Books with author -,Kelley

“An ambitious look at the cost of urban gentrification.”—Atlanta-Journal Constitution“Kelley could have written a fine book about Charlotte’s drug trade in the ’80s and ’90s, filled with shoot-outs and flashy jewelry. What she accomplishes with Money Rock, however, is far more laudable.”—Charlotte Magazine“Pam Kelley knows a good story when she sees one―and Money Rock is a hell of a story. . . like a New South version of The Wire.”—Shelf Awareness Meet Money Rock―young, charismatic, and Charlotte’s flashiest coke dealer―in a riveting social history with echoes of Ghettoside and Random Family Meet Money Rock. He’s young. He’s charismatic. He’s generous, often to a fault. He’s one of Charlotte’s most successful cocaine dealers, and that’s what first prompted veteran reporter Pam Kelley to craft this riveting social history—by turns action-packed, uplifting, and tragic—of a striving African American family, swept up and transformed by the 1980s cocaine epidemic. The saga begins in 1963 when a budding civil rights activist named Carrie gives birth to Belton Lamont Platt, eventually known as Money Rock, in a newly integrated North Carolina hospital. Pam Kelley takes readers through a shootout that shocks the city, a botched FBI sting, and a trial with a judge known as “Maximum Bob.” When the story concludes more than a half century later, Belton has redeemed himself. But three of his sons have met violent deaths and his oldest, fresh from prison, struggles to make a new life in a world where the odds are stacked against him. This gripping tale, populated with characters both big-hearted and flawed, shows how social forces and public policies—racism, segregation, the War on Drugs, mass incarceration—help shape individual destinies. Money Rock is a deeply American story, one that will leave readers reflecting on the near impossibility of making lasting change, in our lives and as a society, until we reckon with the sins of our past.

Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski is a star on the football field. So how did this incredible tight end rise to the top? In this fascinating introduction, young readers will learn about the Gronk’s early life and his many achievements. Each 24-page book in this series of introductory biographies features controlled text with age-appropriate vocabulary and simple sentence construction. The narrative text, colorful design, and colorful photos will speak to even the most reluctant of readers. Rob Gronkowski is part of Bearport’s Amazing Americans: Football Stars series.

Take a trip to the Motor City to watch the Detroit Tigers take on Major League Baseball's best. Meet the top players, read stories of past and present, and check out all the key stats. Root, root, root for the home team as you become a Tigers expert! Additional features include a table of contents, informative captions, a diagram of the home field, a section on basic gear, a phonetic glossary, sources for further research, an index, and information about the author.