Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, thought provoking book.
Review: This was a terrific book. I experienced mixed emotions... wish I would have grown up in Louisanna (can't say "yall" in Wisconsin and get away with it!)with all those colorful, eccentric, loving people. At same time I'm glad my own childhood was filled with more stability and a lot less alcohol. Enjoyed the relationships, both mother/daughter and Ya Ya. Certainly has caused a desire to read more books of this type.

Rating:
Summary: Best book of the year!
Review: I can't get over this book! I just finished it, and am ready to read it again. Discovered this book on Amazon.com, and thankfully read the reviews suggesting reading Little Alters Everywhere first. I hated Vivi in the second half of Little Alters, but YaYa brought me around to loving her, warts and all. I've recommended these books to everyone I know!

Rating:
Summary: Great book...but not authentic
Review: I loved this book, and its characters, but being a native of Louisiana and a graduate of LSU, I couldn't help but be confused by Wells' inaccuracies. "Crayfish???" Only Yankees say crayfish, any native Louisianian knows it's a crawfish. She's also got her New Orleans sandwiches confused-- there may be oyster po-boys, but I don't think I've ever seen an oyster muffaletta. I don't expect Ms. Wells to have a perfect memory, but if you remember anything about Louisiana, it should be the food!!

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Altars
Review: If you stand back and check the scenes, one by one, they were preposterous. Except readers want to believe and therefore "work with" the author and forget the details that make it so unrealistic. I think the people who like this book must have coming of age issues in their forties that most people took care of in their twenties. The characters in the first book were much more developed. Wells's first book illuminated the consequences of the period's politics on a family in specifically too. It was funnier and sadder and darker and even more psychological.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Enjoyable
Review: When I finished Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood I immediately ordered Little Alters Everywhere. Rebecca Wells is a wonderful writer. This story was filled with tragedy, love, and tons of laughter. I was amazed by how Ms. Wells handeled even the tragic moments with wit and understanding. If you've read this you must read Little Alters Everywhere. Rebecca Wells please hurry and write another one!

Rating:
Summary: I was so-o-o-o- disappointed.
Review: I bought the book because it was highly recommended to me by people whose judgment I trust. I was so-o-o-o- disappointed I read halfway and decided to quit because it was simply boring. Filled with trite cliches, shallow characters, and not particularly funny situations I labored with this book until I decided to just not finish it. Of course I also thought the Horse Whisperer and Bridges of Madison County were trite and contrived also. But I love Barbara Kingsolver and Kaye Gibbons.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful adventure into sisterhood
Review: I laughed, I cried, I truly enjoyed this book. Read it before Little Altars Everywhere and really wanted to like the characters. I read for the sheer pleasure of escaping in a book and was sorry this story ended. A great story of friendship, forgiveness and understanding.

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Summary: I found so much of myself and my friends in this book.
Review: I found so much of myself in this excellent book about a group of friends raised in the South. Wells portrays so much of the humor and ironies found in traditional Southern living, that I found myself screaming out loud "That's me! That's me!" I shared this with my mother and grandmother, and we all highly recommend, especially if you were born and raised a "Southern belle".

Rating:
Summary: I'd cross the street to avoid a ya-ya.
Review: Evidently there are two kinds of people who read this book: wanna-be ya-yas and people like me, whose skin crawls at belonging to the same gender. There isn't one woman in this book who I relate to, would want to, would want to be related to, or would want my daughters to wanna be. Stereotypes with no saving graces, bad dialogue, pathetically neurotic... the writing is cliched, sappy... the only men developed are either unbelievable, inhumanly sensitive saints or idiots. I want my money back.

Rating:
Summary: Very Funny Read Aloud Roadtrip Book
Review: My younger sister and I laughed and cried and absolutely hooted while reading this aloud on a cross-country roadtrip. A great depictation of crazy Southerners. It brought back memories of other Ya Ya's we have known.