The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

By: Rebecca Wells

Narrated by: Judith Ivey

Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Known for her beloved Ya-Ya books ( Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere, and Ya-Yas in Bloom), Rebecca Wells has helped women name, claim, and celebrate their shared sisterhood for over a decade.

Now Wells debuts an entirely new cast of characters in this shining stand-alone novel about the pull of first love, the power of life, and the human heart's vast capacity for healing.

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is the sweet, sexy, funny journey of Calla Lily's life set in Wells's expanding fictional Louisiana landscape. In the small river town of La Luna, Calla bursts into being, a force of nature as luminous as the flower she is named for. Under the loving light of the Moon Lady, the feminine force that will guide and protect her throughout her life, Calla enjoys a blissful childhood - until it is cut short. Her mother, M'Dear, a woman of rapture and love, teaches Calla compassion, and passes on to her the art of healing through the humble womanly art of "fixing hair". At her mother's side, Calla further learns that this same touch of hands on the human body can quiet her own soul.

It is also on the banks of the La Luna River that Calla encounters sweet, succulent first love, with a boy named Tuck. But when Tuck leaves Calla with a broken heart, she transforms hurt into inspiration and heads for the wild and colorful city of New Orleans to study at L'Académie de Beauté de Crescent.

In that extravagant big river city, she finds her destiny - and comes to understand fully the power of her "healing hands" to change lives and soothe pain, including her own. When Tuck reappears years later, he presents her with an offer that is colored by the memories of lost love. But who knows how Cally Lily, a "daughter of the Moon Lady", will respond?

©2009 Rebecca Wells (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The novel is chock-full of Southern charm and sassy wisdom." ( Publishers Weekly)

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

What a wonderful listen. The story is memorizing and the reader is so captivating I could hardly stop listening.

Rebecca Wells has done it again!!!

I hated for this book to end....I enjoyed it so much! I laughed, I cried and most of all, I identified with so many characters. Realistic, spot on and well written, this book rings true to my Southern Belle ears! Don't miss this one!

Loved it!

This book makes you laugh out loud and cry, at times. Judith Ivey is the queen of performers, and this performance is one of her best! And of course, Rebecca Wells is stellar in the way she captures each character's feelings with her words!

Rich

Such rich characters. I love Rebecca Wells and her southern communities. this book made a good audio listen with yummy southern accents

Excellent !

I had read the book and loved it but got this to hear Judith Ivey read it. She did not disappoint. She made a great book even greater.

Heartwarming and captivating!

I love this book so much, I've listened to it several times. The author is very gifted in drawing in her audience and leaving you feel all the joy and pain of the main character. The reader is wonderful to listen to and does an outstanding performance. I highly recommend this book!

Book club pick- 3.5

I would not have finished it were not for book club. I loved the Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, so I was excited for this book. Every time I thought it was going to pick up and get better, the author would go on long tangents from the moon lady, which made it feel like there was a word minimum. Calla Lily was supposed to be a kind, pure soul but came off as naive and little dumb. The performance was good, but the male voices were very off-putting.

Sweet Southern Women

This story fills your heart and soul with the feelings of sweet southern women. I cried and I laughed and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You really feel the hurts and triumphs of Cally Lily Ponder and wish you were one of her great friends. It will be a long while before I forget her.

Great book

Would you listen to The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder again? Why?

I am a hairdresser and I have to say I loved this book.

Have you listened to any of Judith Ivey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Judith is by far the best reader i have ever heard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was

Engaging story, great narration! A favorite listen

I read a couple of other Rebecca Wells books in the past and enjoyed them, but this story -- about a young girl who grows up in the south -- was my favorite. Very engaging. I couldn't stop listening! It was such a fun story -- happy, sad, funny -- I was pulled in right away. I love Judith Ivey as an actress and was very happy with her acting/narration of the story. Overall it was one of my favorites of all the books I've listened to. And I've listened to a lot!

I definitely recommend this book.