The musically rich coming-of-age story of 14-year-old Simon Fair, his best friend, Robbie Moorehead, and their circle of friends at the academically excellent Meadowbrooke School. Michael Scherperel’s Fair to Middling will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride as Robbie suffers a severe sports injury, Simon wrestles with coming out, a trio of bullies find themselves drifting apart in unexpected directions, and the faculty and administration of Meadowbrooke live through their own busy experiences. Simon is already an impressive pianist and Robbie discovers a hidden musical talent of his own. There is a fair amount of sex in this novel and also a lot of talk about classical music. The latter may be more alarming to some readers than the former, but neither should deter you from delving into the lives of these rich and complex characters.

Fair to Middling by Michael Scherperel, ISBN 978-0-692-84195-2 (Kindle edition--available free to Kindle Unlimited members) (Kindle store entry)