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Nov 24, 2011

Needleroozer rated it:

This book was pretty much a worthless piece of fluff. Anything this book does, any Barbara Kingsolver book will do about 2000 times better. This book is right on the border of dreadful.

I must have gotten this book out of the trash. I hope I didn't pay even 20 cents for it at the Social Services League. Maybe I got it on $5 bag day at the Friends of the Library book sale. All I can say is that any amount I paid for this book was TOO MUCH!

I read it when I was on a trip More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2009

Lindsey rated it:

Ya'll, this is the sweetest book in the history of books! I read this one in high school, right before the movie with Natalie Portman came out. That turned out to be a bad idea, because the whole time I was in the theater I was analyzing how the book and the movie differed.

Where the Heart Is tells the story of Novalee Nation, a pregnant teenager who's abandoned by her skank boyfriend in an unfamiliar Walmart. Novalee seems to charm everyone she meets, but she is naive at times and l More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2007

Hayley rated it:

I read this book in high school and it sparked an interest in reading that was pretty much non-existent until then. Thanks Miss Illingworth! I also saw this movie, and although it was cute, I am much more connected to Letts's fabulous characters as they were described on paper. She has a true gift of making you connect with the people in her stories. Their "real-ness" is something to be applauded.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 08, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

The upbeat side of tragedy comes through at every turn and the reader is pleasantly left with the optimism that good will prevail. A joy to read and emotionally satisfing along the way.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2008

Emily rated it:

What a colassal waste of time...i'm giving this book the finger as we speak.

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2010

Kring rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 04, 2008

♥♥ hattie♥♥ rated it:

this book is about a girl who is 17 years old and her name is Novalee Nation. Novalee and her boyfriend Willy-Jack Pickett are moving to Las Vegas so Willy-Jack can get a job uop there with his uncle in the manufacturing business. Novalee is 7 months pregnant and as we all know when women are prganant they have to pee...a lot. Novalee asks Willy-Jack to stop at Walmart so she may use the restroom and get some house shoes because the car that Willy-Jack bought for $50 has a hole in the floorboard More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 27, 2008

Beth rated it:

This is an Oprah recommended book which is why I began it. I didn't finish it --- a rare thing for me, but really, I couldn't spend any more time with the naive, starry-eyed, po' white trash heroine. She's 17, pregnant, and has been abandoned at a Walmart by her do-wrong boyfriend. When she gets her hands on some money the first thing she does is turn it over to her mother who abandoned her when she was nine (or something). Loser Mom read about her daughter in the paper because daughter had More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2008

Marnie rated it:

This book was horrible, if I could give it half a star I would. It's really unrealistic, if someone was living in a Wal Mart in real life, they'd be arrested, not given a job. And I thought Forney was a complete loser & Novalee was dumb to be so attracted to him, & I think the author had way too much fun thinking of ways that God could punish Willy Jack, the loser father of the baby, because all these horrible things happen to him. It makes teenage motherhood look glamorous & sends the message t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2009

Anel rated it:

Have you ever witness a girl getting pregnant in their teens? If you have Where the heart is, is a book that relates to a situation like that. The book is a book about a pregnant seventeen year old girl named, Novalee Nations. She is left in a place she didn’t even know by her boyfriend, Willy Jack. They are on their way to California but stopped to a Wal-Mart so she could get some sandals because she had a swollen foot. Her boyfriend who is really mean to her leaves Novalee there without any di More...

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Mar 13, 2009

Sabrina rated it:

This book is so great to read if you like action. I would recommend this book to men and women and also young adults. This book is about a girl who is 17, 7 months pregnant and has hardly any money. One day her and her boyfriend are going somewhere. She realizes that she has lost her shoes and she has had to pee for a long time. He takes her to Walmart and he leaves her. She has to stay at Walmart for a while because she has no where else to go. she meets this man named Forney and he works at th More...

