Rating: 
Summary: I wish I had never read it
Review: When I first picked up this book I had this nagging feeling that I should read the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood first, I should have trusted my instincts. Everybody keeps saying what a great book that was and how Little Alters ruined it. Here you are presented with a picture of a hopelessly disfunctional family, and the qeustion is: For what purpose? No resolution or message is conveyed and your left with the horrible vision of Vivi Abbott Walker, an alcoholic, abusive, child molester. In this book the cruel (Vivi) and fake (Sidda) are given the spotlight where the strong (Little Shep)and the noble (Chaney and Willetta) are shoved into the background. This novel seems to thrive and celebrate life crippling disfunction.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as capturing as I had hoped!
Review: I read this series backwards and read "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" first. When I began reading "Little Alters Everywhere" I had hoped to once again be wrapped inside the world of the Ya Yas and their families. To my dismay this book simply was not a page turner!My recommendation is to skip this one and go straight to "Divine Secrets"!
Rating: 
Summary: One must read "Little Altars" before the "Divine Secrets."
Review: Reading "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" before reading "Little Altars Everywhere" is like sitting down to dinner and eating the chocolate mousse before the filet mignon. "Divine Secrets" is a sweet read, but "Little Altars" provides the meat for this literary feast. Understanding the characters' beginnings and their motivations results in a very savory read. You'll laugh, cry, have your own values challenged, and care very deeply about the characters. You'll finish the book looking forward to the next course--and "The Divine Secrets" won't disappoint you either. Bon Appetit!
Rating:
Summary: Ya-Ya's and The Persian Pickle Club are two of a kind!
Review: What more can be said of the Ya-Ya's? Read it first (before Little Altars), then pick up The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. This is a great companion book to the Ya-Ya's. Set in a different time and place it also tells of the joys and tribulations of "sisterhood". Although there is a predictable mystery the book is very satisfying. Our book club read the Ya-Ya's and a friend recommended The Persian Pickle Club as a follow-up. If you would like to see more of our book club selections visit www.hometown.aol.com/surfnet33
Rating:
Summary: Awful! Disturbing!
Review: Unfortunately, I read this book before I read "Ya Ya" which ruined that book for me (it was a book group assignment to read both). I could not get past what a horrible, sick, ugly person Vivi was in this book. Friendships rescue one from going over the deep end. I find it impossible to believe that Vivi's friends are more than sympathetic drinking buddies because she is so evil and awful! I wish I could give this book ZERO stars!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't let it go...
Review: A book tou can't stop reading! It makes you feel... it makes you happy and sad at the same time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but Divine Secrets was better
Review: I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya sisterhood first, and loved it. This book was good, and I enjoyed it, but I was confused by the shift in many of the characters' personalities. The people I had come to love in Divine Secrets were suddenly quite different.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous, introspective and full of surprises
Review: Wells pulls you in slowly with chapters written by key characters in the 1960s and then again in the 1990s. You learn bits and pieces about the Walker family, all of its good, all of its love and some of its secret horror. You are amazed at the intricacy of these lives, the way they intertwine and the surprise depth of the characters.
Rating:
Summary: VERY UPSETTING!!!
Review: I read "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" first. Therefore, "Little Altars Everywhere" was tremendously depressing and heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking not so much for the story itself, but because it "Vivi" was a monster. I loved Vivi. Yes, she had troubles. Yes, she wasn't the nicest of people, and certainly she wasn't the best mother, but she had heart and pain and love. "Little Altars Everywhere" destroyed the love each reader has for "Vivi" despite her difficulties. I don't recommend that anyone read this novel, not after having read "Divine Secrets..."
Rating:
Summary: An Enthralling First Novel
Review: "Little Altars Everywhere" is an enthralling first novel by Rebecca Wells. I read it cover to cover in one day and enjoyed it. I can understand why many of those who have written reviews here before me are upset over Vivi's character as portrayed in "Little Altars," but that is no reason to not like the book. Perhaps Vivi's wickedness makes her the more realistic as Wells shows what a life of heavy drinking can do to a person. I did not find the switching of narrators confusing from chapter to chapter. It was interesting to read their points of view. Wells does a fine job of giving them separate "voices." As I grew up in the 60's, raised Catholic, I could identify with the references to the absurdities of "Holy Mother Church" and how it planted bad mind trips on both Vivi and Siddie. I also enjoyed learning about southern farming and how it changed in just a few years, and could see why so many farmers, everywhere, had very little choice but to sell out and allow the Wal-Marts, Taco Bells, etc. to buy up their land and ruin the beauty of the country. Wells also gives us a good idea of what it was like to be on the draft board (through the eyes of Big Shep) and what a terrible waste the Viet Nam war was. There is a lot packed into this short novel. It is well written and easily read. Vivi and Big Shep stay together and toward the end they make comment on how quickly life passes by. This is one of this book's themes: life is short.
| 
