The in-between bookstore A novel

Darby has grown tired of New York City; the final straw is when he is laid off just before his thirtieth birthday and, after calling his mom for the first time in awhile, he finds out that she's selling his childhood home. He decides to temporarily move back to Oak Falls, Illinois, to help his mom move and have the breathing room to decide his next steps. Once there, he's reminded of the painful ending of his friendship with his childhood best friend, Michael. In a speculative twist, when Darby walks into In-Between Books, the independent bookstore where he worked as a teenager, he's transported back to 2009 and face-to-face with his teenage self. This might be his only opportunity to change things with Michael and discover where and who he's truly supposed to be. YA author Underhill's tender, emotionally charged debut for adults is sure to be a hit with fans of The Midnight Library (2020), by Matt Haig, or the 2024 film My Old Ass. While this novel sets out to answer a central question--where am I supposed to go from here?--ultimately, the answer is that we make our own meaning in the places and people that feel like home to us.

A trans man returns to his hometown and encounters his teen self in this tender adult debut from YA author Underhill (This Day Changes Everything). On the cusp of turning 30 and just laid off from his New York City startup job, Darby Madden travels to rural Oak Falls, Ill., to help his mom move out of his childhood home. When Darby visits the bookstore where he worked as a teenager, he discovers it hasn't changed and is surprised that the bookseller on duty looks just like he did before his transition. Before he sorts out whether entering the bookstore caused him to travel through time, and if he really did see his previous self, Darby bumps into Michael Weaver, the best friend who cut him off after Darby transferred to a boarding school during their senior year. As Darby tries to figure out what went wrong between them, a kiss from Michael throws him even further out of sorts. The story has the feel of a YA novel with adult characters--Darby worries he's "still not cool enough" for New York City after 12 years there, the plot is shaped by lingering high school drama--but Underhill lands the speculative elements with precision. Grown-up fans of YA fiction will appreciate this bittersweet tale. Agent: Patricia Nelson, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Jan.)