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Mar 03, 2009

Leah rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 01, 2009

Christina rated it:

This shameless promotion for Wal-Mart, I mean, novel is filled with clumsy writing, a jumpy plot, and a God awful names. The name Novalee isn’t so grating, but she names her daughter Americus. Americus Nation. Novalee is your stereotypical heroine - innocent, unsuspecting, perfect. The only two characters I did like were Sister Husband because she’s the comedic relief in Where the Heart Is and Moses Whitecotten, an older gentleman who teaches Novalee about photography and life in general.
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 08, 2012

Stacey rated it:

I admit my review is a little skewed as I had seen the movie several times before ever reading this book. I think that made the book a little less exciting, hence the 3 stars. I did however enjoy reading it and noting all the differences between the book and the movie. I think that I like the book better, as usual. I still found it satisfactory enough that I read it quite quickly, by my standards. It only took me about a week to complete. I was disappointed that the book seemed like it wou More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Sara rated it:

Tracy Letts (son of the author) wrote August: Osage County, and I recommend experiencing both as they complement each other.

One could argue that this novel is not high literature; there are places where it could be tightened; nonetheless, the lightness and simplicity of its tone and some plot elements are deceptive. There is meaning here that extends beyond superficial kitsch. I have a soft spot in my heart for this book, because I am endeared by the story and its characters, because More...

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Dec 06, 2011

Angela rated it:

When I started reading this book, I thought that it would be very interesting. The first chapter alone was about Willy Jack abandoning his pregnant seventeen-year-old girlfriend at a random Wal-Mart in Oklahoma. I was interested to find out what would happen to Novalee and her baby right from the beginning of the book.
My favorite character is Lexie Coop because I found that she had some of the more comical stories out of all of the characters. I love how close she is to all five of her chi More...

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Dec 03, 2011

Hannah-Linn rated it:

I read this book in...hhhhhmmmm....sixth grade, maybe seventh. I don't know why I'm just writing a review for it now.

It is, my favorite book of all time. Plain and simple.
This may sound bad, but it started with the movie. It's my mom's favorite movie, and the first time I saw it I was maybe eight years old.
It's my favorite movie, along with Gone With The Wind and Pretty in Pink.

I know I read the book after I saw the movie, but nonetheless it's my favorite bo More...

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Nov 22, 2011

Hollandemily rated it:

I am giving this story four stars with reservations. I would have only given it three stars because of the violence against Brummett. I loath shock value that authors add to their stories especially against children. The description of what happens to Lexie is horrifying enough to garner my attention, to shock me. An "attempt" against a child is enough of a horror for me to read about. With all the real violence in the world, the last thing I want to read about is violence against chil More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Mckenna is currently reading it

Book: Where The Heart Is, by: Billie Letts
Time: 2hrs & 30min
When: Nov 10-17
Page: 1-52

This book is about a seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant girl. Her name is Novalee. Her boyfirend, Willy Jack leaves her in a Wal-Mart while she is going to the bathroom. He leaves her with only $7.77 in her pocket. She uses some of it to buy popcorn, root-bear, and three paydays. While she was sitting on a bench in front of Wal-Mart, wondering what to do, a blue haired lady More...

1 comment like

Mar 17, 2011

Siobhan rated it:

I was introduced to this book since i watched the film first, and thought it was beautiful. This book didn't dissapoint me, it had beauty and love. Some may say its unbelivable or incourages teenage pregancy, since all ends well. But i don't believe thats true this book is about the good and bad in life, how sometimes a bad situation that looks like it will never get better, can be the begginning. A start to someones history, a start to someones life, a chance to become someone new. I related to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 02, 2011

Denise rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 10, 2011

Isabel rated it:

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts 358 pgs.
Novalee Nation is afraid of sevens. Novalee Nation is also seventeen, seven months pregnant, and thirty-seven pounds overweight. She is on her way from Tennessee to California with her boyfriend Willie Jack in a fifty dollar junkyard car, when she finds herself abandoned in a small town Wal-Mart with Willie Jack and everything besides the two tote bags she has with her and $7.77 change on their way to Bakersfield to hit it big. She is stranded, in More...

