Mandy (USA: WA) (2006/09/29): Such a hilariously funny, heart-warming book! I love all of Rebecca Wells books - but this is by far the best! Lori (USA: MN) (2008/04/29): I read this l o n g before the movie was even thought of - as far as I know. Although I suppose they could have thought of a movie as soon as it was printed, but I doubt it. Anyway - I loved it then, saw the movie years later and recently re-read the book - just because. As good as the movie was - which was VERY good - I like the book better. Ann Stoudt (USA: HI) (2018/05/06): When Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire, is interviewed in the New York Times about a hit play she's directed, her mother gets described as a "tap-dancing child abuser." Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda. Devastated, Sidda begs forgiveness, and postpones her upcoming wedding. All looks bleak until the Ya-Yas step in and convince Vivi to send Sidda a scrapbook of their girlhood mementos, called "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." As Sidda struggles to analyze her mother, she comes face to face with the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for.
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood may call to mind Prince of Tides in its unearthing of family darkness; in its unforgettable heroines and irrepressible humor and female loyalty, it echoes Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
