Rating: 
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: This book took me on a magnificent journey. I went inside the lives of the Walker family and felt the hot summer weather of Louisianna. The book is broken down in such a way that it makes it impossible to put down. By knowing what each character is experiencing and thinking it puts you on a very intimate level with them. Rebecca Wells brings to life the innocent summers of youth and the hardships of love. I can't wait to see what awaits me in the "Ya Ya Sisterhood". Two thumbs up for Little Alters Everywhere!
Rating: 
Summary: Neatly Perceptive,Touching Narrative-not Pretty-but Real
Review: This prequel to Divine Secrets is really a volume of short stories which provide glimpses into the Walker family life. Narration is by the 6 members of the immediate Walker family and their two servants. Each character's perspective provides an intimate look into the very troubled family dynamics of growing up with an alcoholic abusive mother and an alcoholic escapist dad. We get to know the Walker family over 2 generations , as parents and children and later on, as grandparents and parents. While the volume unquestionably has its weaker and stronger links, this book contains some really beautifully written, touching chapters. These very perceptive stories focus on interesting issues.
- Service on the local draft board of a small town during Vietnam places Mr. Walker in some very emotionally trying situations .
- A confused and lost elderly black field hand who is futilely seeking nonexistent mules on developed land elicits a truly empathetic reaction and melancholic reverie from Mr. Walker. .He realizes his farm has become totally enclosed by sprouting condos and 7-11s. Having watched the neighborhood farmlands being paved over, there is recognition that the inherited family legacy is destined to suffer a similar fate as his own progeny chose more profitable and often less satisfying trades
-. Race relation challenges provide story plots. The black tenants and servants of the Walkers, Chaney and Willetta ,are presented with a real moral challenge when they find themselves inadvertent witnesses to an awful episode of child abuse out of control -next door at their white neighbors . With total economic dependence on their employers and landlords, they are faced with a very difficult choice regarding intervention. An earlier reprimand from Vivi (reducing Willetta to her servile status and very clearly warning her to stay out of Walker family affairs ) only makes this choice so much more difficult.
It with these kind of touching stories that Rebecca Wells so skillfully builds and develops the empathetic characters we come to care about and relate to in this book.
While Little Altars is a collection of short stories told from the perspective of many characters...Little Altars is much more deeply disturbing and adult in its content. It's repertoire includes alcoholism, abuse, and molestation. Both are very well worthwhile for mature readers.
I look forward to the sequel! Incidentally, don't skip the unusual introductory "Note to the Reader" by Wells about reader-author interactions.
Rating: 
Summary: Anticipation was let down...
Review: Having read The Divine Secrete of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood first, I had already invested my time and emotions in the Walker family and the extended Ya-Ya's when I came upon this book. I felt the characters were very rich in the Divine Ya-Ya's, but they seemed lost and shallow in this first novel. The horrors the children endured from their mother is unexplained until the second novel, when her past is exposed. The end is vague and incomplete, plus it does not connect well to the second novel. All in all, I was not as pleased with this book as I was the second.
Rating:
Summary: Wanted a better Apertif...... But still a good read!
Review: Even though this book is supposed to be read before The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, I read it afterward; like most folks. In any event, it was a good book and I recommend it, however.... I was hoping for more insight. Again, I read it after the YaYas had already enveloped my psyche. I was a die hard YaYa and wanted more. This book, although very good on its own, made me feel like I still wanted more. And I'd hoped it would have answered more questions about ViVi, Shep, Sidda, and the lot. What I really like is that every family/friend/character had his/her own chapter. From that you could reason and view their own perspective of this wonderful family story.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it Dahlin!
Review: Little Altars Everywhere is a captivating novel, not only for its interesting story, but for its complex characters and familiar scenes. The novel tells of a Southern family's struggles to love one another despite their alcoholism and quick tempers. Rebecca Wells makes it impossible to either love or hate the characters completely, for with every personality flaw comes an adorable trait. This makes the characters entirely human. Vivi's escapades with the Ya Ya Sisters make the story hilarious. The realistic dialogue and characters make the read more enjoyable. Although the tale is a depressing one, it is ultimately a charming southern story.
Rating:
Summary: A Southern Perspective
Review: While the characters are not always likeable, the book is still engrossing. A tale of a family's trials and tribulations in smalltown Louisiana, this book is rich in Southern traditions and imagery. Wells is especially adept at sharing the perspectives of multiple characters as they cope with the challenges of daily life.
