First published 2005
Four-year-old Teensy Whitman shoves a pecan up her nose, sparking the friendship that will define four lives. In 1930s Thornton, Louisiana, Vivi Abbott Walker joins Teensy, Caro, and Necie to form the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. The story follows these women across six decades as they navigate marriage, motherhood, and family crises. Vivi's children Siddalee and Baylor witness their mother's struggles with alcoholism and unconventional parenting while learning Ya-Ya values of loyalty and sass. The women face down racial prejudice, question their faith, and break social rules with characteristic flair. They teach their children that humans are made of stars and that miracles happen in the Deep South. When old resentments and psychological wounds lead to a devastating crime, the sisterhood becomes the only force strong enough to hold their families together. The Ya-Yas must draw on decades of shared strength to survive their greatest test.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, southern-gothic, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, generational-saga, sisterhood
Setting: Louisiana, Thornton
Period: 1930s
258 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, racism