SO FAR NOT SO GOOD

This book does not hold a candle to the previous ones. It seems to be going over plowed ground as we say in Texas. I am just glad I bought the book used and saved some money, I am half way through and see no reason to continue. I was very disappointed as I loved Divine Secrets..I thought Little Altars was too 'dark' and had i read it first I probably might never had read Divine Secrets..I don't see a bit of enlightenment in this book..maybe just a 'potboiler'? Cynthia Smith, Johnson City, Texas

Badly Written Lifetime Movie

Like the rest of America who was enthralled by the first two "Ya-Ya" books, I snatched the hardcover book right off the shelf and more than willingly forked over the money.
Let's just say that when I got to the "Director" chapter, I began to regret it. By the entrance of Myrtis (a nauseating, and yet poorly developed character) I had to force myself to keep reading just to see if the book would get any better. It didn't.
I loved how the novel started off with the meeting about the Ya-Ya's, and I wish that Wells had continued in this fashion. I would have loved to know more about the young Vivi before marriage and children. I wanted to know about the issues with her family, her first dates, how Jack became her "true love", and the Ya-Ya's evolution. I also would have loved to know about their college life, and Vivi's time in New York, a subject that is touched on but never really goes into depth.
It seemed to be as so many reviewers have stated "rehashed". However, the other issues that bothered me even more was that Rebecca Wells had sugared-coated the Walker family, trying to make them become a Southern Brady Bunch. It just didn't seem right, as this was a family that in the previous books put the "fun" in dysfunctional.
I don't want this to turn into a long-winded rant, but some of my other pet peeves with this novel were that characters (especially the men) were stereotyped and have no real place within the novel. For example, George Ogden was NEVER in the other two novels, and he suddenly appears. The worst part is, he seems like an outsider looking in. There is no place for him. Baylor has always been one of my favorite characters, but it annoyed me that once again he was sugar-coated from the bitter, cynical, and yet lovable character to a sterotypical "nice guy". I also despised the fact that such an emphasis was placed on his wealth when it had never really been placed front and center before.
In short,Wells tries to make this novel pensive and poignant, but it comes across as a trite, two-hour Lifetime movie special. Not even the Christmas pageant could redeem the horrible, misplaced, and dragged out kidnapping that made no sense in the plot whatsoever. The pageant was another prime example of trying to sound deep, but really being shallow and overly-descriptive with never-before-seen characters that I couldn't care two beans for.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!! BORROW IT FROM THE LIBRARY!!
Or, just don't read it and look back on the beautiful and hauting Little Altars or the more melodramtic but wonderfully done "Secrets" so that your image of Rebecca Wells as a writer will not be scared for life!
She has made her mark on Literature and the Ya-Ya's have become modern day icons in the likes of Jane Erye, Becky Sharp, and Scarlett O'Hara. With that kind of status, I say to retire these beloved figures and move on!

Overly descriptive, lacked the original Ya Ya flair

Ya-Ya's in Bloom was not what I had expected. I didn't catch the editing errors, but mainly that is because I skimmed through quite a few pages of the book. Wells is sometimes so descriptive that I find myself skipping to the end of the paragraph just to get to the point. There wasn't enough of the Petite Ya Yas, in fact Lulu and Little Shep are barely mentioned when they are in present 1994 (did anyone think the dating was a little off?)

Wells throws such a massive punch toward the end of Little Altars and 2 novels later we have yet to hear Vivi's side of the story, in fact, it is as if it never happened.

I wanted to love this book so badly, but it was quite a disappointment. Had the last chapter not been so overly descriptive, I may have enjoyed it more.

I do have to say that I LOVED the Beatles chapter and the chapter about Baylor the Buckaroo.