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| Edition: | Warner Books> C/o Little Br (Paperback) |
| Author: | Billie Letts |
| Published: | December 1998 |
| Pages: | 0 |
| ISBN 10: | 0446789291 |
| New: | $4.86 (3) |
| Used: | $2.47 (16) |
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Where the Heart Is is a 1995 novel by Billie Letts. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in December of 1998.
Plot introduction
Where the Heart Is follows the lives of Novalee Nation, Willy Jack Pickens, and their daughter Americus Nation for a period of seven years in the 1980s and early 1990s. Above all, the book is detailing of the tribulations of lower income and foster children in the United States.
Plot summary
This novel opens with Novalee and Willy Jack, her then boyfriend, traveling from Tennessee to California. At the time, Novalee is "seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight, and superstitious about sevens." Letts describes Novalee's relationships with the number seven: "For most people, sevens are lucky, but not for Novalee; at the age of seven her mother ran off with a baseball umpire named Fred."
Novalee convinces Willy Jack to stop at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, so she can use the restroom and purchase a pair of sandals, as hers fell through the floor of their beat up car. When Novalee comes out of the Wal-Mart, she realizes Willy Jack has left her with nothing more than her beach bag and the $7.77 she has in change from the purchase of new sandals.
With nowhere else to go, Novalee spends the afternoon at the Wal-Mart and meets three people who will play important roles in her life:
- Sister Husband – a kind and spunky woman who runs the town's "Welcome Wagon." Sister Husband has a deep faith and hands out chapters of the Bible to people she meets. When they first meet, Sister Husband "mistakes" Novalee for a girl named Ruth Ann Mott, and gives Novalee a Welcome Wagon basket. Sister Husband also tells Novalee she's welcome to visit her house any time.
- Moses Whitecotton – a photographer who shoots portraits at the Wal-Mart. Moses tells Novalee to give her baby a name "that will mean something" and "withstand a lot of bad times", as well as a photo album.
- Benny Goodluck – a Native American whom Novalee meets in the parking lot. They chat for a bit, and Benny Goodluck gives Novalee a Buckeye tree and tells her they're good luck. He has the tree because his family owns a nursery.
