Book Review: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

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I'm not going to lie. I didn't like this book much at first. It took me a while to catch on to the dialect and Wells' writing style. I haven't read any of her other books, like Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (I know, shame on me, but I was too young when it came out to catch on).

A quick summary: Calla Lily Ponder is born in the small town of La Luna, LA. Her mother teaches her to rely on the Moon Lady for direction and help in life, much like someone would rely on God. After her mother is tragically taken away from her at an early age, Calla has more faith in the Moon Lady than she's ever had. The book follows Calla's journey through life and love, moving from her small town to New Orleans, where she's immersed in big[ger] city culture. Her biggest goal in life is to learn the healing powers of doing hair, something her mother had mastered in her short life. Sometimes Calla's life is a roller coaster ride, and you get to be there for a front row seat.

It took me about 5 chapters to catch on, and about halfway through, I was hooked.

The Crowning Glory wasn't a book that I related to directly, being that it was set from the 1950s-1980s, but I could completely picture my mom, throughout the book, knowing that she was close in age to the main character, Calla Lily Ponder. Wells also did a great job of making sure that the reader loved and hated the same characters that Calla did, even making you change your mind about people when Calla's opinions changed.

I would definitely recommend this book. Especially if you're from the South, because the book is a great look back into Southern culture. If you'd like to find out more about The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder and Rebecca Wells, you can check out the TLC Book Tours website.


Also, if you're interested:

• Rebecca Wells is being interviewed by Book Club Girl, tonight, May 5th, at 7:00 if you're interested.
• Rebecca talks about the beautician aspect of The Crowning Glory (it's short, don't worry):
• Wells also looooves book clubs, which you can check out here.