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I’ll admit that I was skeptical about this book. In fact, I bought it, thinking that it was only fair to give it a chance -- to see what all the hype was about -- and then I set it on the bookshelf and left it there for several months, not quite willing to dive in.
You see, I’m not one for girly books. I’ve never read a single book with Fabio on the cover -- or anything by Danielle Steele (and, I’ll admit it... I mock those who do). I never even read The Bridges of Madison County. I love action. I love nightmares. Give me Stephen King or Edgar Allen Poe. But don’t make me read sappy, schmaltzy, girly books.
But I’m eating my words now. I was wrong about the Ya-Yas. I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. And I don’t care who knows it -- I’m not ashamed!
Divine Secrets is about a successful theater director, Siddalee Walker, who, at 40 years old, is forced to stop and take a look at her past -- and the past of those who shaped her life. When a New York Times reporter digs up some painful memories (and prints them for all to read), Sidda is forced to take the time to get away and figure out why she is who she is. So she postpones her upcoming wedding and runs off to be alone until she can sort things out.
In an attempt to calm her mother, Vivi, who’s outraged by the Times article, Sidda asks for Vivi’s help. Sidda’s next play is about women and friendship, so she asks Vivi for stories about her youth and her group of inseparable friends, who call themselves the Ya-Yas. As Sidda reads through her mother’s scrapbook (which she’s called The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood), she gets much more than she bargained for. Within the scrapbook’s pages, she sees her mother as a rebellious little girl, a lovesick teenager, and a terrified mother. She discovers the key to her wild and crazy Southern upbringing -- and even digs up the secrets that Vivi never told her children.
Divine Secrets is a captivating story, full of life-sized characters with absolutely intriguing (though still believable) lives. Their story brought out unexpected laughter -- and even a few tears. It was a touching, fun, and perfect-written story. And even though it’s a girly book, it’s not excessively schmaltzy. It’s just real.
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