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List Price: $5.99 | | Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Salesrank: 524437
Released: April 8, 2003 |
| Our Price: $3.50 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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| Media: Mass Market Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
Holly Faye Lovell sure can sing. Everyone in Biscay, Mississippi, knows that. And when at fourteen she becomes the youngest student ever to win a scholarship to the prestigious Haverty School of Music, her dream of pursuing a singing career is on its way. But for the first time in her life, Holly must leave behind her mother, Wanda. Although they don’t have much in the way of money, there’s always been plenty of love . . . and there’s always been Wanda’s birthmark, an ugly red scar on the side of her face that makes people who don’t know her turn away. Now that Holly's off with her posh new friends and new life, she’s ashamed to find herself embarrassed by her mom and their humble background. And Wanda finds herself wanting to reveal a long-hidden secret . . . a secret that could destroy their bond forever.
A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to The Britney Spears Foundation.
From the Hardcover edition.
A Mother's Gift Reviews:
A road full of speed bumps.. 
2008-06-21 - ..is what I compare this book to.
I finished this book in about 2 hours after getting it at the library. I had seen the TV movie "Brave New Girl", that is based on this book and had really liked it. Since I thought the movie was so good, I had high expectations for this book, and I was really let down.
(May Contain Spoilers)
Fourteen year old Holly Faye Lovell lives in Biscay Mississippi with her single mother Wanda Jo. Holly and Wanda have a very strong mother/daughter bond that is strengthen with Friday night viewings of the "Haverty Talent Hour", a talent show live from the prestigious Haverty School of Music. Holly's dream was to attend this school but she was afraid that the fancy school would not accept small town, low income students like her. Her dream suddenly becomes a reality when her boyfriend, Tyler Norwood, records her singing a solo at church. Tyler sends it in and in a few weeks, Haverty calls and requests an audition! After some waiting, Holly is accepted. She gets to Haverty and meets Lydia (or "Ditz" as she wishes to be called). "Ditz" opens up Holly to a whole new world that makes Holly realize how very thankful she is for her way of life. When Holly and "Ditz" visit Biscay for spring break, Wanda finally gets the courage to tell Holly a life changing secret. This secret leaves Holly upset and sorry for feeling resentment of her mother and her small town life and really shows her that she is A Mother's Gift.
This book was a bit boring at times and I was disappointed that it was very different from the TV movie. This book is a good read if you're a Britney Spears fan or you like light young adult novels. I would choose the movie over this book. The last two chapters really saved the book from dying a very slow and painful death. Skip the book, see the movie.
Taylor Hodgkins, 6/21/08
A great book 
2007-03-20 - I think this book was amazing. I have always liked Britney Spears, so I picked up this book, not sure that I would like it. It is now one of my favorite books, among Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. This book has a great story to it. I love the ending. I have not always been a great reader, but this book encouraged me to read more and more books. now I don't want to stop!
I've got to tell you..
2006-08-07 - most people wouldn't give this book a chance simply because of the authors..
Then again, I READ it simply because of the authors, to see how badly they could do...
I was wrong and quite surprised.
This was a bit of a moving story and I really enjoyed it.
Clear message, but not beyond a bathroom-read. 
2005-07-04 - I hate to review books with negative comments, but for this one I had to. I knew that Britney went to school only until 9th grade, and hence the quality of literature would not be jaw-dropping. And the book proved me right. Looking strictly at the literal aspect of the book, sentences were choppy, characters are not thoroughly developed and vocabularies she uses were quite primary. Regardless of her target audience (which from the quality of the book, must have been targeted at first to third graders), she should consider that this is a novel she is writing. I was shocked to read sentences like "People say that once a terrible thing happened, and people died." (page 3). Whoa! That sound very sad, huh?
I felt like she had done no research about writing a "novel" not an internet fiction. She seemed to write about her own experiences in Holly's viewpoint because she was also at one of those training places for kids. And now she is a platinum singer, almost like Holly.
Now, though I was disappointed with the plot and the quality of her writing, I must credit her for the attempt to write about the strong bondage between Holly and her mom, Wanda. The concept of family is often neglected in the busy society we are living in, and the unconditional love and support that moms provide is worth being highlighted. This book has a strong message and maybe Britney can choose other fields to make her living out of.
Pretty good 
2004-11-06 - I wouldn't say that this book is boring or fabulous, it's just fine. Although i'm a huge fan of Britney, and i used to say that everything about her is fabulous, but this book is not really interesting and it's a pretty short story, you can finish it in 2-3 days. You many consider buy STAGES instead of this, STAGES is 10 times better than A MOTHER'S GIFT!!
