Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Fun but not amazing.
Review: I think most of the people who had problems with this book took it too seriously. If you read it for fun and don't think about it too much, it is quite an enjoyable read. Some of the sap could have been edited, but overall I enjoyed the light, breezy writing style. It's a good summer book--read it at the beach or on an airplane.

Rating:
Summary: Too shallow
Review: I enjoyed this book, and found myself caught up in the idea of the story, but I found the characters were too contrived and shallow. I couldn't really believe all the things that came out of their mouths. And to me, Sidda seemed like a 25 year old, not a woman approaching 40, immature.

Rating:
Summary: We all have a little Ya Ya in us
Review: After reading "Little Altars Everywhere" and having mixed feelings about Vivi I was a bit leary of venturing into "Divine Secrets." My apprehensions were for naught because "Divine Secrets" creates an enchanting Vivi who can nearly be forgiven for her sins as a mother. All the favorites from "Little Altars" appear again in this novel plus some new favorites. Teensy, Caro, Necie & Vivi (the names should be enough to make you want to read this book!) draw the reader in and they are as enchanting as adults as they are as little girls and teenagers. Ms. Wells has a command of the language which paints pictures of what needs to be seen and forces the reader to feel what needs to be felt. The girls' desire to see Miss Tallulah Bankhead as Scarlett O'Hara was so palpable I was forced to read her biography. I can't wait for Wells' next! Does Sidda ever have her own Petites Ya Ya's padding behind?

Rating:
Summary: I hated this book
Review: Overwrought writing fraught with brand names and trite metaphors the author wanted to fit in so just squeezed in where possible. Terrible, cliche, and it's disappointing so many readers fell for it. Poorly developed characters and no discernible or respectable storyline. Sorry to be so harsh, but the book was highly recommended and then turned out to be a BIG let-down.

Rating:
Summary: What ever happened to good literary editors?
Review: This book made me want to throw it across the room. The Ya-ya's are a tiresome bunch but not as tiresome as the narrator. Her non-story was the least interesting part of the book. One expected some sort of dramatic resolution. I thought the characters were not well developed and hard tocare about. Having grown up in the South, I guess I expected more. A Eudora Welty she's not! What little humor there was (from these supposedly fascinating women) was of the "you hadda be there" variety. I think if there were decent editors we would have fewer books like this. How many times do we have to heat that Sidda and her lover were naked?

Rating:
Summary: Corny
Review: I bought the book because I love Southern Women Writers, but this does not hold a candle to Kaye Gibbons or Eudora Welty. This is cornball stuff to me, but everyone else likes it so I may not be the one to go by.

Rating:
Summary: This book is about southern women at their eccentric best
Review: I bought this book because the owner of the book store I frequent said that it was hillarious and she laughed the whole while she read it. I laughed as I read it,through my tears. The Ya Ya's were my mother and her three sisters.They had nicknames for each other and a secret language of words and phrases that only they knew the meaning of.Rebecca Wells has captured the essence of southern womanhod, with all of it's strenghts,goodness,eccentricties and faults.

Rating:
Summary: A hilarious, heartbreaking gumbo of generations
Review: Rebecca Wells has captured perfectly what it has been like to grow up the feminist daughter of Southern belles who were feminists without knowing it. This novel made me laugh out loud in several places--and weep genuine tears in others. I not only saw myself in these women, but I saw my mother, my aunts and several other dear friends who grew up in the South, with its corsetlike strictures on what constituted a "lady,". Two generations of women finally had the gumption to be who they are come hell or high water. Wells' book helped me to understand my mother and myself, and to long for my own "Ya-Ya Sisterhood."

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious! Witty! Required reading for Southern women!
Review: Siddalee Walker is engaged to her perfect match. So why is she getting cold feet? In an effort to investigate the reasons for her commitment phobia, she starts with the most obvious cause: her tenuous relationship with her mother. She is provided with a scrapbook which chronicles the lives of her mother and her mother's three best friends, aka the Ya-Yas. Guided by these "Divine Secrets", Sidda discovers the role misunderstanding can play in the development of relationships.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read
Review: I loved this book; it was so honest and real. The characters are deliciously rich. Rebecca Wells writes with admirable grace. I just graduated from a small woman's college in the SE and this novel reminded me of the tight female bonds found there. I highly recommend it!