Rating: 
Summary: The use of character in Little Altars Everywhere
Review: Little Altars Everywhere is a brilliant telling of the Walker family and all of their trial and tribulations. She brings to life all the pain and happiness experienced by the family in their day-to-day life. Wells' use of character is beyond outstanding. She makes one embrace each character to the extent of not wanting to put the novel down. When reading this novel one becomes a part of their family and can relate to many of their situations. Also, one experiences a certain amount of shock due to some of the outrageous behavior of the characters.
The character Siddalee goes through a lot of pain when she deals with her mother, Viviane. Sidda is a vivacious little girl who never stops talking and is always on some adventure. Her character is a loveable, high-spirited young lady who deep down really loved her mother. Her mother is an abusive alcoholic who is so obnoxious that the story was actually strengthened by her malice. She was so strung out that she even beat her little naked children with a belt. It is hard to believe that this self-centered woman gave life to such a positive and vibrant person.
Wells' gets the reader so wrapped up in the lives of the Walker family, one actually feels a part of it. Sidda is one of the easier characters to connect with because of her natural joy for life. Wiletta is also easy to associate with because of her mother like qualities and virtuous nature. This sometimes funny and sometimes sad novel will leave anyone wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: Rebecca Wells Should Love Judith Ivey
Review: I listen to audio books while I am slogging away on the elliptical trainer so in the course of a year I "hear" a lot of them. And I can tell you that bad narration ruins the greatest books. (NEVER--listen to me audio book publishers--NEVER let an author read her own work! Unless, one small caveat, the author is Maya Angelou, who reads prose like it is poetry.) In narrating "Little Altars Everywhere, Judith Ivey is simple perfection. Probably the book is good on its own and I would have liked it just as much had I read it in the traditional manner. But Ivey is so great that I find I cannot set her narration aside to review just the book itself. Ivey eases inside the characters from whose various points of view the chapters are written, and she takes you right along with her. Her southern accents are a delight, and she never misses a beat. Rebecca Wells should love this woman.
Rating:
Summary: Laughed out loud
Review: I've read a lot of books in my day, but this author is the only one who can make me laugh out loud. You will enjoy this one, as well as the sequel!
Rating:
Summary: Better than 'Ya-Ya'
Review: This is a more realistic story than Divine Secrets. I read Divine Secrets a few years ago and enjoyed it. However, the story is a bit contrived. I think we're all pretty familiar with the eccentric southern woman character. It's been done to death. And the Ya-Ya's were just a bit too over the top for my tastes. It unfortunately glossed over their abuse of alcohol. However, Little Altars is a more realistic story. It shows how the Ya-Yas have a lot of fun but destroy the people who care for them. It's a much more depressing story than Divine Secrets. The sexual abuse was pretty shocking but believable given Vivi's family history. I disagree with the other reviewers that Vivi is "evil" in this book. She's not as likable here. In fact, she's not likable at all. But she doesn't seem "evil" to me but instead very damaged, doing to her children what was done to her. In summary, alcoholism and physical and emotional child abuse were hinted at in Divine Secrets but glossed over by the eccentricities and funny antics of the Ya-Yas. Here we see that their alcoholism isn't funny and almost destroys their children so I think it's the better novel.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: This book and it's counterpart are two of the best books I ahve ever read. When i first got the book I set aside because it didn't look like something i would read. But one rainy day I ahd nothing left to read and I picked it up and couldn't put it back down again. Even the movie base on the sequel to this book was good. Read these books and you won't regret it.
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Summary: Vivi and Siddalee! What a Treat!
Review: I read this book as part of a book club organized by my church. I had never heard of this book before hand. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely. I envy the relationships the Ya-Ya's have with each other, and the memories they share. But even so, this book isn't ALL happy-go-lucky goodtimes. Just as there are bright sides there are also dark sides in the Ya-ya's history. Merge yourself into the lives of the Ya-Ya's! You will not regret it. Recommended to everyone, even though I imagine this novel will probably not appeal to men as much as it would to women.
Rating:
Summary: a great read
Review: This is a very well written and interesting novel, I could not put it down. The characters are not extraodinary, but they are so real. Author's style of writing really makes you a part of the Walker family experience. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.
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Summary: Dark, Disturbing, Could not Put it Down, It changed my life!
Review: Like many people I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood first and hungering for more of the clan, read Little Altars. At first I was merely wildly entertained, laughing out loud in several places. By the end I was completely sucked into their world and very disturbed. This book was one of the catalysts that finally compelled me to seek counseling for dealing with my own dysfunctional family, that is how real these characters are. In my own search for knowledge I have learned about Borderline Personality Disorder and am positive that Vivi (and Buggy, and later Lulu) have this! Either the author did very good research or she based these people on real cases. The whole family dynamic could come right out of the excellent book: The Borderline Mother. Check it out! Vivi is a Queen and a Witch, for sure! Her behavior is 100% consistent with someone with this disorder, lack of regret and all. I feel like in many ways I AM Sidda, though my mother is more of a Hermit than a Queen. What a great book!!!
Rating:
Summary: Alters
Review: The Novel "Little Alters Everywhere" is about one family named the Walkers. Their life is all twisted
up. There are four kids, and all of them have a bad example of life. This is shown in many ways.
One way is both of their parents drink. They drink often and that makes them not able to realize what they're doing to
their kids. For instance in the book the mom is mad at the dad. So the family drives of in the middle of the night.
They go to friends' houses and wake them up. Their mom thinks its funny but the people they are waking up don't. Another time Willetta the maid was watching the kids. The mother came home from a party and
Willetta left. After she left the mother was whipping them with a belt. Willetta called their grandmother to pick them up
and take them to her house. The Kids names are Siddale, Little Shep, Lulu, and Baylor. Siddale starts off the story introducing her
family and her life in her house. She writes about how her mother embarrasses her. It can be Girl Scouts to just
driving in the car. In the end of the story when the kids are all grown up they realize that their parents couldn't help
them through anything. Willetta and Chaney her husband were more parents than their real ones. I feel that Siddalee was one of the most significant characters. She talked most in the novel. She had
strong feelings. She is the one while reading this book most people feel sorry for. She was the oldest child and she witnessed most of the conflicts between her parents. She realized she was not growing up in an average household.
When she visited friends her home life was not like her friends. It was much different. At her friends houses there
were more family dinners and less arguing among the adults. These are just some examples. Yes, I would recommend this book. Little Altars is an interesting book and well written. However, you
need to keep track of who is talking in each chapter. While reading this book one can learn the importance of being in
a family that everyone gets along with. He reader would evaluate its own family and try to make adjustments so their
life is not as complicated and dysfunctional. Another reason I would recommend this book is because I enjoyed
reading about the life of others.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, but forgiveness is too much
Review: I read this book some time ago, when Divine Secrets of the Yayas was first popular. I just loved the title and that some of it was from a child's point of view. I have not read the second book as of yet. I enjoyed reading the book greatly, I felt it was honest and moving. What troubled me is that there was so much emphasis on feeling that Sibba should be able to forgive her mother, when her mother was incapable of expressing any regret or remorse for her treatment of her children. Wells almost seems to say that children are responsible for whatever happens to them at the hands of their parents. I worry that this message in the book could continue to have others who have been victims of abuse believe that their only choice is to try to forgive the unforgiveable.
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