The In-Between Bookstore

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.)