1 comment like

Jan 25, 2011

Xiaojuanwu rated it:

A big lie can alter a person's life dramatically. A seventeen girl and pregnant, Navolee Nation , who is driven to California from Tennessee with her annoying boyfriend. When they get to Okalahoma, Navolee asks him to stop at Walt-Mark so that she can go use. By the time Nevolee comes out from Walt-Mark, she discovers her boyfriend her alone. Now she has a baby inside of her, she must finds a way to survive. Eventually, she learns how to live undetected at Walt-Mark. Moreover, thing starts to ch More...

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Dec 25, 2010

Maddi rated it:

This book was about a seventeen year-old pregnant girl named Novalee who was driving to California with her boyfriend. He was fed up with her and when she asked to stop to go to the bathroom, he drove away and left her stranded on the road. Panicking, Novalee found a Wal-Mart near by and in time gave birth to her baby girl right there in the store. She and her baby became instantly famous and soon enough the two of them became settled and Novalee was able to get a job at the Wal-Mart. The rest More...

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Nov 19, 2010

Joni rated it:

I fell in love with the movie so of course, I had to read the book as well. I found it at a yard sale for 25 cents a few years ago and couldn't pass it up. For those of you who saw the movie first, this book may frustrate you a bit. They changed some pretty needless things. But otherwise, I loved this book. Novalee Nation is 17 and she is pregnant. She is traveling with her boyfriend when they stop at Walmart. Novalee goes in and when she leaves the store she finds that her boyfriend has left he More...

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Nov 17, 2010

Yessica rated it:

"Where the Heart Is", is a book from the perspective of Novalee Nation, a teenage girl that made a bad decision. Novalee meets Willy Jack Pickens, a boy illusion with becoming famous....but everything turned out wrong when Novalee turns out to be pregnant. Then the young couple travels from Tennessee to California with Novalee being "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight, and superstitious about the number seven". Novalee convinces Willy to pull ove More...

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Nov 02, 2010

Breanna rated it:

I thought this book was pretty darn good. Billie Letts is an excellent author that is able to portray 5 characters at a time, yet still make the reader feel like they know them all individually. But the second chapter of the book, I already felt a connection with the main character, Novalee Nation. I felt awful for her when Willy Jack left her at Walmart, and I was reading furiously to see if he'd come back or not (I won't say if he does or doesn't... give away the book)

I learned to More...

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Mar 08, 2010

Laura rated it:

I can now say I have read an Oprah’s Book Club book. I read this not because it was an OBC recommendation, but because I have seen the movie that was based on this book and I wanted to read what the movie screen writers chose to change or leave out of this story when they made the movie. One advantage I see in reading the book after you have seen the movie is that you have readily available in your mind, pictures of the primary characters in the story so that your able to visualize both the ch More...

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Apr 25, 2009

Kathy rated it:

Since I have such a limited choice of titles, I was happy to find a book that said it was one of Oprah's. It didn't phase me in the least that her bookclub has been trashed by other reviewers in Goodreads, but I did have some pause when I found few cover reviews by well-respected/"erudite" critics and when the blurbs were heavy on the "feel-good" aspects of the book. I thought, "Watch out. This is really gonna be a sappy one."

Well, maybe it was... but More...

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Feb 27, 2009

Talia rated it:

Most people have seen this movie the hundreds of times it airs on ABCFamily, but here’s a synopsis. Novalee Nation is a pregnant teenager traveling with her emotionally abusive boyfriend across the country on their way to California. Novalee goes into a Wal-Mart to use their bathroom and is abandoned there with no money and no place to live. Scared, Novalee lives in the Wal-Mart undetected until her baby is born, then successfully finds a home in the community, helped by the kindness of stranger More...

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