Book Review: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

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Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

by Rebecca Wells

genre: chick-lit

Synopsis from Goodreads

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.

Does there need to be less of myself?

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There was a theme in Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood that I originally wanted to address in the review, but I decided to address it separately. There’s plenty of blogs out there addressing body image, so while this is relevant to that I’m not going to spend much time on that niche. As Siddalee dwells on her childhood, she remembers her mother’s eating disorder. The woman would nibble at the table and sneak food. She didn’t like her slender body, but what struck me most was how Siddalee described it. Instead of hearing, “Am I fat?” she heard her mother ask, “Does there need to be less of me for you to be happy?”

The reason this phrasing struck a chord with me was because when I was growing up, I was constantly told to walk more quietly. It wasn’t like I was stomping around, I just have a naturally heavy gait apparently. It took work and concentration, smaller steps. Looking back, it was almost as if this person was saying I needed to mute myself for their approval.

This same theme was addressed in an episode of Gossip Girl. Poppy advises Serena that a true friend will be happy when you shine. You shouldn’t have to dim your light to make them feel better about themselves. Friends should pull you up (or you pull them up), but they should not drag you down (again, or vise versa).

Not that she needs my permission, but that is why I support Ermisenda branching out and writing books outside of our Blind Sight series. She is so talented; I would never want to be the reason that people don’t get to read her work. I hope you take stock of your friends and relationships. Make sure you’re supporting loved ones and not holding them back.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

Who are you?

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You are now the main character in the last book you read. Who are you?

Ignoring that the last book I read was a non-fiction guide to building an editorial calendar (a guide on content marketing), I am Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire. No thank you. I’ll take my mom over that woman any day. I’d like to go back one more book to The Elite by Kiera Cass so I can be a musician dating a prince.

Who are you?

-Eliabeth

PS, dang we didn’t think to do anything for April Fool’s. I think we forgot last year too. One of these years, you won’t know what hit you. 😉