Mama, I Want to Sing

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. (Oct.)