Middleman Summary

Joshua is thirteen and his parents, in the fall of 1980, have just placed him in a private school, Trinity. There Joshua immediately becomes friends with Kyle Duckworth and Abe Herman. When Abe has his bar mitzvah, Joshua is fascinated with the process. Joshua asks his father why he is not Jewish and his mother explains that she is not Jewish, therefore he is not either. Joshua's father makes little comment, only to explain to Joshua that their last name of Rose is a modified version of Rosenberg.

Throughout his seventh grade year at Trinity, Joshua becomes enamored with Kyle Duckworth's family, particularly his father and older sister, Elsa. Joshua goes out of his way to try to get Elsa's attention, but fails. Elsa is a senior in high school and has her sights set on going to Princeton where she hopes to join...