Ya-Yas in Bloom    by Rebecca Wells Order:  USA  Can HarperCollins, 2006 (2005) Hardcover, Paperback, Audio, CD, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Remember Little Altars Everywhere? Sure you do. How about Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? Remember Teensy and Caro and Vivi and Necie? And their pact to remain friends throughout their lives? With Ya-Yas in Bloom, Rebecca Wells has brought her eager readers more of that cult who resides in Thornton, Louisiana. Wells catches us up with the Ya-Yas of today and the Petite Ya-Yas as well as the Tres Petite Ya-Yas, their children and grandchildren. Then she drifts to the past to reprise events in the Ya-Yas childhood (when Teensy crams a pecan, shell and all, up her left nostril), only to move up from when the Ya-Yas formed in 1930 to 1965 when Necie and her family make a pilgrimage to Dallas to see the Beatles! Sliding smoothly from one generation to the next, Wells once again immerses us in the everyday lives of four women who are everything but everyday women. They're happy, carefree, wild, loyal, supportive, creative, patient, and most of all loving. I truly delighted in once again being a part of that sisterhood. Plot? There really isn't a plot. Just delightful ramblings from times gone by and a wondrous Christmas pageant that tops off this must-read. Audiobook Review by Mary Ann Smyth: Going on a long trip? Maybe you have a long commute to and from work in your car. Ya-Yas in Bloom on four cassettes will brighten your time immeasurably, with six hours of pure theater to enjoy and savor. It's a continuation of the Ya-Yas' story with all their wackiness and petite Ya-Yas. It's made even more enjoyable by the narration performed by Judith Ivy, who manages to take on a different voice each time it is called for, and does it very well. Her juvenile southern accent could easily have come from the mouth of a four year-old. And grown-up Ya-Ya voices seem to come from four different personages. We're told of four year-old Teensy Whitman who stuffs a big old pecan up her nose. That leads to how the Ya-Yas (Vivi, Teensy, Caro and Necie) became lifelong friends, there for each other in both joys and adversities. They manage to cope with 'alcoholism, racial bigotry, unconditional loyalty, high style and Cajun sass' and come out the other end even closer, if that were at all possible. This series of books has won acclaim and awards. As has Judith Ivey who made the Wells' wonderful story come alive in Southern splendor. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews