The In-Between Bookstore

Note: This book will be published on January 14, 2025. Any orders of this book before that date will be considered preorders and shipped upon its release.

By Edward Underhill

Tags: Transgender, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Preorder

A whimsical and healing novel about a trans man in New York who—almost 30, laid off, broke—moves back to his small Illinois hometown, walks into the bookstore he worked at in high school. . . and slips through time to come face-to-face with his pre-transition, teenage self.

If you had one chance to talk to your younger self…would you? What would you say?

When Darby left Oak Falls for college in NYC, all he wanted was to get as far away as possible, find a community where he could start fresh—and finally forget about his childhood best friend Michael, and just how painfully their friendship ended.

Now, about to turn thirty, Darby suddenly finds himself unemployed. With no better alternative, and questioning where he really belongs, he moves back to his hometown. But the changes in Oak Falls—the planned community with his mother’s new town home, the trendy coffee shop—make him feel off balance. And Michael’s still here, their relationship still distant and strained. Even though they’ve both changed.

One thing is familiar: In Between Books, Darby’s refuge growing up and eventual high school job. When he walks into the bookstore now, Darby feels an eerie sense of déjà vu—everything is exactly the same. Even the newspapers are dated 2009. And behind the register is a teen who looks a lot like Darby did at sixteen. . . who just might give Darby the opportunity to change his own present for the better—if he can figure out how before his connection to the past vanishes forever.

The In-Between Bookstore is a stunning novel of love, self-discovery, and the choices that come with both, for anyone who has ever wondered what their life might be like if they had the chance to go back and take a bigger, braver risk. 

“What would you tell your teen self if you could go back in time? Underhill’s tender, innovative debut is the smartest take on this trope I’ve ever read. . . and for the record, I read it in a single sitting. A beautiful, thoughtful study of how we find our truest selves, and whom we choose to trust with that gift.”  — Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“The In-Between Bookstore is a charming and thoroughly modern take on the question of the road not taken that both challenges our assumptions about small-town prejudice and suggests that maybe you can go home again.' — Gayle Forman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and After Life

“Underhill skillfully employs a clever set-up and a queer lens to explore the deep changes we all experience in growing up and the kindness and forgiveness we owe our younger selves. Truly lovely.”
— Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants and The Guncle

“Underhill’s stunning and bittersweet portrayal of the twisty, messy paths we take to adulthood, and the people and selves we lose and find along the way, proves that sometimes the greatest love stories are found in learning to love yourself.” — Emma R. Alban, USA Today bestselling author of Don't Want You Like a Best Friend