harlem (new york, n.y.)

As they look forward to the New York City Marathon in which their friend Mr. B. will run, the Vanderbeeker children learn that one of their good friends is homeless.

Amara visits her father's family in Harlem for her twelfth birthday, hoping to better understand her family and herself, but New York City is not what she expected.

"Told that they will have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind"--Provided by publisher.

"Told that they will have to move out of their Harlem brownstone just after Christmas, the five Vanderbeeker children, ages four to twelve, decide to change their reclusive landlord's mind"--Provided by publisher.

"When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer"--.

Jeremy sets out to discover all of the different "people" that make him who he is, including brother, son, writer, and runner.

Describes a day in the life of several members of a Harlem fundamentalist church. The saga of three generations of people is related through flashbacks.