Ya-Yas in Bloom

An emotionally charged addition to Rebecca Wells' bestselling and much loved previous novels, "Ya-Yas in Bloom" reveals the roots of the Ya-Yas' friendship in the 1930s and roars through sixty years of marriage, child-raising, and hair-raising family secrets. When four year old Teensy Whitman stuffs a pecan up her nose, she sets off the chain of events that lead Teensy, Caro, Vivi and Necie to become true sister-friends. Told in alternating voices of Vivi and the Petite Ya-Yas, Siddalee and Baylor Walker, as well as other denizens of Thornton, Louisiana, "Ya-Yas in Bloom" shows the Ya-Yas in love, and at war with convention. Through crises of faith and hilarious lapses of parenting skills, brushes with alcoholism and glimpses of the dark reality of racial bigotry, the Ya-Ya values of unconditional loyalty, high style and Cajun sass shine through. But in the Ya-Yas' inimitable way, these four remarkable women also teach their children about the Mysteries: the wonder of snow in the Deep South, the possibility that humans are made of stars, and the belief that miracles do happen. And they need a miracle when old grudges and wounded psyches lead to a heartbreaking crime - and the dynamic web of sisterhood is the only safety net strong enough to endure.