! I couldnt even put it down. It appeals to all ages., but also teaches many lessons. Some of the lessons are obvious and yet some are not so obvious. It is a heartwarming story that touches exactly where it should, the heart.
Rating:
Summary: excellent read..
Review: Within the first two pages I was captured. I enjoyed reading about all of the characters that were involved with the main heroine. I enjoyed seeing Novalee develope as a person and I enjoyed seeing how her life affected so many others. I loved this book it made me feel good.
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Summary: A wonderful and inspiring book
Review: This is without a doubt one of the best books I have read in a long time. It tells the story of Novalee Nation, a pregnant 17 year old who is abandoned at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma by her no-good boyfriend Willy Jack. From there the reader is taken on a journey as Novalee makes a better life for herself and her daughter Americus. Along the way she meets and befriends unforgettable and realistic characters like Sister Husband, Lexie Coop,and Forney Hull who teach her unforgettable lessons in life. The most imporatant one is that when life gives you lemons, you have to make lemonade. What I liked about this book is Novalee's character. She is a strong young woman who is determined to not let bad situations in life get the best of her. It is a pleasure to see Novalee go from a poor,naive,unemployed, highschool drop out to a wise, book-educated young woman with a growing carrer as a photographer. You cheer for her as she grows and changes--especially in the end when she tells off her loser boyfriend Willy Jack. And in an interesting contrast, while Novalee's rise as a better person is told, so Willy is Jack's fall as he attempts to become a country singer/star. Although not all the situations in "Where the heart is" are realistic, the book is wonderful. So is the movie, even though it leaves out a lot of the details from the book. I highly recommend both to teenagers and young women everywhere.
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Summary: Reflective Small Town Saga Tainted With Humor, Hope
Review: "I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers". Blanche's famous line from "A Streetcar Named Desire" could be Novalee Nation's own theme in "Where the Heart Is". Unwed and unwanted, a teenage girl forcedly old beyond her seventeen years has succumbed to a typical state of white-trash dependency. Abandoned by a deadbeat boyfriend in the local Wal-Mart of Sequoia, Oklahoma, Novalee has little choice but to literally camp out, "borrowing" the essentials for herself and her unborn child. This homemade tale of small town trivialities is poignantly written in a confiding style, embracing the human experience's general appeal: People with messy yards and messy lives, rusted out cars sagging against grimy sheds or forgotten lilac bushes, and dilapidated trailer courts with flowering kale growing in Folger's Coffee cans. Always, the same people who look alike and talk alike, differentiated by peculiar names and equally wacky quirks. Sister Husband, who saves wheat pennies, distributes Biblical chapters and cheese samples at the IGA,Dixie Mullins, a beautician who hears gossip not through the grapevine but through the grave, Lexie Coop, superstitious but optimistic single mother of five; Mr. Sprock, strangely emotional, Moses Whitecotton, sagacious mentor, Forney Hull, reservedly brilliant, and Willy Jack, a loser who never cared for himself, let alone anyone else. The average individual can relate to this cast of stereotypical characters because they are the people we know. See Dixie Mullins as your mother-in-law, Lexie Coop could be your best friend, and in your uncle, one might recognize a hint of Moses Whitecotton. The plot comes full circle with Willy Jack inevitably attaining what he deserves completed by the courage to recognize it. Novalee Nation earns her way to success with the unconditional support of a close knit community, guided by Sister Husband's admonition "Home is the place that'll catch you when you fall, and we all fall". "Where the Heart Is" triumphs with a descriptive collaboration of love, loss, and everything in between.
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Summary: Where the Heart IS
Review: A great book that you can easily become addicted to. A very light read, but very real characters that you can't help root for.
Rating:
Summary: A Compelling, Heart-Warming Read!
Review: Where the Heart Is: A Novel by Billie Letts, is a wonderful companion to have. It is a story that most can relate to or have emotions toward. It is light read, with humor but also sorrow. A great book to read when you feel in need of a friend, as the characters come alive throughout the story.You feel as if you are connected with them and have known them for a quite awhile. The story begins when seventeen year old Novalee Nation,who is seven months pregnant, is stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma by her boyfriend with only $7.77. She meets many people throughout her journey to survive during her pregnancy, and then with her newborn baby. She is faced with a real blast of reality when all at once she finds herself having to struggle with a newborn baby, finding a place to live, working for a living, love, death, and also being a teenager at the same time. She is taught to use her heart in many situations, although she may not want to. Although I am not pregnant, not seventeen, was not stranded at a Wal-Mart, and are not faced by all those problems that Novalee was faced with, I was still drawn into this book tremendously.I felt attached to Novalee in a way because in the end I was proud of her for making it through and doing all the right things. It was a great read,which all teenage girls and women should read.
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