Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood

Plot summary

When Vivi, Teensy, Necie, and Caro were younger, they created the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The Ya-Yas caused shenanigans and chaos everywhere, but also had a sisterly bond that could fix anything. Now, at 70 years old, the Ya-Yas are determined to fix the struggling relationship between mother and daughter.

Siddalee “Sidda” Walker, a play director, has never had a smooth relationship with her mother, Vivi; but when a New York Times reporter twists Siddalee’s words around in an article about her recent play, Vivi and Sidda’s mother-daughter relationship goes spiraling down. Not only is Sidda having trouble with her mother, but she is also having trouble with her fiancé, Conner. Sidda postpones the wedding. Because of that and Sidda’s new fear to love, she runs off to her friend’s family cabin at Lake Quinault.

When Vivi and the other “Ya-Yas” find out about this, they decide to send Sidda the “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” scrapbook to help Sidda understand their lives, and more importantly, her own mother’s life, better.

Characters

Vivi, also known as "Queen Dancing Creek," is one of the main characters. She is the mother of Siddalee, Lulu, Little Shep and Baylor. She is unhappily married to Shep Walker. Growing up in Thornton, Louisiana with her three best friends, she is the daughter of Mary Katherine "Buggy" Abbott and Taylor Abbott. She is physically and emotionally abused by her parents. Vivi is very dramatic and enjoys being the star of any group she is in. She is also deeply scarred by the abuse of her childhood. Vivi's high school sweetheart is Teensy's brother Jacques "Jack" Whitman, who is killed during World War II.

Known as “Princess Naked as a Jaybird,” in the sisterhood, she is the daughter of Genevieve St. Claire Whitman and Mr Whitman. Genevieve acts as a mother figure to the group. Genevieve is from the bayou area and speaks Cajun French when not in earshot of her husband. Teensy is fun-loving and enjoys taking her clothes off - as a child, for play, and as an adult, as part of a striptease act she does for her friends. She is happily married to Chick Claiborne, her high school sweetheart, and has two children, Jack and Genny.

Crowned “Countess Singing Cloud," Necie is the gentlest, most steady member of the sisterhood. She is known for "thinking pretty blue and pink thoughts." She is the only one of the group to never smoke and to take a Lenten attempt to give up alcohol seriously. She is more religious than the rest of the group. Necie is married with seven children.

Known to the Ya-Yas as “Duchess Soaring Hawk.” Caro is the most confrontational, hardest member of the group. She often takes care of matters and is the one who comes to Vivi's aid when Vivi "drops her basket" as a mother and wife. Caro was married to Blain Brewster with whom she has two children, but he left her for a man he was seeing in the French Quarter. After initially threatening him with an unloaded gun, Caro eventually forgave Blaine, and he and his lover and now an important part of Caro's life. Caro is the Ya-Ya that Sidda reaches out to in order to find out more about the scrapbook her mother sent. She is suffering from emphysema and carries around an oxygen tank for when she needs it.

Oldest daughter of Vivi Walker and fiancé of Conner McGill. Sidda is a play director. After an interview with the New York Times, Sidda and her mother stop speaking to each other. She postpones her engagement to Connor and escapes to a friend's family cabin in Washington State. The Ya-Yas surprise her there and help her to learn why her mother was the way she was while Sidda was growing up.

Sidda’s fiancé, whom she loves deeply. He doesn’t understand Sidda’s constant fear of love, nor why she will not talk to Vivi.

Vivi’s husband. Though Vivi never truly loved Shep like she did Jack, Shepherd loves Vivi and only wants her to be happy.

Vivi’s childhood love and Teensy’s brother. He joined the Air Force to please his father in WWII, but died in a plane crash.

Vivi’s mother and wife of Taylor Charles Abbott. She was a devout Catholic and never really loved Taylor and vice versa. Buggy was always jealous of the attention and love Taylor showered upon Vivi, enough to even falsely accuse her of incest as a teenager.

Vivi’s father and husband of Mary Katherine Bowman Abbott. He favored Vivi over her mother and gave Vivi a ring on her sixteenth birthday to prove that. He used the belt with his kids.

Son of Vivi Walker and brother of Sidda. He stops talking to Sidda after the New York Times article.

Son of Vivi Walker and brother of Sidda. He is the only sibling of Sidda’s who still talks to her after the New York Times article.

Daughter of Vivi Walker and sister of Sidda. She stops talking to Sidda after the New York Times article.

Film Adaptation

Director Callie Khouri adapted The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood into a film in 2002. This became Rebecca Wells’ first novel to be adapted into a film. Sandra Bullock (Sidda) and Ellen Burstyn (Vivi) starred as the two main characters of the film as well as James Garner (Big Shep) and Maggie Smith (Caro).

Awards and Critical Praise

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. A number of critics praised the book; The Washington Post stated that the book is, “A very entertaining and ultimately deeply moving novel about the complex bonds between a mother and a daughter.”