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Loading... Where the Heart Isby Billie Letts
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I watched the movie before reading the book and its one of those times where the "book is better than the movie". I know I get tired of hearing that cliche, but fortunately it's true. Novalee Nation's story is one of courage and strength. I cheered her on throughout the novel hoping that hers would be a happy ending. Yes, I wanted everyone to live "happily ever after," it must be the huge sap inside of me. I enjoyed this book so much that it lead me to read others by Billie Letts such as The Honk and Holler Opening Soon and Shoot the Moon, but I didn't enjoy them near as much as Where the Heart Is. (  ) bethielouwho | Nov 12, 2009 |  Every once in a while a book comes along that tells the reader to relax, don’t try to over analyze or find the hidden meaning in every passage. When these books come along the reader is able to enjoy the story. Billie Lett’s novel Where the Heart Is is this type of novel. Filled with outlandish characters, quirky personalities, and enough events to keep even the adventure enthusiast pleased, this novel satisfies most literary needs. Told from the perspective of a seventeen year old pregnant girl, Novalee, over the course of the next five years, her story unfolds in beautiful imagery, startling violence, and breathtaking hope. Every reader will be able to see themselves in one of the characters, and be able to relate to this amazing mosaic of human emotion. This title is currently available in our library. Happy Reading! (  ) SturgisPublicLibrary | Nov 6, 2009 | Reviewed by Taya (Class of 2012) For over a month , Novalee Nation spent the night at Wal-Mart. Where The Heart Is made me hate to put it down. The book was made into a movie Starring Natalie Portman, but the book is a lot more detailed then the movie so it's a lot better. Novalee grew up hating the number seven so it was weird that she got pregnant at seventeen. Her boyfriend dumps her a Wal-Mart and drive away because he don't want to deal with her being pregnant. It's a realistic book because some people have had this happen to them. The end of the book was a little confusing because the author put little parts from poems in it. However, I like the book because it shows the you can change your life around no matter what you've been through. ( ) HHS-Students | Oct 22, 2009 | Read this one before the movie version. Motivated me to find others by Billie Letts ( )1  jaseD | Oct 13, 2009 | Was there really a "Novalee Nation" who gave birth to a baby in a Wal-Mart? At first, I seemed to recall a headline about this. Now I am not so sure. Of course, this being America, it could be quite possible. In this story the adolescent mother Novalee, who names her baby America, is abandoned by her boyfriend and makes a life for herself in an unknown town. It may seem hokey to rely on the kindness of strangers but her unpretentious attitude and the unpretentious ways of this anytown in Oklahoma make it possible. This story is meant to be an optimistic portrayal of the redemptive power of friendship. But it is so much more. The book celebrates the power of community to effect real change. It is also through community that Novalee grows in her belief in herself to effect real change. ( ) MWise | May 22, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0446519723, Hardcover)Oprah Book Club® Selection, December 1998: A funny thing happens to Novalee Nation on her way to Bakersfield, California. Her ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Willie Jack Pickens, abandons her in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart and takes off on his own, leaving her with just 10 dollars and the clothes on her back. Not that hard luck is anything new to Novalee, who is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight--and superstitious about sevens.... For most people, sevens were lucky. But not for her," Billie Letts writes. "She'd had a bad history with them, starting with her seventh birthday, the day Momma Nell ran away with a baseball umpire named Fred..."Still, finding herself alone and penniless in Sequoyah, Oklahoma is enough to make even someone as inured to ill fortune as Novalee want to give up and die. Fortunately, the Wal-Mart parking lot is the Sequoyah equivalent of a town square, and within hours Novalee has met three people who will change her life: Sister Thelma Husband, a kindly eccentric; Benny Goodluck, a young Native American boy; and Moses Whitecotton, an elderly African American photographer. For the next two months, Novalee surreptitiously makes her home in the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night, exploring the town by day. When she goes into labor and delivers her baby there, however, Novalee learns that sometimes it's not so bad to depend on the kindness of strangers--especially if one of them happens to be Sam Walton, the superchain's founder. Where the Heart Is oddly mixes heart-warming vignettes and surprising, brutal violence. Novalee's story is juxtaposed with occasional chapters chronicling Willy Jack's downward spiral into prison, disappointment, and degradation. And even in Sequoyah, sudden storms, domestic violence, kidnapping, and deadly fires punctuate Novalee's progress from homeless, unwed teen mom to successful, happy member of the community. This is not a subtle book; there's never any doubt that our heroine will make a home for herself and her baby or that Willy Jack will get what he deserves for abandoning them. Still, Billie Letts has created several memorable characters, and there's always room for another novel that celebrates the life-affirming qualities of reading, the importance of education, and the power of love to change lives. --Alix Wilber (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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