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Summary: Rebecca Wells' novel is an instant classic!
Review: Divine Secrets was a powerful book about the complexities between a mother and daughter. I loved this book. It was complex, insightful, funny, and poignant.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it
Review: Barely worth the time to read. I skimmed. The frame of the story is weak and clearly constructed just for the sake of stringing together anecdotes about some lively women--I was bored by it pretty much from the get-go. The dialogue is stereotypical--the author tries too hard to make the characters say funny Southern things. While the idea of such a nurturing sisterhood is great, this book doesn't really dramatize a story about real people--it ascribes to an ideal and tells the reader about it. The jumping around between narrators is not controlled (nor explained nor justified) and therefore is distracting--you never know where the story is coming from. This might have been great stuff for a collection of essays, but not a novel.
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Summary: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Review: Loved it! I laughed, cried and found the true meaning of what it takes to be a Ya-Ya. Heres a book that reminds you that we all have special Ya-Ya's in our life. Don't let another minute pass you by, pick this book up...and escape into the world of fiction.
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Summary: perpectives from a daughter of an alcoholic
Review: This book nailed me. I stuck with it because a beloved friend told me it was wonderful. I realize, however, that I loved it for different reasons than she did. The portrayal of the emotional scars of growing up in a family with mental illness was very accurate. For any one with a history of alcoholism in their family: This book can be tough, it can trigger some unattractive memories, but it also can help you start down the path of forgiveness.
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Summary: Underwhelming
Review: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood shows occasional glimmers of what could have been an interesting tale. Few novels approach the difficult topic of forgiveness, especially between parents and children. The relationship between the abusive mother and the scarred daughter is shown as a complicated one, without simple feelings or trivial resolutions. Unfortunately, the problems with the novel are simply too pervasive to allow the complications of the mother - daughter relationship to be fully explored. Instead, we are presented with the colorful tales of the ya-yas, and a heroine who is so utterly self-absorbed she becomes unsympathetic. Furthermore, the characters seem to be posing and posturing their way throughout the novel. The whole thing ultimately reads a bit like a made-for-TV movie complete with the far too perfect hero, and the scarred yet beautiful heroine. The metaphors are obvious, the sensory detail often cliched, and the characters often seem like hackneyed sterotypes. I finished the book because I was reading it for a book group, but had I not had a good reason to stick with it, I'm not sure it would really have held my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: keep it short
Review: WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL IT NECCESSARY TO SUMMARIZE THE BOOK IN THESE REVIEWS? KEEP SHORT AND SWEET. WHAT WAS YOUR OPINION OF THE BOOK. PERIOD. YOU'RE NOT PROFESSIONAL BOOK REVIEWERS. HOW PRETENTIOUS CAN YOU GET?
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Summary: One star for the cover...
Review: Actually, though I am Jewish and from Boston, I could relate to the first chapter of this book. I, too, came from a background where my mother had the same friends from kindergarten on up, and my mother was also not the friendliest of mommies, to put it mildly. However, I couldn't get past the cutsie-poo speech mannerisms of this book. I have some southern friends and I'm sure my Boston accent grates on their nerves; well, their dripping "belle" thing gets on mine. I think this must be a really fun book for certain women who live below the Mason-Dixon line. I, for one, will eschew it, y'all.
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Summary: Kudos to the Ya Yas
Review: Living far from my birthgrounds of the Mississippi River area I was charmed by Ms. Wells accurate betrayal of life in the south. The richness of female friendships, my mothers--my own, is beautifully woven into a tale of great sadness and great joy. Yes, you will cry and you will laugh deep belly fulls and when you come up for air you should help create some little ya yas be it your little girl--granddaughter--neighbors kids,etc. and may the magic of friendship live on and on. And Rebecca, thanks, for the memories.....
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I'm surprised to see so many negative reviews. I loved the story about the Ya-Yas. It is simply charming, and touching how the author is trying to reach her mother and does it through the ones who know her most- her friends. I couldn't put it down, and cried my eyes out at the end. No big miracle endings or heart-wrenching tragedies, if you're looking for that. Just a mother-daughter conflict set in the South.
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Summary: Ya-ya sisterhood
Review: I adored this book. I want all my girlfriends to read it, especially those that are grappling with the heartache caused by a distant parent. It is a book that reminds you that everyone has emotional scars from something. It reminds you of the precious bonds you have with the girls from your childhood. I sobbed through the last three chapters, simply because it touched me so much.
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