false 5168 28 <b>Oprah Book Club® Selection, December 1998</b>: 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..."<p> 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.<p> <I>Where the Heart Is</I> 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. <I>--Alix Wilber</I> 1649 1995 Where the Heart Is total:13427|5:3036|4:5125|3:4051|2:1001|1:214| 13427 50049 15609 976 1 2 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Feb 03 13:38:10 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 13:38:10 -0800 2008
I must of gotten out of the trash. I hope I didn't pay even 20 cents for it at the Social Services L...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Mon Jan 12 18:10:03 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 18:16:55 -0800 2009
Where the Hea...more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Sat Oct 06 10:47:33 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 06 10:50:58 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Jun 08 06:29:52 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 06:34:50 -0700 2008 1 3 false false Tue Aug 05 18:37:27 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 18:38:13 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Mon Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 04 06:03:25 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 04 06:15:16 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 07:52:58 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 08:02:44 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false true Tue Jan 29 14:34:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 13:51:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Thu Feb 14 15:30:57 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 15:42:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 03 05:16:04 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 03 05:17:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 true false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 13 05:59:58 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 06:09:23 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false true Tue Mar 03 16:57:29 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 17:19:05 -0800 2009 Plot summary

Novalee Nation, seventeen years old and seven months pregnant, has never been part of a real home. The closest thing to family for Novalee is her self-centered, would-be musician boyfriend, Willy Jack. They are traveling from Tennessee to California in a Plymouth. When Nov...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 09:03:13 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 07:31:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Apr 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 16:31:16 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 17:29:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 10:03:31 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 10:03:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Dec 26 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 10:16:34 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 12:08:38 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Aug 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 08:01:53 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 07:05:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 07:48:45 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 11:28:46 -0700 2009
I like the way Billie Letts basica...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 17:22:29 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 11:58:14 -0800 2009
Novalee Nation matures throughout the book becaus...more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 05:26:36 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 04:19:57 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5168