Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Based on other reviews, this book was supposed to be wonderful. I was sadly disappointed. This book is about a bad relationship between a mother and daughter. The ending is nice, but too drastic to be realistic, given the bad feelings that seem to harbour for so long in both parties. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Gumbo, Zydeco and Ya-Yas - a Rich Mix
Review: If you read "Little Altars Everywhere", you will be glad to know that "Divine Secrets" takes a look at the life of Siddalee Walker from the distance of heavily analyzed adulthood. "Divine Secrets" focuses once again on Siddalee, but this time she is a 40-year old successful stage director who is taking some time out from her career and her love life to put to rest some old ghosts.After having humiliated her mother in national print (a New York Times reporter calls Viviane Walker "a tap dancing child abuser"), Siddalee is gifted with her mother's scrapbook, which, in Vivane Walker's typically outrageous style, has been named "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". Viviane sends Siddalee this volume of personal mementos in an effort to have Siddalee understand her better without having to put any personal effort into the process. Inside this scrapbook, Siddalee discovers bits and pieces of her mother's past - pictures, newspapaer articles, mementos - but she is not granted the entire story surrounding each of these titilating fragments. The reader is able to learn, through Viviane's own memory, all of the interesting details that Siddalee doesn't get to know. This, I feel, is the greatest weekness in "Divine Secrets". The reader gets to see Viviane as a child and an adolescent, living in a home where she is abused by her father and openly detested by her mother. We learn about the death in WWII of Viviane's first and only love and the stresses put on her by having four stair-step children and an absentee husband. Siddalee, however, is not privy to any of this information. She reads tantalizing tidbits in newspaper articles, gleans what meaning she can from photographs, party invitations, and mysterious keys, but never knows any of the details the reader does. Because of this, it is difficult for me to believe that in the end of the novel Siddalee can forgive Viviane her many transgressions. It doesn't seem to me that she has enough information to be that magnanimous. Other than this one flaw, "Divine Secrets" is a beautiful book. The women in this novel are fully realized characters - I recognized each one of these women, and even grew up with some of them (but not all of them together, thank goodness!). The descriptions of Louisiana are rich and detailed, and as much as I hate a crustaceon, I was dreaming of crawfish for days after turning the last page. "Divine Secrets" is about forgiveness and the power of love. Rebecca Wells is brave to offer up a novel filled with women who are real enough to not always be likable (in fact, Viviane is almost never likable), and she is a talented enough word smith to keep these women sympathetic. "Divine Secrets" is a soothing, redeeming follow up to "Little Altars", and I recommend it. Throw some Zydeco on the stereo and curl up with a cup of java - this one will keep you up all night!
Rating: 
Summary: A Riveting Read
Review: Colourful characters who are easily able to be identified with, no matter where one is in the world. Rebecca Wells is able to make the reader laugh and cry. I was sad to finish the book - I just wanted to keep on reading!
Rating:
Summary: gets under your skin in a weird way
Review: when i finished reading this book, i actually thought it had been kind of tedious, except for the ending. this is one of those books where almost all of the female characters are prima donnas and sometimes the drama of it all can be too much. this is not really a surprise, because the author, rebecca wells, is an actress herself and seems drawn to pageantry and emotion. the ending is beautiful. at the time i read the book, i think i was a little taken aback by the strong personalities of the characters and the sometimes harrowing events of their lives. however, beneath all the drama there are relevant life lessons about forgiveness, anger and the roles of religion in American and particularly southern culture, and the characters are peculiarly absorbing despite their flaws. i think i will read "little altars everywhere," the prequel, even though i had decided not to b/c i had been turned off by the disturbing aspects of the ya-ya story. there is enough human interest here to make up for the sometimes repugnant behavior of the characters, who are also quirky, dynamic and engaging.
Rating:
Summary: awesome I want to read more!
Review: I think this book has all kinds of mystic and interesting turns and is delightful at the same time. I'm almost jealous that I didn't grow up in Louisiana and that I don't have lifelong friends living close to me. I read this book first and I'm wondering if I'm reading them in the wrong order. Are they good like that?
Rating:
Summary: Divine Secrets is simply divine!
Review: What a great book! I am a young reader, and reading is not one of my hobbies. A friend bought and highly recommended this book and I thought I'd give it a try. Wow! I couldn't put it down. Wells' ability to give the characters life and thought and emotion astounded me. I actually found myself laughing out loud, literately. I also felt like crying at certain points- something I don't do often. I highly recommend this book, it's guaranteed to be one you won't forget.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: I do not understand why some people hate this book! This is a great tale of how important friendship is and how life was in the Old South. People have said that the characters were too whiney and such, that may be true, but the story explains perfectly why they may be that way. I could not put this book down and I think people will find great enjoyment in it.
Rating:
Summary: Totally 'Divine'
Review: This book and the companion to it, "Little Altars Everywhere" are beautifully crafted, real and funny. I'm amazed that some reviewers found the characters "shrill alcoholics". Wells' brutally honest characterisation of the Ya Ya's: all their flaws, their pain, their unfulfilled dreams, made me like and admire these women - not dislike them for being flawed; for being human. I found the Ya Ya's inspirational in their love and acceptance of each other; their enduring friendship and spirit. Sure, these women were dysfunctional even before we had a name for it but they got on with life, they raised more than a dozen children between them (who wouldn't need a drink!), and even had some laughs along the way. At the core of this story is the familiar theme of mothers and daughters: a relationships that is so complex and at times, drainingly difficult. Accepting that mothers are not perfect; or have had perfect lives, marriages; and realised all their dreams is part of seeing your mother for who she really is and this is where Wells gets us to. If you're a fan of Gone With The Wind you are in for an extra special treat - the reportage from a 10 year old Vivi to her friend from opening night of Gone With The Wind in Atlanta is simply laugh out loud gorgeous. In fact you'll probably want to read it out loud to someone so you can really enjoy it! Finally I would suggest that if you find you love this book buy it for a special friend - if they also love it I suspect you have yourself a Ya Ya sister who simply put, "gets it".
Rating: 
Summary: Left a Nasty Taste In My Mouth
Review: Far as I can tell this book is about a bunch of shrill, overly dramatic, self pitying alcoholics. This made for a weak book. I hated Sidda, she was irritating in her every word and action. And the mother was overdone and seemed less real for it.
Rating:
Summary: The Worst Book I Read This Year
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book. What a disappointment! I had to force myself to finish. Aside from the "whine" factor going through the roof, the sugar coating was just too much. "Fluffy pink and blue thoughts." The ridiculous 84,000 blessings. I defy you to turn to any random page and NOT come up with something gooey and cliched. This is the stuff of seriously bad Young Adult books. Ms. Wells might be a lucky writer, but she certainly isn't a gifted one.
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