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Summary: You question where your heart is and where it belongs!
Review: Potato chips, dolls, books, linens and jewelry is what most would hope to find in their nearest Wal-mart store. However, to the pregnant 17 year old Novalee Nation it became her home and so much more. Novalee was a poor girl whose mother left her when she was young, for a man who claimed he was a major league umpire. It hurt Novalee to have never known the love and support of a family. In hopes that she could provide her own child with a warm home and family, she and her boyfriend, Willy Jack ventured to California to start a new life together. However, this would never be. Willy Jack did not have the same intentions as Novalee; he was only looking to make money from the job he was promised in California. Halfway across country, they made a stop at Wal-mart. Novalee went in as a young girl in a candy store. She was hopeful for her future; finally, she had the chance to live the life she had always dreamed. Novalee got what she needed, and walked out the door, suddenly her goals and dreams came to a crashing halt. Willy Jack had left her stranded at Wal-mart. Novalee had no family, no money, and no place to go. Novalee was an adolescent who was young at heart, but weary in her mind. She had a brush with reality and came to the conclusion that it was up to her now to take control of her life, as well as her unborn child's. This was a great task even for a single mother of thirty to take, and at seventeen many thought it was impossible for Novalee. Novalee couldn't let this affect her; she met many new people and had to decide quickly whether she could confide in them or not. However, she did absorb everything said to her. Novalee needed an adult figure that would dispense advice upon her request, but this was not possible since she was in a new environment thousands of miles away from her home. Instead, Novalee took every piece of information given to her from strangers and sorted it in her mind. The advice was either disregarded or kept. Some of these strangers would even become some of Novalee's closest friends and family. This is all just part of Novalee's journey both mentally and physically to where her heart was. Billie Letts revolves her whole novel around the title, which is the essential theme, Where the Heart Is. The entire novel is about Novalee's search to find where her heart is. What she finds is overwhelming. She gains self-esteem and a whole new world. She finds that she is loved and that she is able to love in return. She finds that good does exist in people and in the world. And she finds that her heart is where it belongs with her true family, the people who supported her, loved her, and gave her something to hope for. This book is both spiritual and inspirational. Even if you have never been seventeen, seven months pregnant and living in Wal-mart you are able to relate to Novalee's spiritual journey. It makes you question where your heart is and where it belongs.
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Summary: Themes portraying important life lessons!
Review: Through Billie Letts' novel, she knows how to catch the reader's attention. This for example, from page 1: "Novalee Nation, seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight-and superstitious about sevens," gives the reader a sense of curiousity about what the number seven means. Letts uses vivid names for characters throughout the novel. She used names that carried their own images, such as Whitecotton, Nation, Goodluck, Husband, and Americus. She connected these names to Oklahoma. Letts created such a clever setting in the beginning of the novel. Novalee Nation, one of the main characters, is stranded and pregnant, in Wal-Mart. She chose this place to be the setting because it was the most likely place for Novalee to encounter Sister Husband, a white woman, Moses Whitecotton, a black man, and Benny Goodluck, a Native American boy. The man who impregnated her left her at the store. She ran in to use the bathroom, and had a feeling that Willie Jack, her boyfriend, had left. Novalee had to carefully plan how she would stay in Wal-Mart, without anyone seeing her. This was definitely a challenge for her because she also had to worry about going into labor. Novalee demonstrated strong qualities because she was going to have to experience what it would be like to be a single mother. Novalee, an uneducated, pregnant, seventeen-year-old, was chosen to be the main character because Oklahoma had a high rate of teen pregnancy. There are many single mothers, either recently divorced or never married. Having her as the main character, lets the readers put themselves in the position of being a single mother. Forney Hull is another main character mentioned in the novel, who plays a huge part in Novalee's life. Not only did he change the course of her life by introducing her to the world of books and learning, but they fell in love. Where the Heart Is, is an important theme of the novel. It demonstrates that "home" is wherever you have love. It doesn't necessarily have to be where you were born, or spent most of your life. "Home," is where people make you feel wanted and cared for. As a reader, you never give away the end of a novel. I will tell you that you should never turn your back on a stranger. Along the way, Novalee met many people to lean on, and stand by her side. This is an important life lesson that you should let people reach out to you. Never belittle the kindness of someone else. To further be a part of Novalee Nation's life, you can read the novel that is really Where The Heart Is.
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Summary: EXCELLENT!!EXCITING!!PAGE TURNING!!!
Review: This is the first Billie Letts book for me and I thought it was excellent. You have to keep reading because you want to know what happens next. Novalee was great. And the nice people she met (only in small towns) I also thought Americus was amusing.
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Summary: COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!
Review: From start to finish I couldnt put this down! A must read for everyone. I have now started to buy all of the books from Oprah's book club!
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Summary: the best book I've read in a very long, long time.
Review: Gosh how do I put into words how much I love this book. I'm a young woman and was so enthralled with this book. I just could not put this book down, I read it in one day when it usually takes me so lng to read any book. This book is a must read for woman of all ages. I highly recommend it to everyone!
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Summary: The best book I have ever read!!!!!
Review: The book was captivating from the very beginning!!! I could not put it down! I have never read I book I enjoyed more!!! It was excellent and more!!!!!!
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Summary: loved the book, was hard to put it down
Review: This is a great book to read. Keeps your interest all throughout. I read it a few years ago and reserved it at the library to read again. I would like to know of other books that Billie Letts wrote but can't seem to find any in my area. If anyone knows of any titles I would love to hear from them.
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Summary: I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN!
Review: IT WAS A GREAT BOOK! I loved all of the characters. There should be a sequel to this one!
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Summary: MUST READ!!! THE FEEL GOOD BOOK OF THE YEAR!
Review: This is the best book I have read in a long time. I don't normally read books of this nature, but I was captured instantly by the characters and the discriptions of events as they unfolded. The author does not get tangled up in her descriptions. She gives a quick introduction to all the characters then lets the reader's imagination complete the picture. I also enjoyed the discussion questions in the back of the book and found myself as thrilled with those as the book. Everyone must read this book, it is a glimpse into the world that we all wish we could visit, if not live, with such wonderful friends.
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Summary: A giant slice of real-life...
Review: ...the author is right on in her depiction of this fictional world of Novalee Nation and her friends. I read this book in a day and a half. I had trouble putting it down because it grabbed me and didn't let go. I loved the quirkiness of the characters, and the story's twists and turns were real and unpredictable, just like real life. Keep up the great work Billie Letts!
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