Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan, fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.

With love and determination befitting the "world's greatest family," twelve-year-old Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie, and their parents endure tough times in Gary, Indiana, and later Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression.

"When we meet August "Gus" Molloy on the opening pages of CHEVY IN THE HOLE he's just overdosed at the Detroit restaurant where he works. Shortly after, he packs it in and returns home to his family for another shot at sobriety. There, he meets and falls quickly in love with Monae Livingston, an urban farmer trying to coax a tenuous rebirth from the damaged land. As Gus and Monae begin dreaming up an oasis together in Flint, the city's water supply...

1970s, Flint, Michigan. Jackie Moon is a former pop sensation who somehow made enough money from a couple of hit records to buy Flint's semi-pro basketball team, the Tropics. The team consists of a bunch of disorganized losers with one genuine talent named Coffee Black. Despite knowing little about the game, Jackie is the Tropics' coach as well as a player. His greater love involves coming up with bizarre marketing stunts to draw in an audience. His...