The authors review "White middle class identities and urban schooling," by D. Reay, G. Crozier and D. James. This book focuses on the perspectives of white middle-class parents who make "against"-the-grain school choices for their children in urban England. It provides key insights into the dynamics of class practising that are played out in these choices and the multiple narratives and contexts that influence them. Fundamentally this book queries the real challenges that exist in reinvigorating democracy and egalitarianism in a context of declining levels of public civic engagement. The book is a harsh criticism of the white middle classes and is at times uncomfortable reading in that there is something of a sense of hopelessness about the prospect of behaving ethically, which may challenge the assumption of the egalitarian nature of one's principles. The book will be of interest to education and social policy researchers, sociologists, education professionals and indeed left-leaning white middle class parents.