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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

"A big, blowzy romp through the rainbow eccentricities of three generations of crazy bayou debutantes."
—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A very entertaining and, ultimately, deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between mother and daughter."
—Washington Post

"Mary McCarthy, Anne Rivers Siddons, and a host of others have portrayed the power and value of female friendships, but no one has done it with more grace, charm, talent, and power than Rebecca Wells."
—Richmond Times-Dispatch

The incomparable #1 New York Times bestseller—a book that reigned at the top of the list for an remarkable sixty-eight weeks—Rebecca Wells's Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is a classic of Southern women's fiction to be read and reread over and over again. A poignant, funny, outrageous, and wise novel about a lifetime friendship between four Southern women, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood brilliantly explores the bonds of female friendship, the often-rocky relationship between mothers and daughters, and the healing power of humor and love, in a story as fresh and uplifting as when it was first published a decade and a half ago. If you haven't yet met the Ya-Yas, what are you waiting for?

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 7, 2002
      Veteran narrator Ivey is magnificent in her performance of Wells's sprawling, delicious novel of lifelong female friendship and mother-daughter tension and reconciliation. When Siddalee Walker, a successful theater director, accidentally lets slip in an interview some less-than-flattering truths about her mother, Vivi, the ever-dramatic Vivi declares "You are dead to me!" But when Sidda reads Vivi's scrapbook detailing seven decades of friendship with her lifelong pals, the irrepressible Ya-Yas, she begins to understand her vivacious, unconventional, often difficult but never boring mother in ways she never has before. Ivey creates distinctive voices for each one of the multitude of characters—not an easy task, since most of them are female and Southern. There's the four Ya-Yas, both as young, giggly girls and then as elderly women; Sidda as a child and a woman; and a plethora of relatives, siblings and friends. Ivey performs each character with conviction and emotion. Through her performance, listeners can see the characters, colorful events and the tangle and friction of close-knit, complicated relationships. Based on the HarperCollins hardcover.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The joys, battles, struggles, and successes of several Louisiana women, the "Ya-Yas," are celebrated in this wildly popular novel. It's an often funny book full of Southern-tinged angst about the relationships between women, and between that most complex of women's relationship: mother and daughter. Tony award winner Judith Ivey takes palpable pleasure in the chance to portray free-spirited Southern women. She gives full measure to these self-dramatizing women, providing voices that range from honeyed New Orleans French to cigarette-and-bourbon hoarse. The characters she inhabits include everyone from the gentlest lady to the toughest broad. It's an amazing performance. A.C.S. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      November 1, 2002
      Judith Ivey's portrayal of the eccentric characters in this popular novel, now a major motion picture, could certainly be described as "divine." The work, a companion to Wells's Little Altars Everywhere, has become a cult classic, spawning over 80 "Ya-Ya chapter groups" worldwide. The story begins with theater director Siddalee Walker being effectively disowned by her mother, Vivi, after some of Siddalee's darker childhood memories appear in a New York Times article. Devastated by Vivi's rejection, Siddalee postpones her wedding and retreats to a remote cabin in Washington State. Although Vivi will not speak to Siddalee, she does send her the "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," a scrapbook chronicling the girlhood adventures of Vivi and her three best friends (a.k.a. the Ya-Ya's). Through her examination of the scrapbook, Siddalee gains a deeper understanding of her mother and herself. Wells's colorful descriptions of small-town life in Louisiana in the 1930s and 1940s, coupled with Ivey's outstanding performance on both programs, make this an excellent pick for popular fiction collections.-Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., OH

      Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The joys, battles, struggles, and successes of several Louisiana women, the "Ya-Yas," are celebrated in this wildly popular novel. It's an often funny book full of Southern-tinged angst about the relationships between women, and between that most complex of women's relationship: mother and daughter. Tony award winner Judith Ivey takes palpable pleasure in the chance to portray free-spirited Southern women. She gives full measure to these self-dramatizing women, providing voices that range from honeyed New Orleans French to cigarette-and-bourbon hoarse. The characters she inhabits include everyone from the gentlest lady to the toughest broad. It's an amazing performance. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Get ready for a really big breath of fresh Louisiana air as Rebecca Wells narrates her charming and offbeat book. This is the story of the topsy-turvy life of a mother and daughter as told by the daughter, Siddalee Walker, a successful playwright/director. Siddalee's mother has had the same best friends since early childhood, and together the four of them are known as the inseparable and unpredictable Ya-Ya's. Wells is an accomplished actress; she interprets this dialogue with impeccable ease and spontaneous eccentricity. She provokes laughter and tears as she reveals enlightening insights into mother/daughter relationships, true love and genuine friendship. B.J.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 20, 1996
      Carrying echoes of both Fannie Flagg and Pat Conroy, Wells's second novel continues the story of Siddalee Walker, introduced in Little Altars Everywhere (1992). When Sidda asks her mother, the aging belle Vivi, for help in researching women's friendships, Vivi sends her daughter a scrapbook. From this artifact of Vivi's own lifelong friendship with three women collectively known as "the Ya-Ya's," and from Sidda's response to it, a story unfolds regarding a dark period in Vivi and Sidda's past that plagues their present relationship. While anecdotes about the Ya-Ya's (such as the riotous scene at a Shirley Temple look-alike contest) are often very amusing, the narrative is beset by superficial characterization and forced colloquialisms. Told through several narrative vehicles and traveling through space and time from Depression-era Louisiana to present-day Seattle, this novel attempts to wed a folksy homespun tale to a soul-searching examination of conscience. But while Wells's ambition is admirable and her talent undeniable, she never quite makes this difficult marriage work. $50,000 ad/promo; author tour. (May) FYI: HarperPerennial will publish the paperback edition of Little Altars Everywhere, which won the Western States Book Award, in May.

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  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:850
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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