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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. While I am a fan of some of Wells' other books, this does not number among them. it felt forced, perhaps an attempt to satisfy the appetites of Ya-Ya fans out of bits and pieces of deleted material that didn't make it into the final editions of the other books. (  ) vermont | Jul 9, 2009 |  Although given the subtitle "a novel," this book is really a collection of short stories about the beloved Ya-Ya sisterhood and their families. We travel (mostly chronologically) from the Ya-Yas first meeting each other as precocious and mischief-making 4-year-olds up until their days as grandmothers. Some stories are told in first person; others in third person, and we hear from the point of view of many different characters (although mostly skewed toward the Walker family). Along the way, we meet a host of characters, including the Ya-Yas' own parents and in some cases, their parent's parents. The stories also cover a wide range of topics and arouse a number of emotions from humor to heartbreak. It is really an eye-opener (or perhaps a vivid reminder) to how just a few words from a parent can mean so much to a child. The final story in the collection is perhaps a bit too long and also saccharine, but otherwise I would not change a thing about this delightful book. (  ) sweetiegherkin | Dec 22, 2008 | This book tells the story of four women in Thornton, Louisiana, from the day they met in the 1930s as small children themselves, till they are old. They call themselves the "Ya-Yas" and have been inseparable for their entire lives. Each of them is unique and special, but together their personalities blend in perfect harmony. It is ultimately a story of female friendship, love and security about the Ya-Yas, their children (The Petites Ya-Yas) and eventually their grandchildren (the Tres Petites). It is a story of abuse and alcoholism, secrets and mental illness, but throughout it is told with humor and warmth. The books are not your typical trilogy, in that they don't flow chronologically, each taking up where the last one left off. Instead, the basic story is told in the first book and fleshed out in the other two. The setting is the Louisiana bayou, one of my favorites, filled with Cajun references and parties, bourbon and branch water, Catholic school, war and just Life with a capital L. (  ) madamejeanie | Sep 18, 2008 | ya-ya's as kids. loved it ( ) vegaheim | Mar 25, 2008 | readable but more a collection of individual stories rather than one complete story. Not as good as the Divine secrets of the yaya sisterhood ( ) qofd | Jan 12, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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Rebecca Wells's wonderful third book in her Ya-Ya trilogy, which includes Little Altars Everywhere and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, is sure to provide reading that makes you laugh and cry, a book that will break your heart and mend it again.
Ya-Yas in Bloom reveals the roots of the Ya-Yas' friendship in the 1930s, following Vivi, Teensy, Caro and Necie through sixty years of marriage, child-raising, and hair-raising family secrets.
When four-year-old Teensy Whitman prisses one time too many and stuffs a big old pecan up her nose, she sets off the chain of events that lead Vivi, Teensy, Caro, and Necie to become true sister-friends. Using as narration the alternating voices of Vivi and the Petite Ya-Yas, Siddalee and Baylor Walker, as well as other denizens of Thornton, Louisiana, Wells show us the Ya-Yas in love and at war with convention. Through crises of faith and hilarious lapses of parenting skills, brushes with alcoholism and glimpses of the dark reality of racial bigotry, the Ya-Ya values of unconditional loyalty, high style, and Louisiana sass shine through.
But in the Ya-Yas' inimitable way, these four remarkable women also teach their children about the Mysteries: the wonder of snow in the deep South, the possibility that humans are made of stars, and the belief that miracles do happen. And they need a miracle when old grudges and wounded psyches lead to a heartbreaking crime...and the dynamic web of sisterhood is the only safety net strong enough to hold families together and endure.
After two bestsellers and a blockbuster movie, the Ya-Yas have become part of American culture -- icons for the power of women's friendship. Ya-Yas in Bloom continues the saga, giving us more Ya-Ya lore, spun out in the rich patois of the Louisiana bayou country and brim full of the Ya-Ya message to embrace life and each other with joy.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:25 -0400)
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