Novel about four women’s growth, friendship is absolutely “˜Divine’

Harper Perennial The "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," a
novel, is now a movie set to open in theaters this weekend.

By Shana Dines
Daily Bruin Reporter
[email protected]

Everyone has issues with their parents.

Siddalee Walker, however, has stories that could top most
people’s complaints about having to finish their vegetables
and be home before midnight.

“The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” a
novel by Rebecca Wells, is about Siddalee’s story. The
bestselling novel will also be released tomorrow as a feature film
starring Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn and Ashley Judd.

With enough dirt to write a book about her childhood, Siddalee
does just that, publishing all of the horrible details of her
abusive and neglectful mother, Vivi. Following the release of her
novel, her mother, needless to say, stops talking to her.

Having moved out of Vivi’s Louisiana house, and away from
the South altogether, Siddalee is living with a man to whom she
cannot make an emotional commitment. Her relationship with her
mother also goes downhill until Vivi’s three best friends
step in, helping Siddalee rid herself of her resentment and move on
with her life.

Necie, Caro and Teensy, Vivi’s lifelong friends, take it
upon themselves to send Siddalee their scrapbook, which details the
lives of the four friends over the course of over half a century.
Tracing their friendships from their first meetings at a Shirley
Temple look-alike contest in 1934 to getting thrown in jail for
skinny-dipping in the town water tower as teenagers, to having
children in the ’50s, and finally to old age in the
’90s, the scrapbook is regally titled “The Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”

Vivi’s loyal and loving friends want nothing more than
their dearest fourth to reconcile with her daughter so that both
can be at peace with each other, and, more importantly, so Siddalee
can marry her beau. They feel that, by knowing all the details of
her past, Siddalee will be able to understand and forgive her
mother.

Locking herself away in her cabin in the dense forests of
Oregon, Siddalee starts the colorful journey through the
Ya-Ya’s past. Through letters, pictures and newspaper
clippings, she plunges into her mother’s eccentric
history.

The novel tells stories about all four women, while constantly
flashing back to the present day. Some of the stories about the
phenomenal friends will have the reader rolling on the floor
laughing, while others will have her reaching for her tissue
box.

“Divine Secrets” is a beautifully written story
about the growth of four girls into women, and how they could never
have made the journey without each other’s love and devotion.
They make it through marriages, childbirths, affairs, divorces,
alcohol abuse, rehabilitation and, most importantly, lots of fun
and exciting adventures.

Any girl should love this novel. She will often find aspects of
herself in the characters and see past experiences mirrored in
those of the divine sisters, making for an intimate connection.

Guys, however, should stay away. “Divine Secrets” is
strictly a chick book. Anything with “Sisterhood” in
the title should be an immediate heads up.

With a special Southern flair to the characters, and emotional
depth greater than the Mississippi River, “Divine
Secrets” is a relaxing summer read. And as movies made from
books are usually a disappointment, try to finish it before heading
out to the theaters this weekend.