Summary

Part 1, Chapter 1 – Novalee Nation is seventeen years old, seven months pregnant, and superstitious about the number seven, all stemming back to her mother running off with a baseball umpire when Novaleee was seven. After dropping out of high school and getting a waitressing job at Red’s, a crazy woman named Gladys began screaming about seeing Jesus, and when Novalee tried to calm her down, slashed Novalee’s arm from wrist to elbow, which required seventy-seven stitches to fix. Novalee therefore does not trust sevens.

Novalee is in eastern Oklahoma, heading toward Muldrow with Willy Jack Pickens, one year older and four inches shorter than Novalee. Their home is Tellicoe Plains, Tennessee, and their goal is Bakersfield, California, but Willy is unhappy that Novalee has to go to the bathroom so frequently. Willy is also mad because Novalee has purchased...