In the Key of Dale

Written by Benjamin Lefebvre

Narrated by Michael Crouch

A friend at high school is the last thing Dale wants—which is why it may be what he most needs.

Part comedy, part grief narrative, In the Key of Dale is a disarming coming-of-age novel about a queer teen music prodigy who discovers pieces of himself in places he never thought to look.

Sixteen-year-old Dale Cardigan is a loner who’s managed to make himself completely invisible at his all-boys high school. He doesn’t fit with his classmates (whom he gives nicknames in his head), his stepbrother (whom nobody at school knows he’s related to), or even his mother (who never quite sees how gifted a musician Dale might be)—but they don’t fit with him, either. And he’s fine with that. To him, high school and home are stages to endure until his real life can finally begin.

Somewhat against his will, he befriends his classmate Rusty, who gets a rare look at Dale’s complex life outside school, but their friendship is made awkward when Dale is uncertain whether his growing attraction to Rusty is one-sided. Still, it’s to Rusty that Dale turns when he stumbles upon a family secret that shakes everything he thought he knew.

An epistolary novel written in the form of letters to his late father, In the Key of Dale is a beguiling, pitch-perfect book about growing up, fitting in, and finding a way out of grief and loneliness toward the melodic light of adulthood.

Ages 14 and up.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: Nov 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667075211

Benjamin Lefebvre

Benjamin Lefebvre's previous books include the novel In the Key of Dale, an edition of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blythes Are Quoted, the three-volume critical anthology The L.M. Montgomery Reader, and the book series The L.M. Montgomery Library. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario.

Reviews for In the Key of Dale

[mcstephen2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very important story and VERY well written and read. Highly recommended

[Dan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book all the way through in a day and a night. Having accepted that I'll run into this narrator occasionally and finally able to admit to myself that he's actually a great reader; I listened. I typically listen to books during the day to fill in the quiet and again at night to lull myself to sleep, but this book kept me up--listening. The characters were quirky. The writing was good. The exchanges were mostly light and fun (sometimes laugh out loud or just smile big) with deep undertones of what it means to be shaped by tragedy and live with sadness. The author invokes music with words. While I probably won't listen to this book again (only because it lacks the necessary adventure or relationships that qualify for a second listen down the road), I cannot deny that I liked it.