Mama, I Want to Sing (Point) - Softcover

Grade 6-12-- Written by the creator of the Broadway musical of the same name, this novelization is the story of Higginsen's sister--as is the show. When Doris Winter, winner of Golden Globes, platinum records, and several Grammy awards for both writing songs and performing them, returns in the late '60s to her old Harlem neighborhood, she attends Mount Calvary church with her mother. There she is both welcomed and admired as an international star and remembered as the nine-year-old kid who sang with the adult gospel choir. As she listens to sermon and song, Doris, too, reflects on the years past and remembers the people who surrounded, supported, and shaped her. The story centers on matters of faith: the faith of a father in his God and his daughter's potential, the faith of a mother that God and church will keep her daughter from harm (with help from her, of course), and the faith of that daughter that talent, ambition, and good luck will help her to achieve a dream--as indeed it does. Although the easy and simplistic text is cliche-ridden and sometimes anachronistic, this is a good look at the place of the church in the lives of these African-Americans as well as the influence of strong matriarchial figures. It's a needed and affectionate glimpse into a world with which many young women will identify and an excellent reluctant reader turn-on. --Marjorie Lewis, Scarsdale Junior High School, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Based on a musical written, produced and directed by Higginsen and husband Ken Wydro, this novel has the cachet of a Broadway production precis. Doris Winter returns to Harlem after achieving success in the music business. The narrative recounts her early years with the choir of Mt. Calvary Full Gospel Church (where her father was pastor), and her mother's resistance to Doris's interest in secular music. With its ungainly mix of specifics about the blues and early Motown, and a lack of telling details about Doris's character ("Doris was often confused about what it meant to be sixteen"), the story seems somewhat out of focus. The intended audience won't find any insight into how to survive adolescence, while pop music fans might do better to turn to nonfiction accounts about this field. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.