At its October meeting, the St. Thomas Book Club will host a discussion of the novel "Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts.
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, in the Frenchtown Deli.
An Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection, "Where the Heart Is" tells the story of a teenage mother-to-be who is abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart in Oklahoma "and that's where she lives," club president Diane Moody says. "Her only dream is to have a house that doesn't have wheels under it. The town sort of helps her make it." Although the book, published last year, addresses serious issues, it's the warm-hearted story of a survivor, she adds.
An Internet reviewer says the girl, Novalee Nation, who sleeps in the store at night and survives on food from the shelves (while keeping a running price list, in order to pay for it someday), soon discovers "that home is where your history begins." Three people she meets end up playing major roles in her life as she enters the world of small-town America and emerges from feeling unloved and unwanted to become a loving mother, a self-sufficient woman and a person with a passion for photography.
Moody says book club meetings typically last about an hour and a half, and anyone interested in taking part in or listening to the discussion is welcome to attend — "and you do not have to have read the book first!" In fact, if you don't have a copy, there's a good chance some club members who have finished theirs will be willing to lend or exchange them after the meeting.
For further information, contact Moody by telephoning 777-6244 or e-mailing to mmoody@islands.vi.
P.S. — If you'd like to get a jump on the November book, it's "Breath, Memory and Eyes" by acclaimed Caribbean author Edwidge Danticat. This is a novel about a 12-year-old girl who has been raised in Haiti by her aunt and is sent to New York City to live with her mother, where she must cope with divided love and loyalties as well as culture shock. Next month's club meeting is set for Thursday, Nov. 18.
