Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant and moving
Review: Reminiscent of Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or THE DEVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA, this stellar read is bound to please. It's so well written and the characters are wonderful. I highly recommend this great story to anyone with a pulse.Also recommended: THE BIRTH OF VENUS
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Look into the Walker Family
Review: I read "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" before I read "Little Altars Everywhere". I know that it should have been the other way around, but I was unaware of this book before I read "Divine Secrets..." While I thoroughly enjoyed "Divine Secrets...", I was not a huge fan of "Little Altars Everywhere". This book basically gives you background information about the Walker family from the perspective of each family member. Even the hired help put their two cents in, especially when describing the heart-wrenching beating of the Walker children. While in "Divine Secrets...", Vivi Walker is portrayed as a free spirit. "Little Altars..." portrays her as a selfish, ruthless, alcoholic, bad mother. These characteristics do flow into the next book, but for some reason Vivi didn't seem so bad. In this book, however, you almost hate her. I can understand why Sidda had so much resentment for her mother. I'd probably be the same way. Each family member has approximately two chapters each in this book. Some of the chapters are very interesting, while some of them get boring after a while. I found myself skimming through a couple of them. That's why I couldn't give this book as high a rating. Overall the book was pretty good. I wouldn't necessarily say to read one book before the other because, in my opinion, "Little Altars..." doesn't explain that much more than you would find in "Divine Secrets..." I can tell you one thing, you will probably have varying views of Vivi after reading this book. Go and try it out for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Reading Little Altars Everywhere prior to Ya-Ya Sisterhood is key to better understanding Ya-Ya. Together the two books tell a complete story. You've got good times, bad times, and the times that are really tough and heart-wrenching. Rebecca Wells has done a superb job with the story. Definitely put this on your list to read.
Rating: 
Summary: It's the darker stuff that came before Ya-Ya
Review: Sadder and much, much darker than Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere is really about what went on before the Ya-Ya years. However, I'd advise anyone who hasn't read either book to read Ya-Ya first; otherwise, you might not be able to feel compassion for some of the characters, and the laughs would have a hollow sound to them. Lots of background information and character studies of a huge list of folks - but it's pretty tough to read in spots.
Bottom line: Read Ya-Ya first and enjoy it fully. Then, if you're up for it, read Little Altars - but pour yourself a stiff drink first, and keep topping it up.
Rating:
Summary: It was pretty good.
Review: I read Little altars everywhere because I really enjoyed the movie. This book was good, but I think the author might have described things too much at times, and it just dragged on. It was also a little confusing at one or two parts. It didn't leave me feeling changed at the end though. I though i was rather... unfinished! I'm reading Dive Secrets now, and hope it will be more fufilling!
Rating:
Summary: so-so
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. It was nice, albeit disturbing to visit Sidalee's household as she grew up. I didn't however, feel moved, or changed, or like a different person after having read it. I will read Divine Secrets, and hope for the "moving" experience that was promised by Little Altars.
Rating:
Summary: Little Altars... Before or after Ya-Yas?
Review: I just finished Wells' Little Altars Everywhere, and with having already read The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I wasn't sure if this novel was meant to be read before or after each other? Little Altars is a good book by itself, but since the two are tied together, Wells must have given some consideration as to the reaction her readers would have after finishing both books. Simply put -- they don't match each other. Yes, the characters are the same, and yes, you do have stories that criss-cross each other -- but if you read The Divine Secrets BEFORE you read Little Altars, you might be a bit put off like I was. There's a lot more delving into the physical, emotional, and alcohol/drug abuse that all the characters go through. And we go from when the kids were little to when they're adults (which means the Sidalee's parents are older too at the end of the book), and I just felt like I was not reading about the same characters. I was actually quite sad to realize that Wells wanted the characters to go through more emotional/physical (and yes, sexual) abuse than we were led to believe. With The Divine Secrets, you know there's more underneath it all, but you only get glimmers. And I guess I have to wonder, is this enough? Do we really need to know more? With that said, I've decided to just read Little Altars as its own novel, without being attached to The Divine Secrets. It just makes me too sad to think of the same characters in these different facets. And I truly hope no one decides to make a movie out of Little Altars. Unless the plot is fluffed up a bit, I think the movie would just be too depressing. Little Altars was written in snippets from everyone's point of view, which is an interesting concept (albeit, not a new one) and keeps the story as a whole together. You finally get some answers and you also get to know the brothers and sisters more. Two thumbs up - but be forewarned if you've already read The Divine Secrets - you might be a bit put off like I was.
Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: I read this book in two sittings. It was easy to read, and enjoyable. I like getting inside the heads of characters so different from myself. I would recommend it to my mom and my girlfriends. Probably not much of a guy's book. A great book for a long airplane ride!
Rating:
Summary: Then and Now
Review: Little Altars Everywhere should be read before Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,and it is also written by Rebecca Wells. I was impressed by the connection between the two books: In Ya-Ya Sisterhood it is hard to understand why Sidda is so angry at Vivian Abott Walker, her mother. Yet here in Little Altars Everywhere we see the world through the eyes of each member of the Walker family - Not to mention though those of the hired help. We experience the lives of Vivi's children: Sidalee ("Sidda"), Little Shep, Baylor, and Lulu and how they all struggle to maintain their dignity. Their lives are very much shaped by Vivian's anger and horrible treatment, and it more than explains Sidda's comments regarding her mother. I enjoyed reading the book and it certainly made me understand the other book. But, Little Altars Everywhere also contradicts Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood in that Vivi is a horrible person that the reader may find hard to forgive. In Ya-Ya, Vivi was at least human. But, there comes a time when excuses don't cut it and we have to take lives into out own hands. Vivi was a complex, multi-faceted character that was not believeable by the time I was done with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good subject matter but writing distracted ...
Review: This is a potentially a better novel than Divine Secrets - more honest and hardhitting but I'm afraid it was spoiled for me by the way it was written - split down between several narrators. It is too bitty and distracting and some of the narrators - especially Big Shep are so boring that I skipped past their part. When I'm reading a novel about a dysfunctional family I want to read about THEM and what makes them tick, not a load of rubbish about catfish or something like that. Essentially the story is about the relationship with Sidda and Vivi and I think that Wells should have concentrated on that instead of giving a voice to so many other characters. Also having read the prequel I understand even less the fuss about the YaYas in Divine Secrets - about their unique style/friendship etc. In this book they come across as a bunch of rather vulgar women who spend their entire time getting drunk. Vivi is particular is a horrible mother and a horrible person who deserves to be punished for her actions rather than getting off scot-free.
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