Rating:
Summary: Not quite as good as Divine Secrets
Review: After loving Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, I was rather disappointed with this book. At first its very intriguing because now all of Vivi's kids are telling their stories. It starts off light and funny but ends rather dark and disturbing. Granted, you can see throughout both novels that Vivi isn't quite emotionally stable but in Little Alters, she comes out to be a monster of sorts. At the end you leave the book feeling rather icky and upset. If you are into dark books, this is the one for you. Unfortunately, it was a little too dark for me.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: I read Ms. Wells Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood before I read this one. I am glad that I did because I think I understood Little Altars Everywhere a little better - I knew the characters already. Each chapter is it's own story - some hilarious - some sad - some you just need a few minutes alone to reflect upon. I think Buggy needs her own book!
Rating:
Summary: Chick Book Exonerated
Review: As a guy, I was fully prepared to dislike what I thought was an emotional chick book written by an egotistical wannabe actress. After all, I panned that fatuous bimbo Candace Bushnell in my review of "Four Blondes." I even gave One Star to Macho Super Author Robert Ludlum, although I felt badly when the big guy died just after my review was posted. This is all my way of saying that I don't throw around these Amazon Five Stars lightly Well, let me tell you, "Little Altars Everywhere" is outstanding. Author Rebecca Wells gives gripping and believable voices to each of the six members of the dysfunctional Walker clan and to their black employees (read "slaves"), Chaney and Willetta Lloyd. Each of the 17 chapters is told first hand by one of these eight characters. The first half of the interconnected vignettes are set in the 1960s; the rest in the early 1990s. As an actor/playwright, Wells is well versed at stepping inside her characters and in getting each person's dialect and emotions just right, even across the book's 30 year span. Southern speech is mimicked perfectly without being overbearing or hard to understand, and the emotional descriptions and scenes are touching and effective without being maudlin. Just when I think Wells is about to go too far with one of her characters or scenes, she stops with exquisite timing. It's almost as if Rebecca Wells has multiple personalities herself. Wells writes about what she knows and describes her native Louisiana in convincing style. We're oppressed by the heat of the low country; we hear mosquitoes buzzing, radios blaring and air conditioners whirring; we see big old cars and pickup trucks speeding along dusty roads. We smell the good earth and the crops. We touch the Walker kids in their moments of supreme happiness and abject sadness and we can practically taste the alcohol swilled by Viviane and Shep Walker and their friends. We feel their hangovers. And, of course, the massive dysfunction of the Walker family attacks all our senses. All this from the printed page... The author deals with sensitive sexual topics with discretion and taste. Wells leaves much to the theatre of the mind, which is a hallmark of the mature writer that she is. You want graphic details? Wait for the TV movie, which would likely miss the humor and comedy that Wells spreads throughout her wonderful book. I can assure you that you'll keep a closer eye on your kids after reading about the kleptomaniac Lulu and her five-fingered discounts. Wells sprinkles hilarious little zingers and social comments everywhere, and is good at time-locking her situations with references to music, literature and historical events of the period. You'll laugh and smile throughout this book. But you'll also purse your lips, clench your teeth and swear at Viviane for the destruction and havoc she wreaks. As Tolstoy said at the beginning of "Anna Karenina", "All happy families are the same; all unhappy ones are unique unto themselves." You'll understand this reference when you read "Little Altars." Viviane Walker is a vile excuse for a mother, wife and human being. If she were a dog, she'd be taken out behind the barn and shot. As it is, she's encouraged by her ridiculous Ya-Ya friends and tolerated by her cowardly husband and cowering children and by a Southern culture that gives full rein to her preposterous behavior. Of course, Viviane does show occasional signs of compassion towards her husband and children, just as Hitler did toward Eva Braun. At least Hitler shot himself. Wells left the door wide open in "Little Altars" for her sequel, "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," which I'm now reading. You see that review soon. Many read these books out of sequence, since "Divine Secrets" has gotten more recognition than "Little Altars." It doesn't matter, since "Little Altars" can be a revealing flashback if you read the sequel first. Either way, don't miss these two gems! They are both insightful commentaries into a complex family and into a way of life that is fortunately alien to most of us.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, dahlin
Review: I read Divine Secrets a few months ago and absolutely loved it. It was one of the best books I've ever read. Little Altars Everywhere was a book I began with much anticipation and did not let me down. It amazes me how Wells makes the reader hate and love characters at the same time. This book gives more background on the children and is one of those books you devour in 2 or 3 days time. I finished the book feeling sad, feeling happy and feeling that my life may not be perfect, but it was blessed to not have a mother like Vivi. The Ya-Ya series are some of the best written literature I have ever read. I recommend it without reservation, to female readers aged 18-45.
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