Rating: 
Summary: a "Re-Reader"
Review: Little Alters Everywhere was a great way to get to know the characters of the Ya-Ya's more in depth. From Sidda locking herself in the bookmobile, to ViVi and Caro dancing it up at a local bar, this book from Rebecca Wells is one that you can read over and over again and always walk away with something new. A great book to curl up with on a rainy day.
Rating:
Summary: Innocence offered up on the altar of madness
Review: I wish that I had read this before its sequel, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." With the background on the life of Siddalee Walker and her siblings offered in this fecund tapestry of family dysfunction, I have a much better understanding of Sidda's "whining."This is a disturbing tale of a prominent family in small-town Louisiana and the hidden rot at its core. Viviane Abbott Walker is a self-centered, immature woman who would have done better to collect dolls than have living, breathing children to annihilate. The best answer the narcissistic Vivi can come up with to the everyday problems of life is to drown them in alcohol. Under its influence, she systematically physically abuses and emotionally batters her children, indelibly damaging them for life. Her weak husband's solution to the domestic battlefield is to flee to his hunting camp for days on end and drink himself into oblivion. This bittersweet novel was excruciatingly painful to read, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. There were divinely funny moments interspersed with heartbreaking passages that make one so angry you forget that this is fiction. I suspect that many of us can identify with key issues of this profoundly touching novel. I know I did. This is one of those rare jewels whose lessons to live by can change your life.
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying...a real story
Review: Sometimes it's difficult to read stories with depth and truth...but it is the reality of life. Families aren't perfect and we all have secrets. After reading "Divine Secrets" I wondered if I would enjoy the backward order of my reading. But I think that I might not have found the Ya Ya's so endearing had I read "Little Alters" first. This novel had depth, humor and profound sadness...but it was very real. It hurt me so much to read of the pain of Sidda and her siblings' childhood but it reminded me of mine. I appreciate that.
Rating: 
Summary: ya-ya no
Review: After reading "Divine Secrets", the four lovable, ahead-of-their-times, Southern divas had a strong hold on me. I fell in love with these characters. I wanted to know what went on in Sidda's childhood to cause her such grief. I wish I hadn't have. Reading "Little Altars" presents on of the most depressing views of a dysfunctional family that I have ever encountered in literature. If you've already read "Divine Secrets", and are in love with Necie, Vivi, Caro and Teensy, do not read this.
Rating:
Summary: Catholic to Lutheran
Review: This book is good in giving background for the next book by R.Wells. It was intriguing from page one to the end. Hard to put down. It was about the dark side of family dynamics. It confirms that no matter what your childhood is like, the child always loves the parent... ALWAYS. There is no love more natural, or undeniable because it is God-given.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This book was great, I think that it should be read before "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" since it is the first in the series. It was not disappointing at all! It was quite funny, but like the "Divine Secrets" it was sad in some parts. This is a book that is hard to put down!
Rating:
Summary: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Review: I love this book. The characters are so rich and human. This book deals with pain, but it is also one of the warmest stories I have ever read. I laughed out loud while reading this book. The depiction of women of the South is very true to life. I cannot wait to read Little Altars Everywhere
Rating: 
Summary: Rebecca Wells shows potential
Review: Little Alter Everywhere shows serious potential in her first novel. The story can't decide if it wants to be funny or sad, like life, and we can't decide if the characters are good or bad, like life! There are many inconsistancies in the novel that have to do with facts and dominant personality: Is Teensy a Ya Ya or what? This a good example of a book who takes over the author, a book that's not well thought out or well set up. This author, however, will get better with time, she shows great potential, if she just will stop on occasion, and remind herself of the "purpose" of her novel, even if the purpose is that it has no purpose, which I doubt is true, and tie it together.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed but disappointed
Review: I loved the first two chapters of this book. I thought it was going to be a funny novel. But there is nothing funny about the tragic turn the childrens' lives takes. Also, the second half of the book was pretty confusing. But Siddalee was a wonderful character and made this novel enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed the novel - especially the first half - and would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A potential for greatness
Review: I may be the only person on earth that has read this book and not yet read Divine Secrets. This is a good book by a potentially great author. Wells' ability to capture the point of view of chlidren, with subtle shifts in mentality as they mature, is brilliant. She reminds us of what it's like to be children, in wonderful and painful ways. In the end, this book is about family. It's about dealing with people you can't stand and loving them anyway. It's a theme older than dirt, but it's done well. This book may make some people uncomfortable, in that it starts out so bright and shiny, then suddenly slaps you around with dark family secrets. Of course, you really should expect it. Any book worth it's salt, in dealing with family problems, will inevitably delve into such issues. All in all, a funny-sad book, of the type we all know well, with strong emphasis on character perspectives.
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