“The thing I loved most about Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was the way the author kept on switching from present day of one generation to the past of the narrator’s mother’s generation and time. It focuses on a friendship or ‘sisterhood’ between four girls that never died out. The main character is the daughter of one of the four friends and as a writer rising to fame, has pushed away the love of her life and feels dejected and alone. As a result, she goes to visit her mother, also known as her old home, in hopes of rediscovering herself and making amends with her angry mother. The present time narrator remembers her mother and her mother’s friends’ great times and memories. She has forgotten what love and happiness was like when she reached the level of fame from being a writer. It’s a sweet story how she returns back to life by living through her mother’s past.
It made me hope and comprehend that no matter how hard times are, things will always be alright in the end. The author shaped the story brilliantly by choosing the perfect moments to recount the olden days or to return to the present time and connecting the two to allow the reader to guess. The descriptions and metaphors in the book are some of the best I’ve ever read; they weren’t too descriptive or wordy but eloquent and beautiful. This book also made me see the strength of the love within family and friendship that can’t be broken. It also made me realize how much people grow, mature, and change, yet still be the same. This poignant novel strangely made me feel uplifted and happy, but most of all, inspired.”