Not a dull moment beginning with the Prologue and ending with a letter to readers by the authors. The focus of this novel is a family comprised of two of the most unlikely men who become best friends through an unusual event. Then, marry two sisters each with a very different approach to love, life, marriage and family. Their children find themselves byproducts of their individual upbringing and environment. Dwight has watered and nurtured family roots in Harlem and is a major mover and shaker in the grandest sense, while Avery has long removed herself from her old Harlem neighborhood and even closest childhood friends. Avery now finds herself hit square between the eyes with the predicament of being forced to make a hasty unplanned trip back because of a family emergency, and is not only forced to face, but interact with adolescent events that she had tucked safely in a place where not even she ventured. This further complicated by a realization that the safety region she had designed for herself had collapsed.
A mixture of greed, empathy and sincere community-oriented interest permeate the flavor of a good read for anyone who was involved, intrigued by or simply follow urban renewal trends. (c)
Reviewed by Mary B. of California
