From Goodreads: When Frank Benjamin, a Jewish teenager from New York, agrees to drive his black maid, Esther, to North Carolina to visit her sick sister in the summer of 1967, he has no idea he is about to set out on the ride of his life. What is supposed to be a quick and easy drive to and from Eden, North Carolina, soon turns into an odyssey, during which Frank is chased down by a gang of bikers, unknowingly befriends the Grand Wizard of a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, rescues Esther from a cult, and finds himself in a number of unexpected situations. Along the way, Frank and Esther make both friends and enemies, all the while discovering a thing or two about race relations in 1960s America.

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If you like cross-country road trips full of crazy adventures, then this novel is for you. Looking head on at racism in a world still rampant with Jim Crow Laws and the KKK, this novel puts both Frank and Esther in some precarious situations that are both harrowing and occasionally comical.  Though I found nearly all the situations to be unbelievable in their own right, the themes and motifs of the story are strong in this coming of age story.  The writing style is very vivid and telling, and the story itself is easy to follow.  I was reminded a little bit of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road as I read—though not dealing with the beat generation, Lemler’s novel, White Boy Highway, does spin a very intriguing cross-country tale that I think many will enjoy.  Three stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.