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Summary: I think my Mom was a Ya Ya :)
Review: I was amazed at how well I knew and loved these characters! I grew up with a Mom who had a group of women friends that resmbled the YaYa's in all their glory and tragedy. As I read about the friendship and lives of these women I related to everything that was happening as if I lived these experiences. At times hilarious, at times heartbreaking...you will love these women and their families, grow to understand their complexities, and even when they don't do the right thing, you understand their reasons. They will become friends to remember long after you put the book down...reluctantly.
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Summary: Reviw of Divine Secrets
Review: I read this book a year ago, and I could not put the book down. I am English and live in Scotland, but I could relate exactly to the emotions, goings on and everything in the book totally. It is the typical story of the rite of passage of every woman into true adulthood; the realisation that your elders have had their own brilliant lives, experiences and fun times as much as you have had.I am an avid reader but very few books go into the category as unforgettable! This one made me want to visit the Deep South and drink in the air and experiences of these women. They were real characters to me and I felt a real sense of loss when I finished the book. I have now recommended it to my eldest daughter who is aged 22 as I want her to see how much everyone however young or old they might be,they have so much to contribute to the so called "tapestry of life". These women came off the page to me and were so real, so much so that even nearly a year later, I can still recall the characters and emotions evoked. The book made me cry, made me laugh and I truly could not put it down until the very last page.
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Summary: Hard to live up to so much hype
Review: This book has been accompanied by so much hype that it seems unfair to expect any novel to live up to such advance notices. Perhaps if my expectations had been less, I would have liked "DIVINE SECRETS" even better than I did. And yet, I did like the book well enough. Purportedly, the protagonist is a woman who always has had a strained relationship with her own mother. The details unfold when she is given her mother's diary to read. Through this device, it becomes clear that the story only is about the younger woman indirectly; it actually hinges on the woman's mother and the mother's three best friends since all three were girls. As such, this is a novel about friendship, about caring, about support among women. Ultimately, it also is a story about love. All of tale is told with a wonderful Louisiana accent; author Rebecca Wells imparts a wonderful sense of place. In all, DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD is a worthwhile read.
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Summary: Laughing and Crying at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: WOW!!!!!!!!! What a book. It has parts that leave you rolling on the floor laughing, and other parts that leave you with tears streaming down your face. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a truely remarkable book, with witty dialogue, and a wonderful plot and strange and interesting charicters. It doesn't take much to get into this book, with funny scenes that make you think about how wonderful life realy is. Then there are scenes which are so profound and sad. But there is the right ammount of both to leave you at the end with a content feeling, because it wraps up perfectly.
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Summary: Quirky, sweet, & funny Southern novel
Review: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, the sequel to Little Alters everywhere (both by Rebecca Wells) is humorous, engaging, tear-jerking, and downright entertaining. I recommend it to anyone, young or old. Siddalee Walker is a forty-year-old playwright who left her hometown of Thornton, Lousiana to begin a career in the theater. But after bashing her mother, Vivi, in a New York Times interview, Sidda is plagued by her mother's distrust & hurt, retreating to a Washington vacation home. Sidda is sent her mother's journal, the Divine Secrets. Sidda learns of the lives of the "Ya-Yas" before the weights of marriage and children. This book keeps a reader engrossed and entertained, as you read the juicy details of Vivi Walker's memoirs, which are filled with love, humor, and saddening details. The Divine Secrets, is a fabulous novel. Rebecca Wells is absolutely brilliant!
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Summary: Deliciously Divine and Moving
Review: WOW! It is rare that you finish a book and carry the characters along with you. This is that type of book. After finishing this wonderfully enjoyable read, the reader will feel part Cajun and part Ya-Ya. This book can help you deal with ghosts in your past, by reminding you that it's OK to cry, but it's even better to cry, then to move on...and to realize that pain can bring you closer to someone. This book was wonderful. It is a novel about a group of close-knit childhood friends, all grown up, and their secrets revisisted by a daughter (or petite Ya-Ya) who asks her mother for a scrapbook of her memories with the Ya-Ya clan. Quite simply, this book is WONDERFUL. Don't hesitate to order this. It's a small luxury, dahlin.
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Summary: WOW!
Review: What an incredible book! Rebecca Wells really seems to know mother/daughter relationships... as well as the importance of having good girlfriends. I was very moved with this well written life lesson. And it came to me at a very good time too... I really needed to be reminded that I AM a Ya Ya and I won't forget again. Thank you! This is a definate keeper girls! Mothers give this to your daughters and daughters give this to your mothers. Wives give it to your husbands so hopefully they can understand a bit better why we are the way we are.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written, with incredibly annoying characters
Review: I know I'm in the minority, but I hated this book. The writing is terrible, the characters completely unrealistic and extremely annoying. (And don't get me wrong--I'm a woman who highly values female friendship as well as humor writing.) I literally threw the book across the room at one point. A real waste of money.
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Summary: Friends, Family, Love and Reconciliation
Review: The companion novel to "Little Altars Everywhere" (for the love of God, read that one FIRST!), "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" is like a beautiful patchwork quilt of good and bad memories from the great experience of Life.
Rebecca Wells sets up her novel by having Siddalee Walker from "Little Altars Everywhere," now middle-aged and a force in the theatre scene, dealing with her estrangement from her mother, Vivi, over an interview given to the New York Times, and cold feet over her ever-postponed marriage to her loyal fiance (wouldn't we all love to have a lover like Connor!). Escaping to the Olympic Peninsula to sort out direction for her next stage production (and her personal life), Sidda delves into her mother's past with the help of an album, searching for answers and resolution. As she does so, we are introduced to a wonderful cast of characters, the Ya-Yas, her mother's lifelong friends.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The Ya-Yas' antics reminded me a lot of my llama sister and me, and Wells does an outstanding job of making you empathize with Vivi. There are parts that were really painful to read. On the flip side, I found the novel's end to be a little bit too neat and abrupt, and I didn't find the adult Sidda to be a very likeable character. She seemed indecisive and whiny. Of course, I haven't been 40 yet...maybe when I'm 40 and have some more life experiences under my belt, I'll reread the book and change my mind about Siddalee.
Bottom line: You have to read this book...but read "Little Altars Everywhere" first!
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Summary: Sisterhood is alive and kicking!
Review: Rebecca Wells has an enormous hit on her hands, an intricately layered story of childhood friends as they descend into adulthood, and we are there for the best and the worst of it. The Ya-Ya's commitment to each other runs deeper than family ties. The book introduces us to Sidda, the oldest daughter of Vivi who has disowned her for the moment. As mother and daughter find their way back to each other in this moving account of family loyalty gone awry the Ya-Ya's secrets are slowly reveled via a scrapbook kept by Vivi. This is a well-written book that has a strong southern flavor. You will grow to love the Ya-Ya's and their antics as well as their vulnerabilities. You will feel their sadness and revel in there joy. I highly recommend this book along with Well's other book "Little Altars Everywhere". They can be read in any order but reading both of them certainly is worth your time. Enjoy! Kelsana 3/23/01
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