Pam Kelley

While the man called Money Rock is the central figure here, Pam Kelley doesn't focus solely on his story. We're taken deep into the heart of poverty, racism, and drug dealing in the south. This book excels at showing us how these issues are tied together in ways outsiders don't see and the media doesn't talk about.

The writing is engaging, with a narrative style that pulls us in. There is nothing textbook or dry about this book. We meet the people involved, and we see them at their best and their worst. We're placed right in the midst of a world the typical white, middle-class (like myself) rarely experience. Though not as overt as decades ago, the issue of race, and racism, is alive and well.

During the first half of this book, I couldn't help but feel for Money Rock's situation. He made a lot of bad choices, but his choices look different to those of us standing on the sidelines. For him, no doubt those choices looked far more limited.

I can't say that I liked Money Rock as a person. Honestly, I liked him much less as a reformed adult than I did as a troubled kid. His turnaround came with the cliche of finding God in prison, turning his life over, and becoming a pastor and mentor. What I found most irksome about this was that he chased his dream of opening a church and mentoring troubled kids while all but ignoring his own children and grandchildren. I'm not sure how much of a "Christian" label to put on that behavior.

That being said, my feelings about Money Rock are irrelevant. This book is much more than a character study of one man. This book is a hard look at the race divisions in a southern community. We see how and why it happened, how and why it continues, and the repercussions to all of us.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*… (meer)