Where the Heart Is

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.

Rating:
Summary: A good summer read
Review: Some of the previous reviews said that this book was"sugary" and "cheesy." Yes, I agree, it can becheesy, sugary, and all those other food-description words. But it has very good character development and I think it's a cute book. I'm fourteen and can relate to the main character, Novalee, who is seventeen (and by the end of the book twenty-five). When she is seven months pregnant she is abandoned by the father of her baby at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma. She finds her place in a small community where she raises her daughter, Americus. Forney, Sister Husband, Moses Whitecotton, Benny Goodluck, Lexie Coop, and many others quickly become Novalee's friend. All these characters have different and colorful personalities. It's a fairly long book, but a quick read, and I recommend it to anyone aged twelve and over just for a nice, fun read. It's fast-paced and a lot happens. Also it follows Willy Jack's story as he tries to make it as a musician, and it's almost like a separate book.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie...
Review: I saw the movie over a month ago and bought this book shortly afterward. The book is (obviously) much more detailed and filled in the gaps of the movie's timeline, but it was kind of hard to picture Ashley Judd as Lexie after finishing the book. All in all, I loved the story, and I would surely recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Where the Heart Is
Review: This was a book that I was unable to put down.I had to know what was happening next! Novalee, the main character, was dumped at a Wal-Mart in a small town in Oklahoma by her boyfriend.She was seventeen & seven months pregnant.The story goes on with her making a new life in a small town with "real" people.My eyes would fill up with tears when I read this book.Its heartwarming & like no other book I have ever read!I wish there was a sequal!

Rating:
Summary: Great book, Good Movie
Review: This is one of the best books I have read in a long time....though the movie disappointed me a little. There were so many changes that you almost wanted to scream out "Where the heck are the sevens! " If you read the book first you wonder what Natalie Portman's character, Novalee, is talking about when she says her unlucky number is 5! I kept telling the person i was sitting next to what happens in the book and but not in the movie! I am sure she was about to slap me...anyway i wrote this review because i am sure that almost anyone could get something good out of this novel!

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I wish I had read some of the customer reviews before I bought this book. The beginning was interesting and caught my attention. However, as the storyline progressed, it got too overly dramatic. The symbolism and "deep" meanings were more cheesy than interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book...
Review: I know it seems that this book is childish to some and very predictable but I am a 19-year-old female that absolutely loved the book. I don't think it was because I am so close to the age as she is but I found it very interesting. I am not much of a reader lately but this book definitely caught my eye. I read the book in about 3 days. I got so wrapped up into the book and was imagining every scene it was remarkable. I have never read a book before seeing the movie but I definitely did for this book. It is something I would recommend to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: could not put it down
Review: Okay, I bought the book because I've been wantin to see the movie and figured I'd compare. I loved it, from the first paragraph it pulled me in. I cryed, "ahhh"'d, smiled, and just felt so close to all the characters by the end of the book. Just a good, all around book, that almost anybody will like. And the movie wasn't to bad either.

Rating:
Summary: Liked the book better than the movie
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The movie left out a lot of detail that made the whole story more interesting. It's a good night-time read to get your mind off of the everyday doldrums.

Rating:
Summary: Where the Heart Is
Review: I read this book in less than two days. I learned that life isn't a fairy tale and bad things happento good people. In the end Novalee finds love and happiness with a man and her daughter. All the people she meets change her life in some way. Even through all the bad things that happen to her, Novalee goes from being abandonded in a Wal-Mart to living in her own home going to college and doing what she loves. Reading the book, you definetly learn where the heart is.