Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing
Review: While I agree Conley could have elaborated a bit more on the motivations of his friends and relatives, this was a captivating read. I give it a higher rating. I think Conley writes well, and this is a fine view into his life and times. I enjoyed reading Honky. I'd recommend it, especially for junior and senior high school students. My upbringing in NYC held parallels to Conley's. I am White, raised in East Elmhurst, then Laurelton, Queens, 10 years earlier than Conley. While both my parents (mother is partly Jewish, father R. Catholic) were workaholics, their politics were also Liberal, - they revered Martin Luther King and envied the Freedom Riders. We lived in integrated neighborhoods which became predominantly Black (we spent every summer in the country, too), and I was raised to respect all. It was sometimes difficult to be a minority child. Malcolm X lived 2 blocks away, and there were Black kids who asserted their pride, ostensibly as bullies. I was actually called a Honky, more than once. This book renewed my sense of 'White guilt', since I got to move away and become successful in a predominantly White geographical area. I had a choice - which isn't always the case for people of color. This book is well worth reading.
| 
