I didn't think this was as good as the other Ya Ya books but it was still enjoyable. I liked that it was a collection of stories about all the ya-ya's but I would have like some more from their younger years rather than when they were adults.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent on to fellow bookcrossing member Silverstarry. Hope she enjoys it!

This came in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to read it! Thanks so much to rubyslipper for trading with me!

I agree with rubyslipper's book review - this wasn't as good as the other Ya Ya books, but it was still a quick, easy read. I had hoped this book would answer my questions about the Ya Ya clan and provide more insight into what made them the way they are. Instead, the book was mostly more of what we already knew from the previous two books. It wasn't exactly a rehash, but it didn't provide much in the way of new stories. The new stories tended to coincide with old stories (for example, Myrtis Spevey seeing Vivi take the kids to see the elephant) or didn't add much insight into the characters (the story about Vivi and Shep taking the kids to see the Beatles was fun, but didn't reveal anything new about them).

I suppose that some of the blame lies with me because I had higher than average expectations for this book. I really enjoyed The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and thought this book would be even better than its predecessor. That seemed a reasonable hope since the second book was better than Little Altars Everywhere. Given that The Divine Secrets expanded the Ya-Ya world a great deal, I thought the third book in the series would continue that and perhaps fill in some of the gaps or explain things that hadn't yet been discussed like Vivi and Shep's courtship, Buggy's youth, or even delve into the other Ya Yas' relationships with their children or husbands.

Part of the fault lies with the author, whose only new incident in the book involved Necie's daughter and granddaughter. I thought that portion of the book went on far too long and had very little payoff. I was more interested in why Necie ever married George in the first place! I did like the family trees that were provided because I never would have remembered how all the different Petit Ya Yas were related, let alone the Tres Petits! Overall, it was an enjoyable read and a good way to pass a few hours, but not as good as the last book.

Thanks again to rubyslipper for trading with me!