“Where the heart is”, by Billie Letts, follows the life of seventeen-year-old Novalee Nation. Novalee is seven months pregnant and leaves behind her home in Tennessee to live with her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickens in their dream home in California.

However, on their way, Novalee asks to stop at a passing Walmart in order to use the restroom and to buy a new pair of shoes. As she is purchasing her shoes, she is left with $ 5.55 

which she believes to be a bad number.

On her way out she notices her boyfriend abandons her at a Walmart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Novalee now alone, ends up living in the Walmart until giving birth in the Walmart to her daughter Americus, thanks to the help of the local librarian Forney.

The book focuses on the struggle of Novalee having to raise Americus as she meets new friends along the way. She deals with her own mental problems while having to learn how to trust people again. 

 This book is a great read for someone into romance and drama. This book kept my fingers turning the page in anticipation. “Where the Heart is” would definitely be in the interest of someone who likes rags to riches type of books and movies.