A Gift Most Rare - Tom Leihbacher

It's Christmastime in the pocket-sized village of Briarcliff Manor. With yuletide spirits flying high, life seems close to perfect in this quaint suburb of Manhattan.

But not everyone feels the holiday cheer. While most go about their joyful holiday pursuits, young Charlie Riverton is restless. Compassionate by nature, he's especially mindful of the lonely and forlorn.

At the same time, he's the unofficial leader of a close-knit group of sixth-grade buddies. Together they grapple with pre-teen hijinks, newfound freedoms and an emerging, nerve-wracking interest in girls.

Meanwhile, there's a curiously gifted newcomer in town. Charlie develops a special friendship with the handsome stranger and together, they set out to craft a God-honoring Christmas gift for the whole community. Along the way, lives are changed and people begin to look at Christmas a little differently.

Come spend the holidays in Briarcliff with this feel-good, coming of age story set in small-town America in the early 1970s.